New hands on with Hellboy: The Science of Evil

It's been almost a year since we last wrapped our mitts around the PSP version of Hellboy: The Science of Evil. In the ten months following our previous look during E3 2007, Konami has taken the effort to improve the game in a number of ways, from vastly overhauling the presentation to tightening the controls. During Konami Gamers' Night last week, Hellboy: The Science of Evil re-emerged looking buffer than ever.

As you might recall from our earlier preview, Hellboy's handheld adventure comes as a result of the evil machinations of Hermann von Klempt. The game is set for release in conjunction with the new movie, although here you'll find more ties to the graphic novels than film.

Stopping von Klempt means bashing foes worldwide, beginning high in the Carpathian Mountains. It's here that we started the game.

For unknown reasons, the Carpathian Mountains are home to a graveyard into which Hellboy must trespass to locate a cranky old witch. Seconds in, Hellboy falls through the floor of a small mausoleum into a short maze of underground catacombs. Fiery little dudes called bambinis rush, blowing themselves up in suicide attacks. Thankfully, the combat mechanics afford plenty of options for halting their attempts.

Pressing Square yields a simple light attack, whereas Triangle executes a heavier, albeit slower attack. When you're near a foe, hitting the circle button triggers a grab. Small enemies can be grabbed, while larger enemies have to be grappled with. You can also pick up objects in the surrounding environment and use them as weapons. You can heave a boulder from the ground and hurl it at a bambini.

Through the course of the game, you'll come into a variety of firearms unloaded with a tap of L shoulder. Conveniently, you can target enemies with a gun using R shoulder. We'd rather see the functions of the two shoulder buttons swapped, but it's a minor and personal gripe.

Delving deeper into the cemetery revealed a set of easy action-oriented puzzles. Progressing through a vine-strangled gate, for instance, meant grabbing a bambini and chucking it at the vines to set them ablaze. More complex puzzles await further in the game, although all are connected to the various physical abilities you come across through the course of play.

Reaching the witch actually requires tackling a multi-step puzzle to open a gate. A talking skull lock demands a password, which only can be acquired by convincing the local gatekeeper that you're trustworthy. Clearing the yard surrounding the gatekeeper's hiding place does the trick.

The gatekeeper's rewards comes in the form of a Druid amulet capable of unleashing earth magic. Using the D-pad to equip the amulet, you can cast the terrestrial spell via a quick hit of the Circle button. Perform the magic a few times to open special graves as requested by the gatekeeper and the password is yours.

While the core gameplay hasn't changed much since last summer, there's been a bit of secret sauce added to make it flow better. There's hardly a break in the action and the difficulty of the puzzles we played is such that they provide a reprieve from combat without being overly confusing.

Of course, the visuals are vastly improved with a level of detail that excels most other games in the genre. Fortunately, you won't have to wait long to see for yourself as Hellboy: The Science of Evil is slated for release next month.