Inspired by the movie itself, the video game from Dusk Till Dawn was released in 2001 with the story set after the events of the movie. Many video game adaptations of movies tends to recreate the original story in video game format with many of them making some needed adjustments to better suit the gameplay. The same goes in reverse, when video games are being made into movies. For the development team to have more freedom with the game’s design, they picked up the story from where the movie left and continues from there. The game has received mixed reviews when it was launched, mostly due to its technical issues, lack of polish and poor AI.
The Setting
The game is played from a third-person perspective, following the movie’s main character, Seth Gecko trying to find his way off the Rising Sun, which is a floating prison. While it may seem like a small place to explore, the environment offers a variety of contrasting rooms, from prison cells to engine rooms and from medical bays to an entire cinema. Having this diversity in the environment is welcomed and offers an incentive for the player to explore all of its different parts. The main focus of the gameplay is purely on action sequences, getting past through the hordes of vampires that have taken over the ship while the objective being helping Seth reaching the top so he can escape.
The Gameplay
The gameplay itself lacked any variety and the graphics were mediocre at best, compared to other titles released during that period, such as Aliens vs Predator 2 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. AvP 2 offered players 3 different campaigns, all of them having different gameplay styles and the visuals were stunning for that time. The game was also nominated as the best action game in 2001.
A month later, Return to Castle Wolfenstein as released by id Software, one of the juggernauts of the gaming industry during that period, which was known to make state of the art shooter games such as Doom and Quake. From Dusk till Dawn offers some experimentation with a variety of weapons at your disposal. Some weapons may not affect particular vampire and which forces the player to use the right weapon for the right job.
The Problems
Escort missions, because everybody loved those. Fortunately, we no longer have to deal with them in today’s video games. Not only was From Dusk Till Dawn guilty of this but also, other well-known games from that period. If done correctly, escort missions can be a lot of fun, sadly, due to the lack of polish and technical issues, the poor AI often get stuck and some are also essential for the story’s progression. This means that when they die, it’s game over.
The control that the player has over the main character is clunky and many times unresponsive, making it difficult to quickly react to situations. The flow of the gameplay is interrupted when switching weapons and when the player gets staggered. What makes the game stand out is the many survivors that the player can encounter on the ship which can follow the player, assisting them in progressing the story. Other times, the group must hold position and defend an area against an onslaught of enemies.
Alternative Games
Another video game adaptation of the well-known franchise has not been made, however, the theme of the movies been adopted and converted into online casino games. Stargames Casino features a slot game called From Dusk Till Dawn along with a wide variety of slot games to choose from. Unlike the 2001 video game, the slot game is based on the movie’s plot line following the Gecko Brothers and their adventure at the bar featured in the movie.
The game is looking like it belongs in the scenes, perfectly matching the movie’s atmosphere and features high-quality animations and sounds. While the casino game may not offer the player action packed experience similar to the movie and the video game, it does provide a more relaxing way to enjoy the experience of the movie in a game format.
