The Critic's "Fright Factor" ratings:

Marginally scary... what was that noise? Did you hear something out back?

Creepy as hell, but you'll survive. Probably. Maybe.

Yikes, this is intense. Could somebody hit the lights?

This will absolutely scare the living [expletive] out of you.

Unbearable. Why am I doing this to myself?!

Atari 2600

Frankenstein's Monster (Data Age 1983) B

If I've overrated this game in the past (and I have), it's only because I love the theme. The object is to "wall up" Frankenstein's monster before he can come to life! The screen is divided into three levels connected by ladders, each with a unique set of hazards. The top of the screen is dominated by a large, white Frankenstein monster, who gradually turns green as lightning "charges" him up. Controlling a small but colorful hero, you embark on a perilous quest to collect stones. you must avoid ghosts on the top level, leap over spiders and pits on the middle tier, and traverse logs in a pool of acid in the dungeon below. Should you manage to transport a stone back up to the top, you'll then need to navigate a swarm of bats on a separate screen in order to place it into position. Several trips are required to complete your task, and it gets tougher each time. Flashing lightning and crashing thunder periodically alert you to the monster's state. The game offers plenty to see and do, and there are even shortcuts to exploit (hint: fall through the pits onto the floating logs). Frankenstein's Monster owes much of its design to Pitfall (Activision 1982), including the controls, sound effects, and the scoring system. As you hop across the three logs on the lower level, it's just like crossing the crocodile heads in Pitfall. The game is timed, and touching most hazards causes you to be docked for points instead of losing a life. Frankenstein features sophisticated gameplay, colorful visuals, and a surprisingly high level of difficulty. Unfortunately, it also lacks polish, and much of its difficulty can be attributed to unforgiving collision detection, causing you to helplessly slide off of logs and into pits. Simply completing the first stage is a monumental accomplishment. Once you deplete your three lives, you're treated to one of the best "endings" you'll witness in a 2600 game. Scaling graphics and stomping sound effects depict the large, blocky green monster walking towards the screen! Then the screen inexplicably turns entirely green, as Frankenstein apparently moons you from close range (disrespectful!) Frankenstein's Monster is probably the best title Data Age produced for the 2600. With its excellent graphics and refreshingly original theme, this one is well worth tracking down.
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Ghost Manor (Xonox 1983) B-


Ghost Manor is a remarkable haunted house game featuring five unique stages. The graphics and sound are first rate, and you can even choose between a male or female character. You only get one life, so one slip-up will end your game in a hurry. The action begins with some of the scariest music you'll ever hear on the 2600, and the first screen is set in a graveyard with a red castle looming in the background. Your mission here is to collect "spears" from a rainbow-colored ghost (or skeleton in the advanced levels). You can't get hurt here, so you just run around until you've collected your quota. To be honest, this stage doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Next up, you need to use these spears to infiltrate the castle. The huge, impressive castle entrance is guarded by skulls, bats, scorpions, and even a axe-wielding mummy named Choppy (hee hee). I like this stage; it plays like a mini-shooter. Next the game moves indoors for some maze action, the object being to collect crosses from coffins while avoiding moving walls. Since the wall moves slowly and there are numerous safe areas, the action isn't too intense. It is however frustratingly easy to get caught up on the edge of the walls or coffins, especially in the advanced stages which are pitch-dark! The final stage places you in a tower with Dracula himself bearing down upon you. By using your crosses (hold down the button), and pushing upward, you can drive him into one of the towers and rescue your girlfriend (who looks white as a ghost). At that point the game ends and your score is displayed. If you want more of a challenge, you'll just have to restart the game at a higher skill level. Actually, Ghost Manor is relatively hard even on the easiest level, so you're not likely to master all four skill levels. But while Ghost Manor looks great and offers plenty of variety, once you beat it, it's probably not a game you'll revisit often.
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Halloween (Wizard 1983) B-


