Prima Games A Division of Random House,Inc. 3000 Lava Ridge Court Roseville,CA 95661 1-800-733-3000 www.primagames.com Michael Searle The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of Random House, Contents Inc.,registered in the United States and other countries. Primagames.com is a registered trademark of Random House,Inc., registered in the United States. Monster Mash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 © 2004 by Prima Games. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, Van Helsing’s Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 electronic or mechanical,including photocopying,recording,or by any infor- mation storage or retrieval system without written permission from Prima Games. Prima Games is a division of Random House,Inc. Armory Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Product Manager:Jill Hinckley Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Project Editor:Teli Hernandez Design:Melissa Francis Cheat Glyphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Layout:Scott Watanabe “Van Helsing”interactive game © 2004 Vivendi Universal Games,Inc. Van Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Helsing ™ and © Universal Studios. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLLP. All rights reserved. Vivendi Universal Games and the Vivendi Universal Games logo are trademarks of Vivendi Universal Games,Inc. “PlayStation”and Monster Hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 the “PS”Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft,Xbox,and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are property of their Mission 1:Vaseria Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 respective owners. All products and characters mentioned in this book are trademarks of their Mission 2:Vaseria Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 respective companies. Please be advised that the ESRB rating icons,“EC”,“K-A”,“E”,“T”,“M”,“AO” Mission 3:Igor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 and “RP”are copyrighted works and certification marks owned by the Entertainment Software Association and the Entertainment Software Rating Mission 4:The Wolf Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Board and may only be used with their permission and authority. Under no circumstances may the rating icons be self-applied or used in connection with any product that has not been rated by the ESRB. For information regarding Mission 5:Castle Frankenstein . . . . . . . . . . .79 whether a product has been rated by the ESRB,please call the ESRB at 1-800- 771-3772 or visit www.esrb.org. For information regarding licensing issues, Mission 6:Frankenstein Cave . . . . . . . . . . . .90 please call the ESA at (212) 223-8936. Please note that ESRB ratings only apply to the content of the game itself and does NOT apply to the content of this book. Mission 7:Return to Castle Frankenstein . . .94 Important: Prima Games has made every effort to determine that the information contained in this book is accurate. However,the publisher makes no warranty,either Mission 8:Escape from expressed or implied,as to the accuracy,effectiveness,or completeness of the Castle Frankenstein . . . . . . . . . .102 material in this book; nor does the publisher assume liability for damages,either incidental or consequential,that may result from using the information in this Mission 9:Forest Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 book. The publisher cannot provide information regarding game play,hints and strategies,or problems with hardware or software. Questions should be directed to the support numbers provided by the game and device manufacturers in their Mission 10:Werewolf’s Curse . . . . . . . . . . .110 documentation. Some game tricks require precise timing and may require repeated attempts before the desired result is achieved. Mission 11:Assault on Castle Dracula . . . .114 ISBN:0-7615-4567-0 Mission 12:Dracula’s Demise . . . . . . . . . . .123 Monster Mash For someone who can’t recall his past,Van Helsing sure remembers how to slay Transylvanian monsters. As the Vatican’s premiere monster hunter,you’re sent to the land that holds secrets to your mysterious past—and coincidentally holds the master vampire himself,Dracula. Through a series of 12 quests for the Vatican,you fight through Dracula’s minions, uncovering strange and wondrous items along the way,as you stock up on experience and power for the ultimate battle with your vampiric nemesis. Van Helsing visits all sorts of locales