Hellboy: The Science of Evil had such high promise not to be a generic
God of War clone with
Hellboy instead of Kratos. Unfortunately, it does not live up to that promise.
Hellboy: The Science of Evil is very derivative and disappointing in its attempt to be like the pugilistic god-killer. The player has to guide
Hellboy through each level by beating the pulp out of enemies and solving simple puzzles. The progression throughout the entire game is so linear that the time spent to make this game would have been better spent on making an animated feature film. There is no sense of freedom or choice, it is simply to follow the rigid path set before
Hellboy and kill all the enemies to reach the end of the level. There is a co-op mode offered for two people with a copy of the game through Ad-Hoc play. The co-op mode changes up the level design a bit, while forcing the focus of the game into more of a
Gauntlet feel than anything else. Both players run around the environment collecting shards and tokens to battle each other for a high score. The advantage is always in the hosting player's court since they will not experience any lag. There are three characters to play with in multiplayer, but the player hosting the game is forced to play as
Hellboy, while the friend has the option to play as fishboy Abe Sapien or the pyromaniac Liz Sherman.
The combat in Hellboy: The Science of Evil is very bland and uninspired and apparently never had any thought put behind it. Hellboy fights using combos, items, and his trusty gun to battle his way through each of the six levels. The basic combo is enough to kill most of the enemies in the game, while using the uber-powered sidearm takes care of anything else. Hellboy only gets ten shots in his gun, so he has to consider using it sparingly. However the game throws extra bullet pickups around so frequently it never becomes a real issue. The player unlocks new moves by collecting crystal shards which, in turn, also unlocks bonus features like concept art and interviews with those involved. The gameplay isn't really Hellboy's strong suit. What it does do well is create a humorous and odd story to read.
Any game that has demons, witches, robo-gorillas, magic, and mad Nazi scientists is okay in my book. This game tells some backstory on Hellboy while he works at the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense or BPRD for short. What starts off as an ordinary investigation into an evil witch terrorizing a small village eventually crosses paths with Hermann von Klempt. Klempt is the floating head of a Nazi scientist that wants to find ancient artifacts in order to conquer the world. The story is really cool and interesting, it is just plain wrong that it is told so poorly. Since it is the PSP version, there are hand drawn cutscenes that tell some story with some in-game dialogue here and there. But everything that is being told goes by so quickly that there should be a rewind button in order to catch it all. And for a game so short, it really needs all the help it can get in order to keep the players' attention.