Wizard was dead-on with this clever video game adaptation of the classic slasher film. You play the role of the babysitter in a two-story house several screens in width. Points are scored by escorting children to "safe rooms" on either end of the house. The rooms are colorful but completely empty except for an occasional window or doorway. Halloween's characters are nicely animated and multicolored, with the knife-wielding Michael Meyers looking especially intimidating in his gray jumpsuit. But what really makes this game work is its unpredictability. Just like in the movies, Michael is slow but relentless. You never know when he's going to suddenly appear in a doorway or at the edge of the screen. Better yet, his appearances are punctuated by a nice rendition of the spooky Halloween theme song. When he touches a victim, you're treated to some gratuitous gore which borders on hilarious. Halloween's gameplay is slow but offers some cool twists, like your ability to turn the tables on Michael if you can find the knife. The lights on the top floor occasionally black out, adding additional suspense as you "feel" your way around in the pitch dark. Jack-o-lanterns track your "lives" on the top of the screen - a nice touch. Halloween is a rare title and a favorite among collectors.
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Haunted House (Atari 1981) B+


Trying to convey any degree of terror on the 2600 is not easy, but Atari did a respectable job with Haunted House. The object is to guide a pair of square eyes around a four story, 24-room house, and collect three pieces of an urn to escape. Spiders, bats, and ghosts roam freely, attempting to steal your nine lives. An unlimited supply of matches illuminates the area immediately around you, and helpful items include a protective scepter and a master key to unlock doors. Scary sound effects include wind, thunder, footsteps, and slamming doors. Graphics are not the game's strong suit. The monsters look fairly pixilated and the house layout is boring, with each room being an empty square. Of the nine difficulty levels, level nine easily the most fun (and hardest), with pitch black rooms, locked doors, aggressive monsters, and random object placement. Scrambling towards the exit with your last life can be a pretty intense experience. Haunted House is not as complex or addicting as Adventure, but it has its moments.
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Blair Witch Project, The (Tim Snider 2000) NA

No, your eyes do not deceive you! Yes, a Blair Witch game has been created for the Atari 2600, although it's really just a hack of Atari's Haunted House (1981). I happen to be a huge fan of the movie, making this is a neat game to own. The gameplay is exactly the same as Haunted House, but the graphics have been "updated" Blair Witch style. You are now pursued by moving handprints, the ghost of Rustin Parr, and even the Blair Witch herself! The scepter is now shaped like a totem, and instead of finding pieces of an urn, you must assemble parts of a camera. The font used to display the numbers at the bottom of the screen has also been modified to good effect. Tim Snider did a great job matching up a classic game with this scary film.
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Wizard 1983) F


Wizard scored a hit with Halloween, but this video game adaptation is a complete debacle. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is as unpleasant as the movie it's based on. My wife and I saw the 1974 film on video a few years back, and it scared the living [expletive] out of us! Anyway, this is one of the first video games to let you control the "bad guy". You are Leatherface, a chainsaw-wielding masked psycho out to filet as many innocent people as possible before running out of gasoline. The screen scrolls sideways as you search for helpless victims and avoid obstacles including wheelchairs and cow skulls. The gameplay is a complete nightmare. Victims inexplicably disappear before you can touch them, and you're constantly getting hung up on the scenery. Even the graphics are lousy. Leatherface doesn't even resemble the movie character, and the running women look like Fisher Price toys. Their "screaming" is conveyed by ear-piecing tones, which will force all non-deaf gamers to immediately hit the mute button. When you do kill someone, they transform into an indiscernible blob. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a novelty item with minimal play value. Its pathetic ending shows a person kicking Leatherface in the butt! Please tell me when it's over!
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Skeleton+ (Eric Ball 2003) B+


