Hell and back: Hands-on with Constantine

Constantine, both the videogame and the film on which it's based, have been inspired by comic book Hellblazer. In SCi's title, players strap on the mystic shoes of John Constantine, a chain-smoking anti-hero that has struck a pact with the devil to cure his lung cancer, went back on the deal and now finds himself battling every embodiment of nastiness the netherworld can throw his way. The game follows the movie storyline, circumstances bringing together Constantine and police detective Angela Dodson to form an unlikely partnership seeking the truth behind the mysterious suicide of Dodson's twin sister. Constantine's adventure finds him switching between reality and Hell as both he and Dodson "seek to find their own peace at whatever cost" - and save Earth, naturally.

Now that, to us, sounds like a challenge, so when preview code of the game dropped through our letter box we thought we'd dim the lights, grab a packet of fags and see if we couldn't send some demons back to Hell...

LET'S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING
Events kick off with what's more or less a prologue, Constantine in a low-lit apartment about to embark on a journey to the spirit word to retrieve part of the Holy Shotgun, one of the game's weapons (which are actually called Artefacts). A message pops up on-screen telling you to walk into a puddle of water on the apartment floor, and a quick peek at your journal, a veritable mine of useful information that carries details on spells, encountered enemies, objectives and Artefacts, reveals that water portals are required to transport Constantine to Hell.

By stepping into the liquid you get your first introduction to the game's spell system. It works more or less like a rhythm game - or if anyone remembers that ridiculous electronic game Simon Says, like that - and you have to hit a sequence of button presses as they appear on the screen in a set time limit in order to successfully cast magic. In addition to the portal spell that whisks you away to Hell, to date we've only secured one extra spell, Storm Crow. When cast, Storm Crow fries enemies with lightning bolts. The catch with spells is that casting is interrupted if you get boshed, so you have to be either reasonably nimble with your button presses or get some space around you to be a ninja with magic.

Anyway, literally within seconds of taking control of the lead character your in an apocalyptic vision of Hell. It's quite breezy in Hell, apparently, Constanine's leather jacket flapping in the wind and wrecked cars sailing through the air. Eerie sound fills your ears, the sky is a terrible fiery red, buildings look like they've just suffered from the Blitz, glancing up, your vision is filled with the ghastly horror of human bodies impaled on spikes and demons are appearing out of the debris. Hell levels are more or less mirror images on levels in the real world, but looking like the aftermath of nuclear warfare...

ARTY FACTS
Although we've nowhere near discovered all the various Artefacts in Constantine, we can at least divulge the secrets of some. You start out with Witch's Curse, an Artefact that's seemingly a pistol from ye old Wild West and which fires stones picked up from the Road to Damascus (plus you get knuckle dusters and can punch and stomp on enemies with your feet). You also begin the game with the Flask of Enlightenment, a magic vessel from which you can quaff to replenish your health should you get severely duffed.

It's not long before you pick up another Witch's Curse for some dual wield action, get a flame power-up for your stones from the Road to Damascus and secure the services of the Crucifer, a rapid-fire Artefact that spits nails from the crosses of crucified martyrs. What else have we discovered? Oh yes, there's the Holy Shotgun, which fires cross-shape shells, and then there's secondary firepower such as Holy Water Grenades, sections from the Shroud of Moses which act like smart bombs when you set fire to them and the Amityville Screech Beetle whose screech can paralyse demons.

Action in the game is on the whole good fun, although there's a slightly duff ability to spin quickly in 180-degress (by holding down the left thumbstick in this case) and exterminate enemies chewing on your backside. Spin, and the world enters into a bullet time-style state, although for some reason your turning circle is diminished and you can only have about 45-degree rotation. Why, we don't know, perhaps it's a bug yet to be ironed out. But it's mighty annoying when you pull off a spin to quickly blast something behind you in slow-motion only to discover that it's just outside your field of fire.

And while we're on odd points, call us wrong-uns if you want, but to simply run up to a gap in a floor and automatically leap it without having to use a jump button or any particular skill is for us a bit duff.

SEEING IS BELIEVING
A vital 'weapon' in Constantine's battle against the army of darkness is his ability True Sight. It, perhaps unintentionally, doubles up as night vision, but it's intended use is two-fold. At various points during our hands-on time an on-screen message would pop up telling us to activate True Sight. Sending the world into psychedelic heaven, with the power activated you can locate previously hidden symbols on walls that indicate that, for example, a secret area is nearby. Such areas, from what we've seen so far, harbour important items and bonus unlocks.

True Sight intended use two is its ability to spot demons lurking in possessed human beings. Reveal the demon inside and the possessed human comes lurching toward you and can soak up a hefty amount of Road to Damascus stones as we found out when we discovered that a cop was far more than he seemed. Oh, and incidentally, if you see a wounded cop on the floor during the game who is obviously human but turns your crosshairs green meaning you can shoot him, don't open fire. If you do it takes savage bites out of your health. Believe us. We know.

HEAVEN OR HELL?
If we were to sum it up in a few words, Constantine is Max Payne steeped in horror, although it has to be said that the game lacks the style and panache of Remedy Entertainment's action titles. It's a shortfall that's somewhat made up however by atmosphere that at times is genuinely spooky, depth that comes through the likes of the spell system and gameplay that switches between the real world and the spirit world of Hell, cinematic gloss afforded to it courtesy of cut-scenes and the fact that it's all based on the forthcoming flick starring Keanu Reeves. Indeed, Reeves lends his likeness to the title, and although it's a voice-a-like looking after speech, it's a fair attempt at imitation right down to the actor's trademark wooden delivery.

Constantine's gameplay is, well, more or less linear (although as you push further into the game there's a little more room for exploration), but it's well enough executed. It's also heavily scripted, but it's competent scripting and considering the game's overall cinematic ambience this isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, it's difficult to shake the feeling that you're being lead around on a string. Maybe it's because we've only dipped a toe in the Constantine sea and later in the adventure you're left to your own devices. But from our hands-on impressions for this article we've come away finding it impossible to rid ourselves of the thought that the title has been designed to pander to a wider audience than just the avid videogame fan, which may or may not sit well with some. But perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised. This is a movie tie-in after all.

Still, the final word will come from the reviewers after they've given Hell's forces a good thrashing and saved the world from impending doom. So until then, stay safe, and remember: that bloke selling kebabs on the corner of the high street at 12am on a Saturday night may be more than he appears...

If you'd like to see the chain smokin' John Constantine in action, why not check out Sci's latest taster movie, where you can get an glimpse of the unholy demon-slaying delights to come?

Stuart Bishop