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Can the Prince of Darkness help breathe life into adventure gaming?

Adventure gaming has been on life support for some time now. And this is a sad fact for me to admit, since some of my most fond memories are of guiding unwitting heroes through a global chase to "get the bad guy", solving puzzles around each corner, and meticulously exploring each room for any piece of evidence to the overall mystery. Adventure games are just that, a great mystery. They all have a story to tell, and they thrive on being able to suck players into their world. But gaming has evolved, where the old point-and-click games of item-hunting and mystery-solving have not.

With the majority of gaming audiences now needing explosions, gun-fire, and full hands-on play with their gaming experiences, it is great to see a developer willing to attempt to revive our beloved genre. Frogware Studio's recent release of Dracula: Origin is a great start in bringing adventure-based mysteries back to our modern circle of gaming.

You play as Dracula's archrival, Professor Van Helsing. The game begins as Van Helsing is investigating a flood of murders around London. But soon you find your friend is being held by Dracula, and his wife has been bitten. Not only this, but Dracula is after the ancient "Demonomicon" the secret that could cause Armageddon.

The plot moves nicely and pulls the player through the game. While the voice acting is campy at times, the writing is done very well. The plot's inevitable climax at the end is satisfying - if somewhat limited by the gameplay - and leaves you with the feeling as though you had just come to the end of a long journey.