Skeleton Plus (+) is a much needed update to a game that held much potential but was somewhat undercooked. I imagine programmer Eric Ball caught plenty of flack about the original Skeleton's lack of options and steep difficulty. However, I'm happy to report that he has addressed those issues sufficiently in this latest version. As in the original game, you move through a first-person maze, trying to zap wandering skeletons one at a time. The mazes are well rendered and can be navigated quickly and easily. The skeletons look terrific, and you can even follow them around (although they tend to turn on you). This "Plus" version displays the number of skeletons zapped on the bottom of the screen, along with your life points, which drain each time you're touched by a skeleton. Since some skeletons require multiple "zaps" to kill, there's a bit of a "cat and mouse" element. The game has four options: skeletons per level (five or ten), starting life meter (49 or 99), sound on/off, and skeleton speed. Unfortunately, two options are assigned to each difficulty switch, so there are only four combinations in total. I would have preferred if all 16 possible combinations were accessible via the select switch. A "touch of death" mode is also accessible via the black/white switch, in case you preferred the unforgiving gameplay of the original. I couldn't really recommend the first Skeleton game, but Skeleton+ is the real deal.
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Intellivision

Dracula (Imagic 1983) C+


Here's an interesting title you can only get for the Intellivision. With its rich graphics, excellent sound effects, and sophisticated gameplay, Dracula is a favorite among collectors. The scene is set on a road lined with townhouses and a graveyard. Each night, Dracula ascends from his coffin to feast on helpless townsfolk. Playing the role of the vampire himself (who can also transform into a bat), you must subdue a certain number of victims and return to your grave before sunrise. You can find people wandering around the streets, or scare them out of their houses by knocking on doors (which doesn't make much sense when you think about it). When attacking your victims you can either apply a "regular" bite or transform your victim into a zombie, which in turn can then be controlled using the second controller! Your adversaries include wooden-stake-throwing police, a white wolf, and a vulture. There's a lot going on, but It's the little details that really make this game special. There's crashing thunder, flashing lightning, eyes peeking from windows, a rising moon, and a sky that changes color. As cool as it all sounds however, the game's weakness becomes apparent after repeated plays: repetitive gameplay. For all the options you have available, the game is all about chasing people around, and it does get old. Still, Dracula is a neat little cartridge to pull out in October.
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Atari 5200

Haunted House II 3D (Mean Hamster 2002) D+


This game really fills a void in the Atari 5200 library, considering there aren't many adventures for the system (much less scary ones). Haunted House II 3D is an expanded version of the original Atari 2600 game. The graphics are better and the house is larger, but the basic premise remains the same. You control a pair of square eyes, trying to collect all the treasures in the house and get the heck out of there. You can light a candle by pressing a button, which will reveal any hidden objects lying around. As you wander through the house, you will encounter spiders, bats, skeletons, and ghosts. Their movements are unpredictable, but they don't pursue you from room to room. Sometimes one will appear from out of nowhere -- which is not fair at all. A sword is available for protection, but you can't collect items while holding it. So what is the "3D" all about? Actually, it's a bit of a stretch. Unlike the original Haunted House, each screen is a separate room (there's no scrolling) with psuedo-3D walls and doors in the background. But it's just eye candy - the gameplay is still completely 2D. As a matter of fact, the "rendered" rooms are more confusing than anything else. Haunted House II is challenging, but it's not polished enough to merit an average grade. Graphical break-up, hit-and-miss collision detection, and inconsistent speed all hamper the action. One minute you're flying around the screen, then suddenly you've slowed to a crawl. Sound effects include footsteps and thunder, but these are sloppy. Haunted House II 3D does deliver in terms of challenge. There are two houses to complete, and just trying to finish the first one kept me playing for quite a while.
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Nintendo (NES)