such as a church or a train station. Figure out the link between the three main bosses—The Wolf Man,Frankenstein,and the vampire Dracula—and you learn the true reasons for your journey to this monstrous place. Of course,to do so,you have to become a deadly monster hunter,knowing all your crazy combat maneuvers and the specialties of each weapon. If not,creatures such as the shadow bats,fire wraiths,or living statues will make sure the Vatican priests assign last rites to one more victim. Van Helsing arrives at his first mission in ill humor, perfect for hunting monsters. Lure of the Lore Transylvania Travels Whether you’re fighting gargoyles or searching for treasure by fire braziers, Your first adversary is the mad Dr. Jeckyl and his always be on full alert. infamous “other half.” The first seven chapters of this strategy guide outline your From your first pre-adventure at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, moves,equipment,and combat tactics for fighting the evil tide France,where you battle the man-monstrosity Hyde,you head choking Transylvania. From the eighth chapter to the end,a deeper into Eastern Europe to the hotspot of monster activity— walkthrough of each mission details all the monsters,items, Transylvania. Dracula and his minions have been busy,and as cheat glyphs,and unexpected surprises you’ll face. soon as you arrive at the village of Vaseria,you know the going won’t be easy—the whole town’s overrun with fell spirits. Searching for the Princess Anna and her links to the Transylvanian mystery,you wander through the village, graveyard,and surrounding wilderness. The farther you progress,the more clues you gain to unravel the mystery. Unfortunately,you’re also harassed by gargoyles,shadow warriors,and demons,among other monsters. Hand to hand can prove more harmful to your health than a ranged attack. 2 MONSTER Mash “Van Helsing’s Moves”details all your moves as Van Goodbye Twilight Helsing. You begin with Air Strike and Grapple Jump,but there are seven more moves to purchase with power glyphs at the Armory after each mission. Is Melee Explosion the best move? Will you want Scimitar Swing before you find your Dual Scimitars? Is Air Hop destined to be picked last? Get all your answers in the next section. “Armory Items”gives you the breakdown on the Armory’s inventory,which includes moves as well as one-shot items such as Life Replenishers,Ammo Replenishers,and Speed Boosts. When you want to beef up Van Helsing’s stats,dip into The shadows aren’t just the monsters’ the Armory for the various “increasers”that raise his life, friend. Finish off the fiends before they know what ammo,and finishing move slots permanently. hit them. It’s time to banish the cloud hanging over Transylvania and return some light to the dark land. You start out beating on the lowly creatures of the night,but given some time and resources,Dracula will soon be yours. Just don’t stop for a bite of lunch along the way,‘cause you never know who you’ll run into in this neck of the woods. Dodge attacks to stay alive until you reach the biggest baddie of them all. In “Weapons,”you’ll learn about all your weapons,including the alternate forms of each one,and how effective they are against each monster. “Cheat Glyphs”showcases the cheat glyphs in the game. Most of the cheat glyphs are just for fun (Ghost Body,for example,turns Van Helsing into a shadow of his former self). However,some cheat glyphs,such as Big Melee and Unlimited Speed,can make a huge impact on game play. “Monsters”shows all Van Helsing’s monsters and the secrets that make them tick. How much more damage will a dire owl take from a Gas-powered Crossbow? Can Frankenstein really throw 10 different attacks at you? Does the living statue have more life than you? Finally,“Monster Hunting”wraps it all up,from the basics of dodging an attack to advanced tactics such as reloading your alternate ammunition with the Lightning Gun. We’ve provided a blueprint for how to slay monsters and bosses. From the basics of dodging an attack to advanced tactics such as reloading your alternate ammunition with the Lightning Gun,we’ve provided a blueprint for how to slay monsters and bosses. 