The people behind Van Helsing certainly had high hopes for the franchise. Not only was a video game in the works, but a prequel was also released on DVD with a TV show planned for the fall. Opening to mostly negative reviews, the movie failed to break even at the box office. As such, the television show was cancelled, with any hope for a sequel dashed. So if the film didn't do that well, how does the game stack up?

You control Van Helsing as he embarks across 12 missions, inspired by events in the film. Through the journey, you'll battle skeletons, giant owls, creatures that resemble flying vampire cats, Dwergers (think evil Oompa Loompas), floating skeleton heads, and what appear to be the Nazgul from Lord of the Rings.

The gameplay will seem quite familiar to anyone who has played Devil May Cry. Equipped with short and long-range weaponry, Dante, I mean, Van Helsing, battles a near endless supply of foes as he progresses through his missions, solving puzzles and fighting bosses. The puzzles themselves are rather simple, mostly just finding the proper switch to open a door.

As you progress, you'll come across new weapons to upgrade your arsenal. Certain enemies are more vulnerable to specific weaponry, adding a bit of strategy to the basic "run and gun" formula.

What it really boils down to is rather simple, yet somehow enjoyable, gameplay. The first half of the game is literally a cakewalk meant to familiarize players with the basic controls. These missions are easily conquered by simply holding down the targeting trigger while firing whatever weapon is at your disposal. Only in the later levels does the action become enjoyable, as the increased difficulty forces players to think about the situation, choose the right weapon and avoid enemy attacks.

Even in the later levels, using the term "difficulty" is a bit of a stretch. Relative to the first few missions, the later missions are definitely harder, but the save system completely defeats any challenge the game might have presented. As you enter a room, your progress is automatically saved. Therefore, if the player should perish, they've lost no more than ten minutes of playtime

This wouldn't be a problem if Van Helsing offered a substantial quest. Sadly, the single player game can be completed in well under five hours by most gamers. There are incentives to keep playing - secrets to find, cheats to unlock, Xbox Live Scoreboards - but few will actually be determined enough to play through again. Besides, the fun of the Scoreboard competition is spoiled after someone gets a perfect score thanks to the latest Action Replay codes.

Licensed games tend to make heavy use of sound-alikes, as the picture's stars are usually too busy to do voice work. Surprisingly, almost all of the major characters in Van Helsing are voiced by their film counterparts, including Hugh Jackman (Van Helsing) and Richard Roxburgh (Dracula). The only noticeable absence is that of Kate Beckinsale (Anna), whose character is voiced by a sound-alike. Sadly, even with a cast of professional actors, the voice acting is of questionable quality, though the poor script may be more to blame than the actors themselves. Don't get me wrong, I actually had a great deal of fun playing through Van Helsing. Gunning down wave after wave of Dwergers was oddly fulfilling, though not enough to warrant a purchase. No matter how you slice it, the game is far too short - the game clock read 2:37 when I beat it. Give it a rental or pick it up after the eventual price drop, but under no circumstances should one pay full price for Van Helsing.