Review: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (PC)

Say the name “Van Helsing” and you think of a scholarly looking monster hunter out to slay vampires with his intellect, his faith, and a great big gnarly stake.  Alternatively, you may think of B-movies with Hugh Jackman.  Nonetheless, the name is almost archetypal by this point.  Say it and you know you're dealing with a character with a burning desire to put down the things that go bump in the night and a nearly reckless disregard for their own safety, all dressed up in the finest of Victorian fashions.  Neocore Games decided to move away from the classic Van Helsing of Bram Stoker and go with a more steampunkish version that borrows elements of the 2004 movie and casts the player as the elder Van Helsing's son on a trip to the fictional country of Borgova for plenty of monster slaying and fiendish plot thwarting.

Hands-On Preview: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (PC)

As the introduction movie played, with it's water-colours and inky sketches as a voice-over provides a monologue about Van Helsing (well, his son), I couldn't avoid the easy and extremely apt comparison to Diablo III, though scaled back in scope and art assets. And voice actors.