OMGP: Van Helsing

08/04/2022 1h 57min
OMGP: Van Helsing

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Episode Synopsis

In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast series, Devon sits down with Bart to discuss the monster mash-up film Van Helsing (2004) and its tie-in video game that borrowed more than a little from Capcom’s iconic beat-em-up series Devil May Cry. The game is kind of like when a kid asked to copy your homework and you reluctantly gave it to him, but asked him to change it up a little bit so that your work wasn’t the same. The game follows the film’s storyline pretty closely, even though it minimizes and erases some of the film’s standout characters. No movie was safe from the tie-in treatment in 2004, but Stephen Sommers’ CGI-oozing homage to the Universal Monster films of old actually makes for great video game material, and the game ended up matching the quality of the film, earning generally favourable reviews upon release. Some maintain that this is one of those rare moments when the tie-in game was actually better than the movie upon which it was based. Devon and Bart pick apart the movie and its PS2 adaptation, highlighting the ways in which the game developers nailed and failed their source material0:00 Intro 3:48 IMDB Dive Warm-up8:28 Where We’re Coming From12:28 Plot36:25 Time Machine Time40:16 Characters1:02:12 Setting1:31:05 Tone/Other Elements1:51:00 Rate/Recommend