3 Van Helsing’s Moves Your second beginning move,Air Strike,gives you an added facet in close combat. Instead of the standard forward swings,Air Strike enables you to uppercut an opponent straight up in the air. Once a monster’s in the air,you can take advantage of it in all sorts of ways. Just master the combo moves that follow in this chapter (or the ones discussed in the monster hunting section) and the Air Strike serves as a nice set-up to grander maneuvers. To keep your face scar-free, learn to dodge. You’re not a football player who tackles monsters into submission. If you were to go the bare hands and muscle route,the first evil undead would bury you in its old grave. You’ve got to rely on certain near-superhuman moves that keep the monsters off your back and collecting broken parts for nights to come. Uppercut enemies into the clouds with Air Strike. The Breakdown At the end of each mission,you can head to the Armory to purchase your special moves. Some are better than others, depending on its cost and its ability to help you in combat situations. A move such as Grapple Strike serves many different functions,while the Scimitar Swing maneuver is formidable but can be applied only late in the game after you obtain the Dual Scimitars. Beginning with the best bargain,Grapple Strike,and ending with the worst,Air Hop,the moves on the following pages are shown in the recommended order you Special moves help you get out of tight situations. should purchase them. There are excep- Besides your standard jump and dodge moves,you begin with tions,though. If you go back to the Tojo two special moves that don’t have to be purchased in the Blades often,pick up Tojo Fire earlier Armory. Grapple Jump propels you forward to nearly the point than Ground Strike. If you like to of where your fired grappling hook landed. The advantage is battle enemies in the air that you’re airborne and can leap over obstacles and hungry constantly,don’t wait until last monsters. Where the regular grapple slide can inadvertently to buy Air Hop. tangle you amid a mess of monsters,the Grapple Jump move Just plan your purchases avoids the traffic and sets you up to attack from a better wisely. You can gather only vantage point. so many power glyphs throughout the game,so you can’t buy some of these skills until the later missions,or maybe not until a second playing of the game. Buy the moves that most complement your playing style first,and worry about the extra touches later. Leap long distances with the Grapple Jump move. 4 Van Helsing’s Moves The Moves #1 Grapple Strike Description COST: 500 ATTACKFORMS: Tojo Blades: 8 damage Talk about a winning combination:Grapple Strike costs the least of all combat Alternate Tojo: 15 damage maneuvers and offers the most combat combinations with other moves. Aim at an Dual Scimitars: 6 damage enemy,fire out your grappling hook,and drag the beast back for some close- Alternate Dual combat pounding. Use Grapple Strike to get some cheap shots on monsters or pull Scimitars: 12 damage them in from off screen. Combat Tricks When you pull a monster close with the Grapple Strike,your default attack is a straight shot to the kisser with either Tojo Blades or Dual Scimitars. These simple moves deal decent damage and set up minor combo flourishes,so practice hammering on the monsters until you find something basic you can perform without thinking. This is your fallback whenever time is short. Otherwise,Grapple Strike offers several more complex combinations. Try reeling a monster in and immediately following up with a Projectile Strike (a ranged attack in the midst of your melee attacks). You can pump up your damage this way and continue your combo string longer. The same applies to Air Strike and Ground Strike. When a monster is at your mercy,continue the pressure to deal a series of damaging blows. When you want to get fancy,try the Grapple Strike Air move. While drawing in an opponent,hold back on the left thumbstick. This catapults the helpless monster into the air where you can perform all sorts of nasty tricks. To continue the merciless pounding, combo with the Grapple Strike Air Follow move by holding the grapple button while also holding back on the left thumbstick. You continue to melee up in the air,punishing the creature before it fully recovers. Back on terra firma,perform a Grapple Strike Ground move when you sense an opening on an incoming creature. While drawing in an opponent,press forward on the left thumbstick and drive it into the ground. Your combos will have the fiends grappling with disaster every time. 5 #2 Dodge-Fire Description COST: 1,500 ATTACKFORMS: Pistols (Back): 1 damage While rolling backward or sideways to avoid attacks during a dodge Pistols (Side): 1 damage maneuver,Dodge-Fire automatically fires at the enemy a certain percentage Alternate Pistols (Back): 3 damage of the time. It costs 1,500 power