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Review Information |
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Reviewer Name: |
HotDiggerdyDamn |
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Game Difficulty: |
Medium |
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Difficulty Options: |
False |
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Game Information |
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Full Title: |
Bram Stoker's Dracula |
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Year Released: |
1993 |
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Game Type: |
Platform |
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Max Players: |
1 |
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| Introduction |
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| Apart from the absolutely wooden, nay - solid oak, acting skills of Keanu Reeves I love the Francis Ford Coppola-directed Bram Stoker's Dracula, a fair adaptation of one of my fave books, so naturally I was dying to get a hold of it's blood drenched, pixelated, counterpart for my favourite 8-bit system of joy. So did it suck, or cook? |
| Gameplay |
Yes folks it's platform country, and Transylvania, and you're in control of the mighty Johnathan Harker. Actually I'd rather be in control of the kick-ass Van Helsing if i'm honest but games of this era are usually a loose adaptation and this is no acception. However, we shan't dwell on that 'cause it was a staple for the time to mess up story and continuity
Suffice to say the atmosphere is full on creepy castles and spooky happenings all wrapped up in a ball of seething undead. You jump from platform to platform slinging various picked up weapons, collecting this and that in a general bid to kick Dracula's stagnant, pallid, nads clean off. There are plenty of secret areas dotted about and some inventive levels, that of course must have been in the unreleased directors cut of the film and the first, binned, draught of the book, and all of these locals and environments are filled with spikes, pitfalls and bat infested nooks and crannies...much like some relationships I've been in. Also there's some inventive bosses thrown in for good measure that I won't ruin, but you'll be learning some patterns and gritting your teeth more than once or twice at the end of the spooky levels. |
| Graphics |
| Some nifty looking stuff to offer here, amongst the fetid earth, burning torches and walking dead there are some nice bold graphics going on. Full of atmosphere and well animated creepy monsters for Johnny boy to dodge and axe to bits in his own equally well animated manner. Yes. |
| Sound & Music |
| Ranging from epic to creepy to meh. Nothing unbelievable, but fitting enough. |
| Controls |
| They're responsive enough but there's something overly overly loose about the whole thing that until you get used to it will have you getting a bit wound up at times. It's not that the controls don't actually work it's just that the game feels a little...slippery. |
| Replay Value |
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| You won't crack it on your first go but it won't beffudle you for too long. Wether or not you come back to it depends on how much you dig the loose fitting subject matter, creepy critters and a decent platforming romp. I'll certainly be playing it through again but not for a little while. |
| Conclusion |
| For a game I only paid a pound for I was rather pleased with Bram Stoker's Dracula, don't get me wrong, it's not a total winner but it beats the socks off Wolfchild and a good few other run-and-jumpers that the system has to offer. Give it a go, it won't change your opinion of games or even platformers, but you'll have a decent enough blast with it. |
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