Constantine: From Earth to Hell on Xbox

Constantine has enough going for it to captivate anyone who dares to step into Keanu Reeves’ shoes for a few minutes. From the symbolism woven into every screen—including the music and menus—to its impressive graphics, right down to that special mysticism found in Hellblazer comics. Both the movie and the game are based on one of Alan Moore’s many comics. This isn’t the first time his work has hit the big screen—a few years back, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, starring Sean Connery among others, was also released.

Even though the game is pretty good, Constantine has faced some criticism from Hellblazer comic fans. They don’t like that the game is mostly about killing demons, and to some extent, they might be right—it doesn’t quite capture the essence that made the comic so famous.

Table

Did I just see a cute demon?
Constantine’s Settings
The Graphics
Game Modes
The Music
Gameplay
Final Thoughts

Did I just see a cute demon?

The Xbox game’s plot follows the life of John Constantine, a man who’s literally been to hell and back. Now, he teams up with police officer Angela Dodson to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister. Their investigation takes them through a hidden world of angels and demons beneath Los Angeles. Even though the goal is to catch a psychopath who might help solve the suicide, Constantine’s real enemy is the demon—and the creatures it sends to take over Earth.

From that point on, all we do is kill them. How? With conventional weapons (guns, fists, kicks…) but also some not-so-conventional ones, like The Crucifier, which shoots nails, The Holy Shotgun, which fires crosses, or Toad Bombs… And to keep the game going, every time demons chip away at our health, we can drink an elixir to fully recover.

Magic plays a huge role in Constantine’s life. With powerful spells, he can wipe out hordes of demons. To cast them, the player has to input a button sequence within a time limit. But if we’re attacked or move, the spell gets interrupted. As we progress through the game, our magic skills grow, unlocking more spells along the way.

Constantine’s Settings

Like I mentioned earlier, the game takes place in Los Angeles—but in two completely different worlds: Earth and Hell. Hell’s atmosphere is stunning. The game’s special effects really sell that suffocating heat we’ve always heard about, and you can even see Earth’s "scrap metal" flying overhead, heading straight into Hell’s sky—which isn’t blue like ours, but red and yellow, the colors of fire.

Earth’s settings are also well-crafted—bars, houses, offices, abandoned places—but they’re not as striking as Hell’s. Maybe because we’re used to seeing these kinds of locations in other games.

The Graphics

The fact that the actors from Constantine lent their likenesses to the game gives it an extreme level of realism. Keanu Reeves, Tilda Swinton, Gavin Rossdale, and Max Baker all have their own interactive characters—and let’s be honest, there’s a certain thrill in playing as someone as famous and wealthy as Keanu Reeves for a few hours.

But it’s not just the characters that stand out—it’s the little details. Like seeing smoke drift from Constantine’s nose (he’s a chain smoker) or watching raindrops hit puddles on the ground. These might seem like small touches that many players overlook, but together, they make Constantine the great game it is.

Another standout feature is the night-vision mode for dark areas. In many games, this effect feels half-baked, and dark areas don’t look quite right compared to lit ones—but here, it’s spot-on. You can even use it in broad daylight to inspect hidden nooks and crannies.

Game Modes

There are three difficulty levels, each dripping with the same symbolism that surrounds Constantine: Cheater (Easy), Demon Killer (Medium), and Hellblazer (Hard). Basically, the toughest of the tough.

Before starting, you’ll also choose between two controller setups. They’re almost identical, with the only difference being the camera rotation (180° or 360° turns).

The Music

It’s meticulously crafted. Each screen has music that fits what’s happening—when you’re in Hell, eerie, mystical tunes set the mood, while on Earth, suspenseful tracks keep you on edge, since a demon could jump out at any moment.