Castlevania (Konami 1987) B


It's interesting to go back and play the original Castlevania - the game that started it all. I was particularly impressed with the soundtrack, which manages to be both melodic and haunting - a tall order for the NES. You assume the role of a vampire hunter attempting to slay Dracula in his castle. Initially armed with only a whip, you'll find special weapons which are unleashed by pushing up on the directional pad while pressing the attack button. These include knives, axes, holy water, crosses, and a magical watch that temporarily freezes foes in their tracks. Establishing the formula that will continue for all of eternity, you'll slash torches to reveal hearts, leap between ledges, and battle legions of evil creatures from skeletons to zombies to jumping fish-men. Castlevania's simple, arcade-style gameplay is compelling but slightly tainted by its preponderance of cheap hits. Being touched by a little bat can send you plunging into the nearest abyss, and many traps spell instant death. Castlevania's graphics are better than you might expect, with meticulously detailed walls that look properly aged. On the downside, some of the creatures are not well defined, and smaller creatures can be hard to discern. But despite its rough edges, Castlevania is a fun game that stands the test of time.
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Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Konami 1988) C-


You'd expect the first Castlevania sequel to expand on the solid gameplay of the original, but Simon's Quest took an ill-advised new approach. In an apparent attempt to make the gameplay "richer", Konami incorporated all sorts of RPG elements, transforming an exciting action adventure into a tedious exercise in collecting hearts, talking to characters, and killing time. Your quest begins in a quaint town, one of many you'll visit to collect items and gather information. Pressing the select button reveals a status screen which displays weapons, items, and other vital information - including the time of day. This is worth noting because time plays a vital role in the game. You'll need to purchase and trade items in order to progress through the game, but you can only do business with townsfolk during the day. At night, the villages are crawling with ghouls you slay to earn hearts. The idea is to rack up hearts before sunrise, and then use them to purchase items during the day, but it rarely works out so neatly. You need a lot of hearts to buy critical items, and too often I found myself waiting impatiently for the sunset or sunrise. Simon's Quest lacks the arcade flavor of the first game, but its graphics and sound are very good. The monsters include the usual suspects like skeletons, swamp creatures, and werewolves, but there are also new surprises like web-slinging spiders and hands that reach out of graves. The soundtrack is high quality, but much like the gameplay, it is repetitive. Simon's Quest is far more expansive than the first, so a much-needed password feature is provided. The game has three different endings, but don't expect much from them. Castlevania II just isn't as fun as the original game, and its new RPG elements weigh it down.
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Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (Konami 1990) A


When it comes to NES side-scrolling action, it doesn't get much better than Castlevania III. After a brief misstep with Simon's Quest, the series gets back on track with this action-packed gothic adventure. As vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, you'll journey through a village, swamp, forest, clock tower, and ghost ship before finally arriving at Dracula's huge castle. The graphics are remarkable, from the vine-laced ruins in the foreground to the soaring mountain peaks in the distance. Unlike most NES titles, the characters here actually look somewhat realistic. An amazing variety of creatures include floating medusa heads and pesky little hunchbacks. The controls are responsive enough, but navigating stairs takes a little finesse. The difficulty is fair, and a password feature allows you to save your game. Unlike Castlevania II, no separate status screen is required since all the vital information is displayed across the top of the screen. Perhaps Castlevania III's most innovative feature is the ability to play as boss characters you defeat along the way - an ingenious concept. The stages are separated by branching paths, adding even more replay value to an already extraordinary game. The first-rate musical score brilliantly captures the flavor of the game. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is a "must-have" NES game if there ever was one.
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Friday the 13th (LJN 1988) D


I happen to be a fan of the Friday the 13th slasher movies, and although this game is surprisingly sophisticated, it lacks the tension that made the films effective. You control six camp councilors that you move individually around Camp Crystal Lake. When you're not rushing to the aid of children in danger, you're exploring cabins to gather notes, weapons, and other helpful items. The start button brings up a helpful map that makes it easy to navigate the campgrounds. In addition to cabin-lined trails around the lake, there are also cave and forest areas that hold secret items. The gameplay is pretty original, but a few ill-conceived elements put a damper on the fun. When wandering around, you're constantly attacked by zombies popping out of the ground. Not only are these irritating, but they destroy any sense of suspense by making you numb to being attacked. I will admit however that I jumped a mile the first time a zombie jumped out of the lake! I wasn't ready for that one. Another problem with Friday the 13th is the first-person perspective used to explore the cabin interiors. Instead of making you feel "in the game", it just makes you feel like a rat in a cage. Jason is large and menacing during his frequent appearances, and you'll need to mix dodges with attacks in order to turn him away. I like how the time of day changes as you play this game, and if you're good, a single game can extend over several days. Friday the 13th is tough, but as you learn to the specific strategies, you'll discover hidden rooms and encounter new dangers like Jason's mother. When all the councilors are deceased, the message appears "You and your friends are dead. Game Over." I guess "Thank you for playing" would not have been appropriate in this case.
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Ghosts 'N Goblins (Capcom 1986) A-


