Constantine Review

Having seen the film (and enjoying it thoroughly I might add), I was very keen to try Constantine, and for the first time playing a game based on a movie was actually enjoyable.

You play John Constantine, a demon hunter who occasionally ventures into Hell to get is job done. What makes this game different from any other action game is that it isn't all "running down a narrow corridor with guns a-blazing". In Constantine, this will get you absolutely nowhere. Ammo is scarce, and each round has to be carefully planned before fired. This is made more difficult as the game is constantly throwing more and more demons at you.
Having said that, you'd think that the puzzle-solving would take a backseat to the action side of things and - to an extent - this is true, although when you do encounter a puzzle, you'll be left scratching your head for a while.

The graphics are good, not fabulous or earth-shaking, but good. The character model looks remarkably like Keanu Reaves in the film, and the scenery is above average quality.
The same cannot be said for the cutscenes though. After fairly high quality in-game graphics, I was expecting far better FMV sequences. They seem to run very slowly, and generally look bad compared to the in-game action.
The graphics are accompanied by good sound and music, although the voice-overs leave a little to be desired.

Overall, if you're looking for a good mix of puzzles and action, you could do worse than Constantine. However, if you're looking for pure gun action, you'd probably be better off with the likes of Max Payne or Timesplitters.

This review was added on 12th March 2005 by Dan Clement.