Customer Reviews

Dracula-The Resurrection

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

most of the horror game genre is just rip-offs of classics likeresident evil and dino crisis.....but not this. this game is so superior and different from the rest of the horror game genre.its very suffistocated and different but still has the power of being really freaking scary and a majorly killer piece of supreme game excellence.i strongly recommend this to fans of silent hill and parasite eve.

The good news is that if you're a fan of the Dracula/horror genre then this game will completely engross you. The storyline is very intriguing and the cut scenes are beautifully rendered. The bad news is that your fun will be short lived. The game does not last long at all despite being a two disc set. Even the most novice of gamers will breeze through this in no time. The ending is somewhat anticlimactic as there is no real showdown with Dracula and the game leaves the door wide open for an obvious sequel. Still, it remains an entertaining little game that is probably better off as a rental because of it's brevity.

This game is a first person adventure where you solve puzzles and collect items to use. The storyline advances with use of different items and solving of different puzzles. If your looking for a gory, terror-filled monster killing game that'll keep you on your toes and at the edge of your seat, this isn't the game for you, but as a fan of gothic horror and the Bram Stoker novel, I find it highly entertaining. For one thing, the settings are beautifully rendered and the game gives you the ability to look in all directions. The only thing that is campy about this game is the animated cut scenes that feature crappy voicing (Jonathan Harker sounds exactly like Keanu Reeves in the Francis Ford Coppola movie; Translyvanian villagers have cockney accents; Dracula also doesn't have an eastern-European accent) and herky-jerky character movement, but other than that this game is a fun little adventure. It basically reopens the storyline that the novel closes. The game's areas can be divided into two halves: Borgo Pass and Castle Dracula. In Borgo Pass you must first gather items around the Village to find your way into a mine that will allow you to sneak into Castle Dracula and once inside you must gather items that will lift a curse from a witch who will lead you to where Mina (the girl you must rescue) is being held prisoner. This is no fast-paced fright fest, but works well as an entertaining, slower-paced mystery. If you liked this game (as I did) you will want to check out it's sequal, Dracula: The Last Sanctuary

An excellent game with vivid, creepy characters. Not quite like anything I've played so far. My only complaint is how quickly it ended. I've dabbled in this type of game for a few years, and though I have a long way to go before being a "Pro", I finished this game in just over 2 1/2 hours. As one person suggested, rent it. It's great and definitely worth it, but it's a little too much for just a couple hours of gameplay.

I remember the first time I played it, It was december the night before christmas, I was stunned by the animation of this game. It became parrent to me that I was beginning a journey through endless darkness in Transylvania.
I won't waste my liner notes with telling you what its about, you will figure it out sooner or later. (ha,ha,ha,sorry)
It starts with an outstanding opening, the story is told and your journey begins. You find yourself at the Borgo Pass, walk around a little and you get to the Barina Inn.
She greets you with a humble and scared smile, she tells you to wait until morning to travel further. As stubbon as you are, you disregard her advice and travels on...

Explore beautifully detailed enviroments...
Immerseve yourself in this dark and misty world...
Challenge yourself with mind blowing riddles...
And keep your blood cold...or else
Don't doubt your sanity...or you will fail

Look out for the monstrous she devils
they will by all means...keep you locked away in the castle...
Explore everything from Dracula's bedroom to the secret chambers and dungeons of the castle...

Seek the knowledge of the ancient witch Dorko...
she will "help" you, or not!!!

As your heart beat rises and your sanity is questioned
remains the dusty walls of Draculas ancients castle...
I will only say it once, buy it you won't regret it.

I've recently become a fan of the point and click adventure game genre after it's revival on the Nintendo DS (I know this genre has been around for ages on PC but I'm not a PC gamer, so the DS is really my first exposure to this genre--my first point n' click game was Hotel Dusk). After buying a bunch of games for the DS (including the extremely awesome Phoenix Wright series, which I highly recommend), I started to notice that this genre actually appeared (rarely) on older consoles. For example, I found Shadow of Destiny for the PS2, and now, Dracula: The Resurrection for the PS1. Does the idea of a point n' click game based on the original Bram Stoker novel seem like it reeks of cheapness and copout to you? To make matters worse, the cover art features a picture of Dracula that just drips of that cheesy, old black-and-white monster movie feel. So, I didn't really have terribly high hopes for this when I bought it, but it was so cheap (I literally got mine for less than $5) that I figured it was worth a try. After all, I am a fan of the original novel, so "why not?" I thought.

