For better or worse, the allure of vampires has not yet loosened its grasp on our collective imagination, as is quite recently evidenced in the release of Kheops’ “Dracula 3: Path of the Dragon.” This title offers no surprises for the familiar with the genre. While there glimmers of solid writing here and there, the game is likely to leave all but diehard fans of the genre or series underwhelmed.

You are Father Arno Moriani, who has been called to Vladoviste, Romania to investigate whether or not a local by the name of Dr. Martha Calugarul should be canonized as a saint for her selfless devotion to those in need. The investigation takes some twists and turns, eventually leading you away from Calugarul and into the darker recesses of vampirism. What began as an attempt to determine Calugarul’s worthiness for sainthood becomes a myth-busting mission to put an end to what the church sees as superstitious belief in vampires.

Gamers will play from a first-person view, navigating the pre-rendered world via mouse clicks. The usual suspects are here: look for hotspots in a room and mouse-over to interact with them.  The cursor changes to indicate the kind of interaction available with a given object. Right-click to bring up the inventory and menu options. The inventory system is typical, with the exception of its built-in hint system: a bible (written in Latin) that you can click when prompted to get a translated hint that can help your progression through the game. One other noteworthy feature is the ability to call up any paintings or documents you have viewed. This is both a handy and necessary feature when trying to solve puzzles. 

Much of your time will be spent wading through dialogue trees and roving from one location to another in search of clues and evidence for your investigation. The quality of the dialogue and character development can vary a bit, but there are some moments that are genuinely intriguing and interesting, like the lonely boy you come across in the local graveyard who has no friends left to play with. Such encounters add to the ambience, but they can feel rather obligatory due to the linear structure of the dialogue trees.

You essentially click through a number of linear questions with a given character until they all have been asked and then you move on to someone else or to another location. This has been the bread and butter of adventure gaming from quite some time, so it feels rather dated and uninspiring here, even if some of the characters you encounter, including Dracula himself, are intriguing.

Additionally there is often an odd delay of up to 5-7 seconds from the time you click on characters to speak with them and when they actually say their lines. This could be chalked up to taking time to gain their attention, but this also happens when someone is standing right in front of you, staring you in the face. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it occurred frequently enough to become and expected annoyance.

It wouldn’t be an adventure game without puzzles, right? No worries. They are present and accounted for, and they predictably vary in difficulty from easy to mildly difficult, but experienced adventurers shouldn’t have too much trouble making their way through the game. The puzzles are generally well integrated with the story, but they feel more like obligatory narrative gatekeepers than engrossing set pieces.  
The graphics are generally on par with what one would expect. The pre-rendered scenes are detailed and sharp.  The quality of character models and lighting is generally on target, but some of the movies make Moriani seem a bit too pale. On the other hand, some characters are very well done, like the plump-cheeked hostess of the inn at which you stay early on in the game and the groundskeeper of the graveyard. The soundtrack and effects are decent and appropriate, though not extraordinary.

The real problem with Dracula 3 is that, despite its potentially compelling story, it is unlikely to sink its fangs into gamers due its uninspiring, dated gameplay.     

Gameplay: 5.0
Uninspired. It will get old far too quick, even for fans of the genre. Puzzles are well integrated-with the story but aren’t compelling.  

Graphics: 7.0
The visuals are generally well done, particularly some of the character models, but nothing consistently spectacular here.  

Sound: 7.0
The soundtrack and sound effects do their respective jobs.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The built-in hint system and linear objectives make the title easier, and even the more challenging puzzles won’t have you breaking a sweat.
 
Concept: 6.0
There are some novel narrative ideas here, but they don’t outshine the rather boring gameplay.
 
Overall: 6.0
This title is too conventional for its own good. Ultimately, there’s no compelling real reason to pick this one up, unless you just have to have another fix of the vampire mythos and don’t mind gameplay that can feel more like drudgery than fun.