Introduction

Let's Play Hellboy: The Science of Evil:

Hellboy is a (somewhat) well known series by comics writer and artist Mike Mignola. It is heavily inspired by all things supernatural and bizarre, including Lovecraftian lore, old pulp magazines, and much folklore. Only two games centered around the material were ever released: this one, and a Resident Evil clone for the PSX/PC way back in 2000. Seven years later, Science of Evil takes inspiration from the first movie in more than a few ways, but has an atmosphere and storyline far more similar to the comics. Expect many spooky ghosts.


What kind of LP is this?

Video LP, post commentary, 100%. Plain and simple. I'll show off the co-operative multiplayer, as well.


Why should I care?

The Science of Evil supposedly received direct input from Mike Mignola, and has some pretty damn good voice acting courtesy of Ron Perlman. Whether that first bit is true, I have no idea, but the storyline is actually clever and well thought out, all things considered. It sets up a pretty involving mystery with a lot of questions, and trusts the player to connect the smaller dots as it pulls together the big ones. The gameplay isn't nearly as involving or interesting, but thanks to the art direction, animation, and consistent dedication to making Science of Evil (however linear it may be) feel like a cohesive world, it's still an entertaining experience.


What's wrong with the gameplay?

Nothing, really. The game plays out as a beat em up, using the "light attack/heavy attack" system that most are familiar with, encouraging alternative weaponry, light combo experimentation, and grappling. It actually does a good job keeping things interesting. If you enjoy beat em ups, anyway. If you don't, it can feel incredibly repetitive and sluggish. The game did receive very negative press on release, and for the above-mentioned reason, it's definitely not for everyone. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and I believe it has ideas worth sharing.

Let's get to investigating. And please, for the love of everything, no spoilers. The story is by far the most interesting feature.


Episode List:

Chapter One: Witch Hunt
Chapter Two: Obviously Offended Oni
Chapter Three: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Chapter Four: Disgusting Discoveries
Chapter Five: Wiggly Odd Round Monster
Chapter Six: Climactic Castle Confrontation



Hellboy: The Stench of Evil



Seriously, "The Stench of Evil?"

Yes. The Stench of Evil (also just known as Hellboy Mobile), is a simple side-scroller developed by G5 Software and published through Konami's Online Mobile studio. It was released in 2008, probably for promotion alongside Hellboy II, although much like Science of Evil, it has far more in common with the comics. As this is just side-content for Science of Evil, and a mobile game at that, don't expect a long journey.

Episode List:

Chapter One: Sewer Nazis
Chapter Two: Spooky Nazis
Chapter Three: Cave Nazis
Chapter Four: Magic Nazis



Hellboy: Asylum Seeker



The only remaining Hellboy video-game, most people have never seen more than five minutes, and it has an intensely bad reputation. Developed by Cryo Studios USA (previously Dark Horse Games), it was originally released as "Dogs of The Night". It first surfaced for the PC in 2000 after 4 years of troubled development. This, however, is the PlayStation port, which came out another four years later, when a little company called Hoplite Research decided to cash in on the movie. The game's combat, puzzles, graphics, controls, camera, and story were all very negatively received by both the gaming community and professional critics.

Why should I care?



That. And, well, the game has that magical Hellboy charm to it. This was before Ron Perlman, of course, and the voice acting overall isn't nearly as fantastic as Science of Evil's. That being said, the idiosyncrasies of the comic all made the transition intact. From the humor to the supernatural lore, it's all here somewhere: you just need to dig for it.

So let's get started.

Episode List:

Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Music Book
Episode Four
Episode Five
Episode Six


That's all! Thank you for watching!