glyphs,which is steep for its occasional Alternate Pistols (Side): 3 damage damage,but you can’t beat free damage against tougher opponents such as Shotgun (Back): 2 damage the bosses. Shotgun (Side): 2 damage Alternate Shotgun (Back): 4 damage Combat Tricks Alternate Shotgun (Side): 4 damage Gas-Powered Crossbow (Back): 3 damage Dodge-Fire doesn’t require any additional work on your part. The same Gas-Powered Crossbow (Side): 3 damage button combination for your dodge works here,so you tack on extra Dodge- Alternate Gas-Powered Fire damage while defending. When you’re up against fearsome opponents Crossbow (Back): 10 damage such as The Wolf Man and Dracula,three extra damage from a sideways Alternate Gas-Powered Alternate Pistols dodge or 10 from a backward Alternate Gas-Powered Crossbow (Side): 10 damage Crossbow dodge adds up to a victory in a close battle. #3 Ground Strike Description COST: 1,500 ATTACKFORMS: Tojo Blades: 10 damage This special maneuver pummels enemies into the ground. Occasionally,Ground Alternate Tojo Blades: 18 damage Strike pops a monster up into the air,which is great for continuing to whack an Dual Scimitars: 10 damage enemy while it’s helpless. Alternate Dual Scimitars: 17 damage Combat Tricks In close combat,call on this move over and over. It’s quick and can knock opponents back,giving you room to pull off combos and avoid less damage. Instead of going wild with your Tojo Blades or Dual Scimitars,the Ground Strike maneuver provides steady crowd control. When you attempt consecutive combinations,Ground Strike sets you up much as Grapple Strike does. If you can pop enemies into the air,you can navigate under them for all sorts of follow ups,including Air Strike and your normal jump attack. At worst,you can roll with just Ground Strike; if you can stun the target with the first Ground Strike,you may counterattack multiple times before the monster can screw its head back on straight. 6 Van Helsing’s Moves #4 Melee Explosion Description COST: 2,000 ATTACKFORMS: Alternate Tojo: 10 damage This move is used only with Alternate Tojo Blades or Alternate Dual Scimitars. A ring Alternate Dual of ice or fire explodes from the last hit of your close-combat combo and deals extra Scimitars: 10 damage damage. You must launch a full combo,though,for it to be effective. Combat Tricks Unlike Tojo Fire and Scimitar Swing,which are tied to a particular weapon,Melee Explosion works on all your close-combat attacks. It’s an extra 10 damage tacked on to a successful combo,which can add up in a hurry. Later in the game when the monsters start to get serious,melee attacks bail you out of swarm situations. Melee Explosion makes that sort of maneuver more effective by clearing a larger area for you to dance around in,or maybe killing off an extra monster or two. No one wants to fall short of a big battle by a couple of life points and,as Dodge-Fire does with ranged weapons,Melee Explosion gives you that extra kick for good measure. #5 Tojo Fire Description COST: 2,000 ATTACKFORMS: Tojo Blades: 10 damage As if you didn’t have enough ranged weapons at your disposal,Tojo Fire lets you Alternate Tojo: 18 damage hold your Tojo attack to fling the blades at your opponents. The final hit of a Tojo Fire attack always causes a knockback reaction. This move falls farther down on the list because,though it’s cool looking,most of the time you’d prefer a real ranged attack rather than flinging your Tojo Blades. Combat Tricks During fierce combat,it can be difficult to switch from a melee weapon to a ranged one. While attempting to switch from your Dual Scimitars to Alternate Shotgun,you may take some hits in that crucial second when you glance away. Sometimes,you click on the wrong weapon by accident and start firing with a weaker weapon against the monsters. Tojo Fire eliminates that hassle. By holding the attack button,you fling your blades across any open space and strike your opponents at range. On the plus side are the ease of attack,big damage if you score multiple hits,and the ability to cause knockback. The downside is that it has a long windup and it’s still a Tojo Blade and won’t penetrate monster defense as well as most other ranged weapons. Unless you know you have the monsters’ numbers and want to give the blades an extra workout,you can find quicker methods of monster execution through your other toys. 7 #6 Scimitar Swing Description COST: 1,000 ATTACKFORMS: Dual Scimitars: 10 damage This cheap move causes good damage,but it’s number six on the list for a reason. Alternate