Frogwares is a company that we know for its Sherlock Holmes games which were quite a hit. But it seems Frogwares has expanded into other literary classics as well. Their latest adventure game is Dracula: Origin. Based on Bram Stoker' classic novel, Dracula: Origin is all about bringing a chilling gothic horror tale for your gaming pleasure. The in-game story is quite a liberal adaptation of the novel. Professor Van Helsing takes centre stage as he attempts to stop the dreaded Prince of Darkness from taking his student Jonathan Harker's wife, Mina.
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As in previous Frogwares games, the in-game environment is what strikes you immediately. Although the environments aren't large, they're rendered in beautiful detail. Even the load screens are a pleasure to see. Red plays a prominent role throughout the adventure as blood, room decor, or even as mere roses. This is about Dracula after all. As you play the roles of detective, researcher and vampire hunter, you will visit Europe's finest cities. Vienna, Cairo, Milan and indeed Transylvania will all be stops on your journey. All of which will be rendered in gorgeous detail. The animations aren't perfect but nevertheless they are entertaining.
Voice acting is quite good, though Van Helsing's outbursts seem a bit melodramatic and gets annoying after some time. Hearing the same sentences over and over again doesn't help much either. The soundtrack and music is more impressive than the voice acting. Through Europe eerie violins will chill your blood while Middle Eastern melodies will swirl around you in Egypt.
Gameplay is more reminiscent of "point and click" adventure games of old than of Frogwares recent adventure games. The signature first person view of the Sherlock Holmes games has been dropped in favour of the traditional third person perspective. Much, if not all of the gameplay is pretty much picking things up, and storing them for later use. In fact Van Helsing's all too often repeated statement "This might be useful. I'm taking it." sums things up pretty well. The game has an interesting feature where a tap of the spacebar will light up every object in the surrounding area that you can interact with. On most occasions this feels like a cheat since it takes away any challenge that the game had. On the other hand objects are very often lost in the background detail, so you might not have a choice in the matter unless you're willing to painstakingly click every pixel on screen. You'll be picking up everything from meat hooks to mummy wrappings to solve all the puzzles the game throws at you. The puzzles aren't exactly easy either. Some are blatantly obvious while others are totally unfathomable. A little guidance would help immensely but little or none is provided. Once you figure them out however, you'll appreciate their deviousness and ingenious designs that are perfectly suited for a vampire hunt.
In closing, it must be said that Dracula: Origin is a laudable effort. The use of established characters for a new story isn't a new concept, but Frogwares pulled it off well. The creepy atmosphere and fresh story cover up some of the many shortcomings in the game. A better adaptation of the traditional gameplay mechanics would have been good as well. But on the whole, it could have been a lot worse.
Rating: 6/10 |
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