chiliqueen's Full Review: Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon for Windows
Dracula 3: Path of the Dragon is the sequel to Microids' two earlier games Dracula: Resurrection and Dracula: The Last Sanctuary. The protagonist is Father Arno Moriani, a priest sent by the Vatican to investigate a local Transylvanian doctor who is slated for sainthood. But his seemingly simple investigation into the good doctor takes several unpredictable twists, and he soon finds himself plunged headfirst into a world of shadowy vampires, a battle that threatens not only his faith but also his life.
The main failing of the game is the *absence* of vampires; you only deal directly with the title character at the very end of a long and tiring journey. The rest of the time, you're researching obscure texts, closely examining artwork, and leafing through hefty tomes of Romanian history that deal with the origins of Dracula, or Vlad Tepes. There are also undercurrents of WWII even though the game is set in 1920 (yep, evil Nazis and bad German accents!). There are only a handful of characters, but the ones you do interact with are generally fleshed out, with unique personalities and solid voicework. During the earlier parts of the game, you rely on telephone calls to keep your Vatican superiors informed of your progress, as well as interview several important secondary characters by phone.
The game takes place in the first person with 360-degree panning, which handles smoothly. There are no timed or fight sequences (there is, however, a maze). You spend your time exploring, reading lots of boring texts (just like college!) and talking (and talking, and talking. To skip ahead, press the space bar during the dialogues). If you're thinking that all of this sounds boring, it can be. There were stretches where I felt that I lacked direction and didn't know how to make the game progress to the next day.
The puzzles themselves are pretty ordinary; there's a wide variety of strategy board games, locks, word puzzles, and inventory-based puzzles. Phlebotomy takes up a large part of the game; if you're squeamish, you probably won't go for the graphic how-to on drawing your own blood several times ("now all that's left is to push the needle deep into the vein!"), or poring over cells under a microscope. Generally, the solutions are quite obvious, although one of the end puzzles requires careful observation and piecing together clues collected throughout the game. One of the features which could have been better utilized was the Bible passages; whenever your character is stressed out (you'll hear his heart beating loudly), you can flip open the Bible to an underlined passage that is directly related to the situation at hand. This action isn't necessary, however, and could have been made a more central element directly related to protecting Father Arno's faith (and sanity). By the last half of the game, the Bible doesn't even come into play (even if Father Arno's heart speeds up, the Bible doesn't light up. Has he joined the Dark Side so soon?). There's also a scene where Arno burns a Bible and crucifix for warmth.
The graphics are lushly drawn, bringing to life the war-torn village with its bombed-out buildings. Ghostly howls ricochet down the empty streets. The lushness of Budapest is a direct contrast to war-ravaged Romania, and you visit rural Turkey as well. Character animations are effective, and the cutscenes are downright gorgeous, with a hazy, dreamlike quality (you're able to replay videos through the gallery feature on the main menu).
The only disappointment was the ending; after so many hours of research and daring escapes, the final confrontation was brief and disappointing. The end cinematics were great, though, and leave openings for future installments. Overall, this is a solidly crafted adventure with loads of atmosphere and political intrigue, but sadly, little of the title character.
Dracula 3 is the REAL next chapter in the Dracula series - following Dracula - Resurrection and Last Sanctuary : Brand-new storyline faithful to the w...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Dracula 3 is the REAL next chapter in the Dracula series - following Dracula - Resurrection and Last Sanctuary Brand-new storyline faithful to the wor...More at Amazon Marketplace
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