As bone chilling as the reality of Prince Vlad III was, the folk legend spawned by Vlad is far and away more terrifying. Dracula has become an icon from which nightmares are born.

From stories to movies and teleplays to video games, his story lives on and thrives.

Dracula The Last Sanctuary, a DreamCatcher release for the PlayStation console platform, is a sequel to Dracula Resurrection. The game picks up where the latter left off.

Jonathan Harker, having rescued his wife (Mina) from the vampires in Transylvania, has returned to London. He also has in his possession a dragon ring, but what it does or why it is important to Dracula is unknown as the game begins. By the way, Mina is not out of trouble just yet. It seems that Dracula, and his minions, are also in London, and Mina remains under his spell. In order to save his wife once and for all, Jonathan must confront and defeat the lord of the damned.

In this corner, Jonathan Harker ­ mortal, with few weapons but benefiting from your wits, versus Dracula ­ immortal, wielding the weapons of terror and horror, with allies and striking from the depths of darkness. Hardly seems fair.

Dracula The Last Sanctuary is stunning graphically (for those who have played Resurrection, you already know what to expect), and is one of the games that can be pointed to as an example of what games for the PlayStation should look like. The environments are superb and well crafted, and the cut scenes are very well done.

As far as the sound is concerned, it does an excellent job of supporting and adding to the eeriness of the graphical elements.

While the game is superb when it comes to showing what the PS platform can do, it does fall prey to the console's lower-end processor. As you move through the scenes (the game is seen through Harker's eyes), there are pauses for loading the next environment. If you want to access the inventory, expect a tiny pause. The same goes for exiting the inventory or environment. While in a certain environment, you are treated to a 360-degree view of your surroundings, and can look both up and down. In fact, in order to open doors, you will have to (in some cases) have the key and look at the lock on the door to open it.

The game controls have been configured for ease of game play, and you can even skip a cut scene if you desire.

The Last Sanctuary is much like other DreamCatcher exploration titles. As Harker, you will travel to different areas, explore them, collect items that may come in handy later on, and gather everything necessary to track down and confront Dracula. That is a lot easier said than done. There are monsters that you will have to kill, and the gun is not always the answer. When you encounter a creature you must destroy, you have a time frame in which to do it. If you run out of time, the outcome is direct ­ you die and must start again.

You do get in-game hints from the cursor. As you explore an environment, the cursor will change to indicate a hotspot.

Dracula The Last Sanctuary is a well-wrought, involving and entertaining game. It is rated Mature for blood, sexual themes and violence.

Gameplay: 7.5
The constant loads slow down the game and is a bit of a pain. The game trods a somewhat linear path through the locations, and the exploration aspects are typical of the genre.

Graphics: 8.5
The three-dimensional graphics are very well rendered. The cut scenes are well done, and the game's textures and animation is excellent.

Sound: 8
The game�s sound does a solid job of supporting the graphical elements.

Difficulty: Medium
This is a puzzle game with a few action elements thrown in for good measure. You have to use your brain to defeat some of the foes you will encounter, and to move through the twisting path that serves as a storyline.

Concept: 7.8
There is a lot here that is standard for the genre. On the upside, the game is very well designed.

Multiplayer: N/A

Overall: 8
In spite of load times, Dracula The Last Sanctuary pleases with its graphics and story. The game play is typical of the genre, but this is still an enjoyable game.