From Dusk Till Dawn is loosely based on the movie of the same name, as we find the hero Seth Gecko imprisoned on a prison boat. Of course, just like every good action flick, something goes awry - this time around, a bunch of vampires somehow get aboard your prison ship and start going on a nibbling spree, turning everyone into creatures of the night.

Graphically, the game isn't too much to get hyped up about. The character models themselves aren't the greatest in the world, but then again, they shouldn't be expected to. The detail in the game is all very solid, but nothing really stood out to me. What really annoyed me was that many of the levels often have repeating architecture, and you'll discover that right from the first level. Going from corridor to corridor, each having the same type of look to them is kind of annoying, although it is kind of expected (hell, we ARE on a ship, after all). The environments themselves are good, with lots of nice little details and lighting effects, but much like the characters themselves, they won't cause you to go bug-eyed over everything.

One awesome gimmick that From Dusk Till Dawn has relates to the use of the action button, which allows you to complete various tasks, one of which is to utilize the stake that you have strapped to the inside of your arm. The process of shooting some vampire's leg off, and then finishing it off with a sweet thrust to the heart is something that's satisfying, although a little bit sickening if you think about it. There are actually different cutscenes when you off a vampire in this manner, and best of all is that you actually get health back for a stylish kill! Unfortunately the weapon selection aside from the stake isn't too great. You start off with a taser, which is kind of useless against most enemies, as well as picking up other standard weapons such as a shotgun and pistols. It's kind of a shame that GameSquad didn't take the time to think up of some more creative artillery, but it can be forgive. Then again, there's one really cool weapon called the CD launcher. Much like a rocket launcher, this little puppy actually shoots off CDs that have slight homing abilities and can bounce off the wall to hit multiple targets. Any similarities between this weapon and Xena's Chakram are purely coincidental folks!

Another neat feature that FDTD has are some of the sweet modes that you'll be required to play during the course of the game. At certain points of the game, you'll have to take up arms with a sniper rifle or a gatling gun. Both are great fun to play, although it's disappointed that they appear very rarely in the actual game. What I enjoyed a lot about FDTD is that it actually allowed you to switch between third and first person perspectives. Other games may do this now, but for some other games such as Half-Life or Quake III, I really wish this option was in it. The controls are quite simple in the game, as it is for any type of shooter. The left mouse button lets you shoot, while the right button is an action button (more on this later). While the default controls aren't the typical WASD format that many FPS games use, they're easily changable, which is always great.

Finally, the script (penned by Alone in the Dark's Hubert Chardot) is actually not too bad, which was a complete surprise to me. The dialogue that occurs during cut-scenes can be downright amusing, and although the sound tends to skip at times (or perhaps it's just my PC). The ambient effects in the game are a nice touch as well, and man, there aren't too many times when I heard a sound and said "What was that?"; usually I said "Oh crap, there are 4 vampires breathing down my neck".

Unfortunately, that's where the good ends and the bad elements rear their ugly head. The main problem with From Dusk Till Dawn is that the levels aren't very well designed, which can obviously cause problems with the enjoyment of the game. While I did mention that many of the early levels do get repetitive, the latter part of the game actually gets better, and certainly makes up for the drab beginning of the game. One thing that does irk me is that some of the objectives you need to accomplish in the game are kind of confusing or annoying. Some levels require you to go hunting for enemies so that a door may magically unlock, or protect an unarmed character from the baddies. While they certainly aren't exercises in frustration, they can bog down the otherwise great pacing that the game possesses.

Like many movie to game translations, From Dusk Till Dawn isn't the best game ever, but it's still very solid. Sure, the graphics may not be the best ever, and the sound won't be winning any awards, but the gameplay is there, and it's actually fun to mow down hordes of nethercreatures with a machine gun and then drive a stake through their souls. In the end, it may not be that impulse game that everyone just needs to have, but it doesn't deserve being ignored either.

· · · Reno