Dracula: Origin (*** out of four) is a PC adventure game built around the story of the vampire, Dracula--the same Dracula made famous in Bram Stoker’s novel about the fiendish count of darkness. Dracula is a supernatural villain whose image has spawned more than two dozen screen adaptations, stage adaptations, comic books and other video games. Then there are the Halloween costumes, toy figurines and such, all designed to scare the wits out of us. The gothic horror stories portrayed speak of a villain doomed to live at night and sustained by drinking the blood of his victims, who all turn into vampires as well.

The classic original tale Dracula was published in 1897 by Irish author Bram Stoker. The PC game Dracula: Origin, however, adds a prequel of love lost and the obsessive desire to gain power over life and death itself. This part of the story is told in flashbacks as you work your way through the game and adds a wonderfully imaginative literary element to what otherwise could be a routine me-too point and click adventure.

Dracula: Origin retains many of the original characters from the novel and maintains the turn of the century ambiance. In the game you play the role of professor Abraham Van Helsing, the learned scientist and famous vampire hunter who is dedicated to seeking out and destroying his arch enemy, Dracula. The story begins as Van Helsing receives a letter from one of his students, Jonathan Harker. The letter was only to be delivered if Harker did not return from his attempt to infiltrate Dracula’s castle. Harker indicated in the letter that he encountered Dracula and was mesmerized by the charming fiend into a personal conversation. Harker ultimately showed Dracula a photo of his betrothed, Mina, who Dracula immediately took a lurid interest in. Your quest will involve rescuing Harker, protecting Mina and, of course, destroying Dracula. To these ends you must explore unusual bloody murders in London, travel to Vienna, Cairo, and finally to the demon’s home lair, his castle in Transylvania.

The quest is not an easy one, for you, as Van Helsing, must solve many, many puzzles along the way to allow the story to proceed. Some require you to get numbers or names from your environment to unlock locks, open doors or unleash powers. There are more than 40 characters to interview and/or interact with to gain clues as how to proceed. You’ll also need to pick up items to help further the story or solve problems. There are many of these items--some associated with vampires, such as garlic, crucifixes and mirrors. Others are more obtuse, but when combined, perform the necessary task.

In addition to an inventory where your collected items are kept, a right mouse click will give you access to any previous conversations, documents or reports, which are then available to re-review for missed clues (especially when trying to solve one of the puzzles).

The 2D background graphics provide a beautiful and elegant setting portraying the Victorian era very well and, where appropriate, the horror elements of the story. They’re so well done that you’re not aware they are 2D. Characters are 3D, and the game is an example of how much improved character animation has become. Game play is standard point-and-click: point at a spot, click, and Van Helsing walks over there. As you move the mouse over the screen, the cursor will change to reflect action(s) that can be performed, such as walking down the path to the right, picking up an item, examining an object, talking to a character and the like.

The point and click discovery-adventure style of computer game is not for everyone. As an example, in the game Van Helsing (you) need to obtain additional items by getting into a shed that has been locked with a combination lock. You walk over and talk to the gardener, who has forgotten the combination but remembers that his master (Dracula) told him if he forgot, it could be found on a certain husband and wife’s gravestones. You walk over to the gravestones and find the numbers encrusted, so you need to go back to the gardener for a scraper to scrape off the crust. The combination lock only needs four numbers, but there are 16 numbers making up the birth and death dates. So you might use the ages at death of each. Try man’s age first, and then wife’s. Then try them scrambled. Then, after all that, the gardener remembers that the numbers should be inverted--a 6 becomes 9 and 1 or 8 remain unchanged. You try that, it works, and Van Helsing can get into shed. And this is one of the easier puzzles.

So, you’ll need lots of patience, and you have to really like puzzles: numeric, logic, word/letter and others. If you lust for shot-em-up, aliens, fast cars and the like, go elsewhere. But if you like puzzles and discovery, a classic horror story in a beautiful setting combined with meaningful plot enhancements, and have patience and time, Dracula: Origin is worth the investment. And in case you get a little impatient, for an extra $19.99, there’s always the game guide to get you through.