Let's face it, Ghosts and Goblins defies criticism. Not only is it fun and addicting, but it's spawned many fine sequels, including Maximo for the PS2. You play as an armored knight that can fire projectiles forward, backward, and straight up. Zombies and other creatures pour out of the woodwork as you forge through varied stages that include a graveyard, a burning village, mountains, and caverns. This is pure side-scrolling fun. The graphics provide plenty of variety, and the excellent background music plays a heroic refrain (much like the Genesis version). If there's one obvious complaint, that is that the game is too freakin' hard! The stages are short and you get unlimited continues, but it's still extremely difficult to make progress.
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Maniac Mansion (Jaleco 1986) D+


This should have been called Mystery Mansion, because it basically boils down to a lot of little puzzles solved by manipulating lists of items. Part graphic adventure and part text, you use a cursor to build simple sentences like "use key on door" and "give cheese to Jeff". Maniac Mansion's storyline involves three kids trying to save their friend being held hostage by a mad doctor in a large mansion. Before starting, you can select three of six cartoonish characters to play as. These include the obligatory nerd, the gnarly surfer dude, the prostitute (nice dress), and the token black guy. You only control one character at a time, and each has a catchy theme song. The music is great for the NES, but it can still get on your nerves after a while. You can switch it off, but that causes the game to become uncomfortably silent. Maniac Mansion's graphics are pretty good, offering a wide array of well-furnished rooms - including an arcade. It's amusing to explore the house and solve puzzles, at least until you get stuck. Using the cursor is somewhat tedious, but the handy select button lets you easily cycle through the most common commands. The game maintains a whimsical tone, with simple dialogue sprinkled with juvenile humor. The most infamous aspect of the game is how it's possible to explode a hamster in the microwave. The main problem with Maniac Mansion is its complexity, which will turn off all but the most dedicated gamers. There are dozens of items to juggle, and figuring out how each is used requires a lot of trial and error. Some solutions tend to defy logic (give the plastic fruit to the tentacle??) The order in which you complete tasks is critical, and timing is sometimes a factor as well. Last time I checked, video games were supposed to be fun, not work! My cartridge contained a battery back-up that allowed me to skip ahead to the previous owner's spot to get a peek at the advanced stages. That's right - 17 years old and the battery is still working! I know a lot of gamers have fond memories of Maniac Mansion, but I don't think this adventure has aged particularly well.
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Ghoul School (Electro Brain 1989) F


As much as I wanted to like this game, my conscience prevents me from grading it higher than an F. Ghoul School looks great on paper but doesn't play well at all. You control a punk kid trapped in a school crawling with all sorts of creepy monsters. A few of these tend to be quite imaginative and detailed, like the red creature with the huge eye. A toe-tapping tune plays as you wander the halls and classrooms, collecting the items needed to defeat various monstrosities. Unfortunately, the school is a confusing maze consisting of hallways, stairs, and doors that all look exactly alike. The room numbers aren't even consecutive or logical! As a result, you end up wandering aimlessly until you stumble upon a key item (like spring shoes) or weapon (bat, towel, gun). The combat aspect is awful. The pathetic weapons have such an incredibly short range that you'll be limited to repetitive "hit and run" attack patterns. Adding insult to injury, the controls are less than responsive and you're constantly being tossed around. I like the concept behind Ghoul School, but the execution is a mess.
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Nightmare on Elm St (LNJ 1989) C+