Graphics (score 6/10): Well, this section is a bit of a mixed bag. The environmental graphics are pretty good (for PS1)--the snowy woodland areas outdoors are quite haunting and atmospheric-looking. The indoors look pretty well detailed too. Additionally, you can rotate the camera in all directions (including up!). The only problem is that some screens are fuzzy or indistinct looking, almost like an impressionist painting. While this is still somewhat pretty, it can make navigation a bit troublesome. Now, the second half of the graphics are CGI cutscenes, the vast majority of which are either scenes of dialogue or scenes of Jonathan walking up and down stairs (yes, stairs-I actually think this may be what they wasted all their disc space on). While the character models during these cutscenes are fairly well-detailed, I still have several complaints. Firstly, these are some of the ugliest people I've ever seen (I guess they were going for realism since Mina isn't ugly but the old man and woman are hideous). My second complaint has to do with people's movements, which are jerky and odd. Not to mention, their facial expressions are just weird, their lips move strangely, their heads tilt at odd angles occasionally, and their eyes often widen and swivel in an exaggerated fashion. It's all quite bad. However, the in-game environmental graphics kind of make up for how bad the CGI is.

Music (score 8/10): I recently complained in my Koudelka review that there was a real lack of music. This game, too, lacks music. However, Koudelka was an RPG (a genre you really expect to have music). Dracula: The Resurrection only has two songs in it that I can remember (one played very briefly during a cutscene, and one played at the end). What this game does have, though, is atmospheric sound effects. One reason Koudelka's lack of music really irritated me was that often there was simply silence except for the sound of your own footsteps. Dracula: The Resurrection doesn't have this problem, every single location has some sort of constant sound effect: outside in the woods there's the howling of the wind, in the mines there's the sound of dripping water and faint echoes, in Dracula's castle, there's the sound of creaking doors and floorboards, drafty hallways, and the occasional screech of a bat. The effect is really quite atmospheric and creepy. Now, onto the voice acting, which isn't terrible; in fact, I kind of liked it. Just bear in mind that no one has their proper accents. The only detriment to the voice acting is the above-mentioned terrible CGI to accompany it. Also, there aren't any subtitles, which sucks if you happen to not catch certain words.

Characters (score 7/10): There's not a whole lot to say here. Characterization really isn't the focus of this game since it's more story- and gameplay-driven. Characters are portrayed well enough, if not simplistically. There really isn't much depth and complexity here. You control Jonathan Harker as he works to rescue his wife Mina from Dracula. Dracula is your standard bad guy. Not much to say.

Story (score 8/10): The story is pretty good. It's based on the original Bram Stoker "Dracula" novel, and I think it's pretty faithful to that. It's not an adaptation of the original novel, but instead a sequel to the events of the novel. The developers did a good job of making you feel like you are "playing" the book--the atmosphere and pacing just feel right. There are also plenty of letters (which are read aloud) sprinkled throughout the game. This really makes it feel like the successor to the book since the book was told almost entirely through letter correspondences. However, the game does take some liberties by introducing a couple new characters (Dracula's henchmen, an old witch), but these additions do not in any way clash with the book since they coexist with the original cannon. Unfortunately, the game's pretty short (I completed it in a single day), but the story's pretty good for the length.

Gameplay (score 6/10): This is a bit of a catch-all category for me. I have some complaints. This is a point and click game, and every time you click on something, there's a slight loading time. It's not excessive, but it can get tedious after awhile. Also, there's a bit too much clicking required to cross areas. For example, it might take me three clicks just to cross a room from one side to the other. My last complaint is that some of these puzzles are somewhat obscure; I mean, they put a lot of faith in the gamer to find random objects and stick them in the right slots. Aside from that, though, I don't have any complaints. The cursor takes some getting used to, but once you understand what the icons mean, it's no problem at all. The controls are not really bad, I just wish it were a bit faster and more responsive. The funny thing is that I could imagine this game being remade for the Nintendo DS and being really good.

Overall (score 7/10): NOTE this score is not an average; it's my subjective overall score. I really liked this game, maybe because it reminds me of the book, maybe because I've been in the mood recently for creepy games, or maybe because it's short enough that it ends before the constant loading can drive you insane. Either way, I liked it enough to want to buy the sequel, "Dracula: The Last Sanctuary". In fact, if they did happen to remake this for the DS, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. They've recently remade Shadow of Destiny for the PSP, so who knows, it could happen. Anyway, if you are a fan of the genre, then I definitely recommend Dracula: The Resurrection; for less than $5, you really can't go wrong.

Yes, I was skeptical as well before I purchased this game and thought what are the chances of a game like "dracula" being any fun. well much to my surprise it was. I enjoyed the puzzles you had to solve and the scene's were neat as hell! I didn't want to go to bed because I was so into this game one night. I would think a game like this would get no poor reviews at all because it was fun and thrilling. I loved it!

I Dont think you should by this game. First lets start with the bads. You dont ever get to actually shoot a gun. All you do is use the arrow buttons to look around. The inventory is poor. Trust me you wont like this game if you are looking for a challenge. Its not a role playing game and it isnt a good game either.... In the game all you do is use the arrow keys to turn. When you want to move around you haveto wait until you see a arrow pointing to were you want to go. The press the action button to move. Their is one pro whitch is the graphics. That is the only good thing about that game...