RETRO – Back in the day, Painkiller proudly boasted the tagline “Heaven’s got a Hitman” — and truth be told, the same slogan would fit Bits Studios’ latest third-person shooter perfectly. In Constantine, players take on the role of a hardened, chain-smoking demon hunter, riddled with lung cancer, who fights to save humanity while getting caught up in the brutal, unending war between angels and demons.

It’s hard to ignore the current boom in comic book movie adaptations. Spider-Man, X-Men, Hulk — and after The Punisher — even the more obscure Hellblazer has gotten its time in the spotlight. Yet unlike the traditional caped crusaders, Hellblazer’s protagonist is anything but heroic in the conventional sense: a grim, deeply cynical man battling terminal illness, whose only advantage lies in his mastery of the occult. It’s no wonder Heaven and the Vatican’s emissaries should be grateful, considering he uses his powers to hunt and eliminate demons — or at the very least, banish them back to hell.

In the film adaptation Constantine, the lead role is taken up by none other than Keanu Reeves, famous for The Matrix. However, die-hard fans of the original comic might be disappointed: this isn’t a faithful recreation of the source material. In the comics, Constantine is a blonde Liverpudlian who looks suspiciously like Sting — a far cry from Reeves’ brooding Los Angeles exorcist. Still, the movie has been met with positive reactions worldwide. More relevant to us, though, is the recent launch of the video game adaptation — a title that not only ties directly into the film but also faithfully recreates Keanu Reeves’ likeness.

Neo, the demon hunter

The action kicks off immediately as Constantine — played by Keanu Reeves — storms into a decrepit apartment where a woman lies strapped to a bed. If you’ve ever seen The Exorcist, you can probably guess what’s about to unfold: Constantine prepares to banish the demon inhabiting her body using his tried-and-true occult rituals. Without spoiling the details, let’s just say the game delivers one of the most gripping and entertaining openings in recent memory.

After this explosive start, Constantine retreats to his grim, filthy, and utterly bleak office. There, Beeman — his only real friend and steadfast ally — fills him in on the latest supernatural disturbances, guiding both Constantine and the player deeper into the story.

Yet here’s where the cracks start to show. The developers made the mistake of assuming players were already familiar with the movie or the Hellblazer comics. Just like Enter the Matrix before it, Constantine leans heavily on the film to deliver its backstory. So if you’re wondering where Constantine’s powers come from, why he battles demons, or how all of this ties into the underworld and the fate of humanity… you’ll find yourself completely in the dark.

Straight forward

Constantine’s gameplay feels like a throwback to classic third-person shooters. If you’re familiar with the Legacy of Kain series, you’ll immediately recognize a similar mechanic: just like Raziel or Kain, Constantine can shift between two planes of existence. In his case, players can transition between Earth and Hell at specific points during the adventure. To trigger a “Hellblaze,” Constantine must find water — standing in a puddle and muttering an occult incantation sends him into Hell’s nightmarish landscape. To return to Earth, he must force water violently from his own body, severing the connection. Much like in Legacy of Kain, the locations in Hell mirror their Earthly counterparts, albeit twisted and grotesque versions of them.

Take, for example, a museum: while immaculate and orderly on Earth, it appears rotten, decayed, and engulfed in hellfire on the other side. Although the concept isn’t groundbreaking, it serves the game’s grim, oppressive tone quite well. Still, I missed the freedom to switch realms anytime I wanted — here, transitions are only possible at predetermined spots, unlike in Legacy of Kain. Shifting to Hell is usually necessary to bypass obstacles that block the path forward. While the mechanic is clever, it becomes frustrating that the game constantly points you in the right direction, leaving little room for exploration or puzzle-solving.

„Say, Constantine, haven’t we met before somewhere?”

