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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good God!, 17 Mar 2005
It seems every movie tie-in these days has a strict mandate: be an accessible, third-person actioner, with a simple lock-on aim function for firing. Throw in some locations from the movie, add a bit of artistic licence with the weapons and script (something about demons walking the Earth during the eternal battle of good and evil), and job done. Oh, and the original actor's vocal talent. If you can afford it. Which Constantine unfortunately couldn't. But for all its vocal shortcomings, Constantine easily fulfils the rest of this mandate with ease and panache, and still manages to squeeze a fair few neat little touches up its ruffled sleeve. Hell isn't my preferred destination after this life but I have to admit, according to Constantine it looks pretty damned cool. In an alternate version of downtown LA, fiery winds provide the driving force for a very impressive physics engine that tosses derelict cars around like tin cans. Fireballs rain from the sky, decimating your surroundings, and there's
a gleeful sense of chaos about the place. It's a shame then, that the environments of the other half of the game, set in present day Los Angeles, though gritty and noirish, seem drab and uninteresting in comparison.
What these contrasting conditions do provide however, is a fantastic sense of atmosphere. Although not on par with the stylish Max Payne 2, the real world is full of creepy shadows and includes more than a few genuinely jumpy moments. Constantine has the ability to flick back and forth between dimensions, and alter either world to benefit his tasks in the other. Your True Sight ability acts like a twisted thermal vision which, complete with brilliantly disturbing audio, allows players to see demons masquerading as humans and hidden magical items too. Aside from all the weapon-based combat (which is fun despite a slightly unpredictable camera), Constantine has the ability to cast spells. These are learnt through exploration of the fairly free-roaming environment, along with numerous other health and magic upgrades. These are fun to execute and are varied in nature - our favourite was Hunger, which caused the flesh to be stripped from a possessed human by a swarm of vicious flies. Although ridiculously easy to perform (players must complete a simple button sequence within a time limit), they'll leave your character annoyingly exposed to counter attack during the time it takes to cast. Because of this, they can only be used when enemies are at a safe distance - not ideal when you're in the middle of white-of-the-eyes combat. However, factor in a healthy helping of puzzles (which again are fun, but hampered by an erratic camera), and Constantine is a fairly tidy little movie tie-in. Not as hallowed-groundbreaking or biblical in goodness that it maybe thinks it is, but 'constantly' enjoyable all the same.
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