It's not great, but I will give this game credit for capturing a bit of the surreal atmosphere of the Nightmare on Elm Street films. It's difficult to believe this was done by LJN, who produced the dreadful Friday the 13th game a year earlier. Nightmare of Elm Street puts you in the role of a kid on a dark street lined with large, foreboding houses. As you walk down the sidewalk, you're accosted by a slew of annoying pests including snakes, dogs, bats, etc. I know what you're thinking, but bear with me - it gets better. When you finally enter a house, you're challenged to collect a set of bones while being pursued by all sorts of grisley creatures much like those in the films. The one exception is the ninja, who seems to be in the wrong game (sorry dude, this isn't Double Dragon!). Your kid can jump and punch, and pressing select initiates special attacks. Nightmare on Elm Street has one very effective gimmick. Periodically your surroundings magically transform from the real world to a dream world, with entirely different creatures and new challenges. It's a cool concept that reminded me of Soul Reaver (Playstation 1999). Upon clearing each house, you are confronted with a Freddie "boss" in one of his many freaky forms. Nightmare on Elm Street's graphics are very good, and the soundtrack is faithful to the movie. Its gameplay is standard platform fare, but the horror angle makes it more interesting than most.
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Chiller (Exidy 1986) D


Whoa - this is the most bizarre NES game I've ever seen. Chiller is a gruesome, unlicensed light gun game created by twisted minds for twisted minds. The first thing you notice is its oddly-shaped cartridge that does not easily fit into the console. Once you get that working, you'll struggle with the controls. Configuring the game to work with the NES light gun is not easy. You'll need to plug the gun into the right port, but it's hard to tell if it's working because it's so unresponsive. You have to keep it within a few inches of the screen for your shots to register, and even then the accuracy is just not there. But as bad as the gun control is, it's actually a step up from the control pad, which uses a tiny, hard-to-aim crosshair. Chiller's control is deplorable, but I was fascinated by its graphics and sound. This game brings to life so many classic horror images. The first stage depicts a graveyard scene at night with a church in the background. Arms reach out of graves and toss skulls back and forth. Heads and limbs can be seen on the ground, and a mysterious woman pushes a baby carriage in the distance. Your job is to hit a certain number of targets in a fixed period of time. Actually, many targets are revealed by red dots that appear with when the screen flashes as you fire the gun. The second screen depicts the hallway of a haunted house with various creeps and apparitions. You'll see an arm fall from the ceiling and be retrieved by a hungry dog below. Then things get really twisted. The third stage shows some men strapped down, and you must shoot each part of their bodies until nothing remains. Is this sick or what? Fortunately, the cheesy NES graphics aren't realistic enough to be disturbing. In this final stage, a man is chained to the wall, another is in a guillotine, and a semi-naked woman is trapped in an iron maiden. Chiller is over-the-top by any standard. It provides some novelty value for adults, but it's definitely not for kids.
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Atari 7800

Midnight Mutants (Atari 1990) B


This highly original game lets you to roam freely around a haunted town full of hideous monsters. Your goal? To save Grandpa Munster! Along the way you'll find weapons like a knife, axe, cross, and gun. As you gather objects, new areas to explore open up, some containing large bosses to defeat. The graphics and sound are outstanding. Nicely detailed scenery includes a forest, pumpkin patch, mansion, and graveyard. An ominous refrain plays in the background. By pressing the right button you can communicate with Grandpa, who will offer directions and advice. Midnight Mutants offers a nice mix of exploration, strategy, and action. The manual contains a map and a guide which most people will need to get started. There are a few flaws. Control is a bit awkward because there's no diagonal movement. You can easily get lost in certain areas which "wrap around" on themselves. And since there's no way to save the game, you'll need to finish it in one sitting (although there are shortcuts). There's a lot to see and do in this one. It's one of the few old games that caters to the horror crowd.
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Sega Master System

