E3 2007: Hellboy The Science of Evil Impression

Konami may be pushing the big guns around with their upcoming Metal Gear finale but one of the games not garnering a lot of press – Hellboy The Science of Evil – looked good in action at the E3 Expo. Hellboy sports the design and voices of the films cast and was developed with director Guillermo del Toro and creator Mike Mignola along for the ride. While it was not a hands-on title the demonstrator spent a good deal of time talking about the title and how it fits into the franchise’s legacy.

Players control the red demon with a stony hand as he faces witches, Nazi zombies and chain-gun wielding apes in an attempt to stop the mad scientist Hermann Von Klempt from creating an army of evil minions to take over the world. This brawler features lots of trademark Hellboy humor and a focus on the tough, no nonsense hero. Players can even go into a co-operative mode with a friend who helps Hellboy by playing flame wielder Liz Sherman or the amphibious Abe Sapien.

Watching the game left me with a much greater expectation for the final product. I got the sense that the creators “got” the Hellboy universe, the quirky world of Nazis and brains in a jar. They admitted that of all the main characters to wrap a story around, especially a plotted original story, Hellboy was difficult since he’s not especially known as a chatty character.

Overall the game looked good and ran well on the Xbox 360. The combat appeared to be simple to control and the enemies were fairly intelligent and interesting. That said we’ll have to wait and see how the final product turns out before passing judgment.