Dual First,you need to have Dual Scimitars to use the move,and they come later in the Scimitars: 17 damage missions. Second,you need to combo the Scimitar Swing move with the Ground Strike move,which isn’t easy. Master this combo,though,and you inflict serious harm on the enemy’s side. Combat Tricks Dual Scimitars are generally an upgrade to Tojo Blades. They offer a little more damage in most categories,and more importantly,a longer reach in combat to keep those pesky critters off your back. Scimitar Swing plays into this strategy because it clears huge chunks of creatures out of the way,or makes them into chunks. Use this maneuver when surrounded; if successful,it frees you almost immediately. Against the game’s toughest common monster,the living statue,Scimitar Swing can battle them back and even knock them to their knees. If it does this to bigger monsters,imagine what it does to the little guys who were afraid of your Pistols the first time around. #7 Air Hop Description COST: 1,000 ATTACKFORMS: None; Supplemental Maneuver After holding the Air Strike attack button to rise into the air,press a direction and tap your jump to leap farther up into thin air. Because it’s not an attack,but more of a show-off move,Air Hop should be purchased last. Combat Tricks You can dance around with Air Hop and look like a god,but it doesn’t help you in combat unless you really work it. Air Hop allows you to stay airborne longer,which gives you a bird’s eye perspective of the battleground that you can use to your advantage. While you descend,bring out your ranged weaponry and fire down at your enemies. More height from Air Hop means more chances to fire from the relative safety of thin air (just watch out for those soaring bats and gargoyles). With the Shotgun you can get off a single shot,though Air Hop can add to your Pistols’ and Gas-Powered Crossbow’s firing time while falling. For the lowest priority, it’s still not a bad maneuver,so when you save up,spend your hard-earned power glyphs on Air Hop before you start stockpiling loads of Life and Ammo Replenishers. 8 Armory Items Armory Items Most of your power glyphs come from killing monsters. Search everywhere for power glyphs, including breakable structures such as statues. You only have 12 opportunities to purchase supplies. After each The following pages list the best-bargain items in order. Life successful mission,you earn a trip to the Armory,a store Increasers rank at the top because they help keep you alive selling all the various items and moves. Have fun spending longer throughout all the game’s challenges,while Ammo your glyphs! Replenishers rank low because you can replenish ammo without an item fairly quickly. However,that doesn’t mean the rankings are set in stone. If you’re heading into a fight with a tough boss such as Dracula and want to stock up on Ammo Replenishers to use your Alternate Pistols that much quicker, it’s a smart move that might keep you from buying another Life Increaser till the next mission. Plan ahead when buying your items. Don’t spend all your power glyphs on Life Replenishers thinking that you’ll gather Cheat glyphs do entertaining things to the game, the same amount next mission. Depending on the length of while Ammo Replenishers fill your secondary each mission,you can gather several hundred power glyphs to ammo supply. several thousand; it’s not always the same amount. When in During the game,you have a chance to collect life,cheat, doubt,buy the permanent items,the “increasers,”first because and power glyphs. Life glyphs give you a boost in life points, you can never lose them. while cheat glyphs unlock a special effect in your inventory that changes a game property in a funny or game-breaking Armory Wares way. Power glyphs,however,are the most important,as they equate to cash. To gain moves and buy items,you need lots of power glyphs. Item Original Price(in power glyphs) Air Hop 1,000 The Breakdown Ammo Increaser 1,000 Ammo Replenisher 500 Dodge-Fire 1,500 Finisher Slot 2,500 Grapple Strike 500 Ground Strike 1,500 Life Increaser 1,000 Life Replenisher 500 Melee Explosion 2,000 Scimitar Swing 1,000 Speed Boost 800 Tojo Fire 2,000 The Armory sells items and moves. Don’t waste your glyphs at the Armory. Depending on your current needs,you might decide to splurge on a particular item,such as a Life Increaser to permanently gain life points or a Speed Boost to help in an upcoming fight against a boss. If you don’t have any immediate needs,consider saving up to buy the more expensive items later. 9