Ghouls 'N Ghosts (Sega 1990) B+


This is a good example of some of the excellent games released for the Master System near the end its lifecycle. At first glance, you could easily mistake this game for the Genesis version. The graphics are crisp and detailed, and the gameplay is just like the arcade (including the huge bosses). The renaissance music is outstanding. Only some slowdown and graphic breakup mar an otherwise superb game playing experience. As your knight makes his way through graveyards, villages, and caves, danger lurks at every turn. Ghouls 'n Ghost's most distinguishing feature is its difficulty, and this version is no different. It seems like every one of those chests contains that evil magician who turns you into a chicken or an old man. At times it's insanely difficult. There are unlimited continues, and you'll find yourself playing into the wee hours of the morning if you're really bent on beating this game.
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Ghost House (Sega 1986) D-


All systems deserve to have one good, scary game, but Ghost House isn't scary OR good. It's just a generic platform game with stupid-looking, cartoon monsters. The ghosts look a lot like Kirby of Nintendo fame, which is not a good sign! Your job is to collect the five "family jewels" by defeating five Draculas. Five Draculas? That should set off some alarms right there. And guess how you defeat these five vampires? A wooden stake? Garlic? Holy water? Nah, you just punch them! C'mon, if you're going to make a game about vampires, you have to at least follow the rules! The game has no atmosphere at all and the music is as goofy as the graphics. Control isn't so hot either. Why do I keep falling through the floors?? Ghost House also features some annoying slow-down, and sometimes it will even freeze up for no reason.
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Turbografx-16

Splatterhouse (NEC 1990) A


This is an ideal Halloween game. In this bloody side-scroller, you control Rick, a masked psycho who resembles Jason from Friday the 13th. As he searches a mansion for his girlfriend, he'll battle some of the most twisted, grotesque creatures ever seen in a video game. Chained corpses hurl green vomit, hanging corpses fall from the ceiling, giant red slugs burst out of chests, and newborn creatures jump on your back. Fortunately, Rick is well-armed with two-by-fours, shotguns, and cleavers. I love how when you smack a zombie with a board, it spatters against the wall before disintegrating. Normally a game like this can get repetitive and dull, but Splatterhouse doesn't seem to have that problem. Each new room or area offers a gruesome new challenge, and there are plenty of surprises to be had. Top-notch graphics and ominous background music complete this exciting package. Splatterhouse spawned two sequels on the Genesis.
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Ghost Manor (Turbo Tech 1992) C-


I thought I was in for a real treat with this one, but Ghost Manor let me down. The fine graphics, responsive controls, and eerie soundtrack all got me pretty worked up at first. The ghouls and ghosts aren't particularly scary, but they are very well drawn. Your character, a kid with a huge melon head, is probably the scariest thing you'll see in this game. The exceptional music reminded me of the tunes in Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES). The action is mainly platform jumping, but you can also swim and shoot things. Unfortunately, most of these platforms also contain slides, which makes the game feel like Chutes and Ladders at times. It's not fun when you painstakingly jump up a series of platforms only to accidentally slide back down! And it's hard to make precision jumps when you're being swarmed by bats. In addition, you're constantly running out of ammo, making you fair game for all the spooks floating around. Ghost Manor's frustrating gameplay overshadows some fine graphics and sound.
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Addams Family (CD) (NEC 1991) C+