Of course, Constantine doesn’t just borrow ideas from Legacy of Kain — it also wears its Max Payne influences proudly on its sleeve. Much like Remedy’s groundbreaking third-person shooter, gunplay is the heart and soul of the action here. The twist? Instead of mowing down gangsters, you’re blasting demons — and that ordinary shotgun? It’s now a Holy Shotgun. Wow. While Bits Studios deserves some credit for injecting a bit of supernatural flair, don’t expect the most original arsenal in gaming history. Most of the weapons may have cool-sounding names, but in practice, they behave like the same standard loadouts we’ve seen in countless other shooters.

Controlling Constantine feels instantly familiar if you’ve spent any time with Max Payne or The Suffering. Thankfully, Bits Studios didn’t try to reinvent the wheel — unlike other third-person shooters that often collapse under clumsy “innovations,” the game sticks to the tried-and-true FPS-style mouse handling. As a PC player, you’ll feel right at home.

That said, the opening moments of the game left me a little cold. Enemy encounters are surprisingly sparse at first, giving off an uncomfortable survival-horror vibe, as if the developers were reluctant to fully embrace the shooter roots. Fortunately, things pick up later on, when Constantine is swarmed by relentless hordes of demons, determined to strip him of his lungs — and his life.

Harry Potter – though in a different way

Beyond the standard run-and-gun action, Constantine also wields a variety of magical abilities that players must use throughout the game. Over time, you’ll unlock spells like Lightning Strike, Exorcism, and Godly Shield. While none of the spells are particularly groundbreaking — and I doubt Hellraiser creator Clive Barker lost any sleep over not inventing these — they fit the tone of the game well and prove to be quite useful in practice.

Casting spells works a lot like the old Harry Potter games: you need to press a sequence of buttons correctly to trigger the effect. Thankfully, there’s no rush — time freezes while you’re inputting the spell, and won’t resume until the magic takes effect. It’s a smart system that adds a welcome layer of strategy to the frantic demon-slaying.

However, not all spells are created equal. Outside of Lightning Strike, Godly Shield, and Demon Leech, most magical abilities feel more like filler than essential tools. Hurling bolts of lightning, Star Wars-style, was easily the highlight, especially since it consumed relatively little magic, allowing me to lean on it heavily during regular encounters — and saving the bigger guns for the boss fights.

Couleur locale

It’s clear that the game’s depiction of Hell benefited greatly from the graphic designers, with a little help from the movie’s art team as well. Most of the demons look both spectacular and genuinely terrifying. The air ripples with heat, houses stand battered and broken like war-torn ruins, car wrecks litter the streets, and the interiors are surprisingly detailed and atmospheric. Sadly, the same care wasn’t given to the Earthly environments.

While you’ll often explore the Earth-side versions of Hell’s landmarks, most of your time is spent roaming familiar TPS territory: drab apartments, empty streets, soulless office buildings, and grimy prisons. It’s a real shame, because the creativity seems to dry up once you leave Hell behind. Nearly every Earth location feels bland and uninspired, and the developers try to compensate by drenching everything in darkness — presumably to spook players.

Unfortunately, the attempt falls flat. You’re constantly flipping “demon sight” on and off — a mechanic that works more like standard night vision goggles from military shooters than anything atmospheric. The character designs follow a similar pattern. Constantine himself is detailed and well-crafted, but most of the human NPCs are forgettable, with stiff animations that sap the life out of them.

The demons fare much better. Many of them are genuinely disturbing, although their designs feel more reminiscent of The Suffering than Silent Hill’s more psychological horror. In fact, there’s even a monster that looks like it was lifted straight out of The Suffering, which hardcore horror fans will spot immediately.

Watch it, play it, forget it!

Constantine is a textbook example of a third-person shooter that’s worth playing once — ideally right after watching the movie. It delivers a solid dose of tension, atmosphere, and intrigue, but don’t expect it to leave a lasting impression. Chances are you won’t feel compelled to revisit it.

The game is relatively short and leans on the easy side, ultimately landing it in the “decent but forgettable” category. Still, it’s a fun ride while it lasts — the perfect way to spend a weekend if you’re looking to extend the movie’s grim, supernatural vibe just a little bit longer.

-BadSector-(2005)

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Bits Studios, SCi Games

Genre: Action, TPS

Relase date: 2005