The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III Previews
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A considerable number of new hands-on previews for Neocore's The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III in both article and video format are vying for our attention, so I've rounded them up below for your browsing leisure.
GameRevolution:
In typical Diablo fashion, you must guide Van Helsing through fixed environments, slaughtering mobs of ghouls, fiends, centaurs, and whatever foe dares to stand in his way. The build takes him and his spectral companion Katarina, who retains her sharp, dark, and macabre wit, through secret laboratories, haunted forests, and a gnome village. Along the way, he'll gather side quests and occasionally return to his hunter lair where he can trade any unwanted goods for better gear. Of course, he can just send Katarina away to sell equipment at any time, but she won't be around to lend her aid in battle while she's shopping for you.
In one of the preview's later environments, every single dialogue with an NPC included an option for Van Helsing to curtly dismiss a sidequest or dialogue exchange for being pointless. The monster-hunter could rightly refuse the request of a villager barred behind the door on the grounds that hunting for minute items in a gigantic map was far beneath the efforts of the savior of the world. When Van Helsing and Katarina came across a glowing rock in the middle of an enchanted forest, both agreed instantaneously that it would spawn monsters before touching it and spawning monsters. Just as I was about to vocalize the dissonance of Van Helsing doing that which frustrated him endlessly, the monster-hunter spouted off that exact hypocrisy in an aggravated huff.
Van Helsing 3's Protector is a cross between the Platonic ideal of a crusading knight and a Games Workshop Space Marine. With some giant cog-like shoulder pads for good measure. His play-style revolves around getting up in the enemy's face as quickly as possible (aided by a couple of charging skills like Smite and Viper's Leap,) and then battering them. He's the only class to use a shield, which has a tactical purpose beyond simply (hide behind it when you're swarmed.) Blocking attacks with the shield raises a damage modifier, encouraging a rhythm of blocking and then striking.
But what really makes the monster bashing fun is the dialog. Both between Van Helsing and Lady Katarina (returning once more to add her particular flavour of. insight. to your every single move and decision) as well as all the other carefully crafted NPC's that litter the game. Quests are outlandish and the dialog there will leave you grinning from ear to ear. What makes this game stand out is the story. It might not always make much in the way of sense, but it's fun and that is what the Van Helsing games have always been about. You really feel like you're immersed in an awkward science experiment gone wrong throughout. Returning players will be right at home here and new players will be in for a bit of a treat.
While without a doubt the two characters remind Diablo veterans of the Crusader or the Wizard, they aren't just copy pasted into Van Helsing III. The Protector not only carries a big shield around, but most surprisingly, it can be actively used in combat. You can raise the shield to block attacks and offer you a brief respite from the hordes of enemies. The Wizard also packs in quite a few Diablo-like powers, like a flaming hydra, but also a few new ones.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is a dungeon-crawler, role-playing game through and through, expertly evidenced by the abundance of skills our hero possesses. Not only that, but each of these skills can be further augmented by several passive enhancements and three other power-ups. For example, my basic melee attack can be upgraded to stun enemies, deal more damage, and even make my targets more vulnerable to other skills for ten seconds. These power-ups can be activated using Rage, which, as the name implies, can be gathered by killing other monsters. It's a natural process: kill monsters, get rage to enhance your abilities, kill more monsters.
Aside from a range of classes, players will also go into battle with a friendly spirit named Lady Katerina. This AI-controlled sidekick will enter battle with her own unique abilities, which can be managed by the player. Her fighting style can be adjusted to either offer ranged or melee support, while she can also help carry items and pick up loot. She can even level up, just like any of the player-controlled characters. While Katerina is useful in battle, she also helps provide much of the game's levity. Van Helsing and Katerina will often banter in-between battles, mostly bickering with one another, but sometimes making light of the situation ahead of them. They'll also occasionally shed light on their own backstories, offering up clues regarding their pasts.
And then there are video previews up at PC Gamer, GameTrailers, and GameSpot.