Fire up this CD and you'll be treated to the theme song from the original Addams Family show. It's a nice touch, and for the first time I can actually understand the words. As for the game itself, I can't decide if I love it or hate it. It's a bizarre side-scroller that in some ways is even creepier than the movie. You control a character named Tully on a visit to the Addam's mansion. One button jumps and the other lets you shoot from your umbrella. First you'll need to survive the graveyard and hop over rocks in a pond. Once you enter the house, where encounter a light bulb-throwing Uncle Fester. Complicating matters are spiders that crawl along the floor and bats that swarm you like mosquitoes. It takes some real perseverance to make it through the early going, but once you do, the game really opens up. As you roam around the mansion, doors of various colors line the hallways, which required colored keys to open. Each room offers a new challenges and surprises. You'll duel Gomez with swords, face carnivorous plants in the greenhouse, and battle floating toys in Wednesday's room (is that an NES I see?). In some rooms it's not clear what your objective is, and certain objects can be hard to make out. The black outlined objects are clean and colorful, but could be more detailed. Despite the uneven graphics, some creatures manage to be somewhat disturbing. But what really makes this game a treat is the audio. The eerie music and spine-tingling sound effects create a chilling aura of foreboding. From the creepy organ music, to the booming thunder, to the cackling laugher, the audio is absolutely top-notch. Underneath it all, the Addams Family is fairly substandard, but its weird graphics and terrific audio make it worth checking out.
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Dracula X (CD) (Japanese Import) (Konami 1993) A


This rare title, only available in America as an import, is considered by most Castlevania fans to be the best of the series, and they'll get no argument here. Dracula X is visually stunning, even today. The graphics are painstakingly detailed and high resolution, and the use of color is nothing short of brilliant. The demons and creatures you encounter are highly inventive, and many are huge in size. Effective animations usher in the appearance of bosses. For example, before your encounter with the werewolf, you can see his silhouette in from of the moon in the distance before he leaps into the foreground. The gameplay is typical Castlevania, where you use your whip and special weapons to battle monsters while collecting items hidden in candles. One aspect I especially like about Dracula X is although you can take multiple paths, the stages don't contain a myriad of confusing staircases like many of the later Castlevania titles. I should warn you that this game is extremely hard and will frustrate novice gamers. Complimenting the gorgeous graphics is the best soundtrack I've ever heard in a Castlevania game, along with crisp, distinctive sound effects. You can save your game and return to any stage you've completed. Dracula X is a classic, and if you can get your hands on it, an excellent addition to your Turbo Duo library.
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Nightmare Creatures (NEC 1992) D+


Much like Altered Beast on the Genesis, this side scroller allows you to transform into wild animals while battling monsters from beyond the grave. I really, really wanted to like this game. The graphics are exceptional, with spooky scenery set in graveyards, catacombs, and deserted villages. Nightmare Creatures looks like a more serious version of Ghouls and Ghosts. The one thing that stands out about this game are the creatures you encounter. There are nearly 40 different monsters if you include the bosses, and they tend to be more creepy than cartoonish. The effective visuals are matched by a haunting refrain that plays in the background. Unfortunately, the gameplay does not live up to the presentation. The interface used to switch weapons and transform is awkward, requiring you to pause the game. Your character takes a LOT of cheap hits and is constantly dying. Even transforming into animals drains your life, so you can only do it sparingly. My best advice is to punch while squatting, which seems to make you much less vulnerable to attack. Nightmare Creatures lets you save your place if you're running on a Turbo Duo, but overall the game feels like a missed opportunity.
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Sega Genesis

Haunting Starring Polterguy, The (Electronic Arts 1993) C


This wonderfully imaginative game lets you do the spooking instead of being spooked! Haunting Starring Polterguy places you in the role of a mischievous ghost exacting revenge on the family responsible for his demise. Each stage presents a spacious new house for you to frighten all four family members out of. Scaring is done by setting "traps" that cause all sorts of supernatural phenomena. You roam around unseen by the family, but your goofy green appearance calls to mind the Mask, especially when you break into dance or spike your head like a football. The family members are easy to scare, as they tend to take notice of the furniture and fixtures you've rigged. Traps initiate brief but amusing "scare" animations such as knives flying out of a drawer, a head busting through a television, or a levitating rocking chair. Considering the limited resolution of the Genesis, the visuals are extremely well done and some are surprisingly gory. Some sequences are more elaborate than others. In the shower, a hot babe in a towel does a little dance before revealing her body to be a rotting corpse! In the game room, a basketball player shoots his head through a hoop, only to have it fall into the fish tank below, turning the water blood red. Some animations are more weird than scary, like the stereo that transforms into a robot, or the plant that spawns a swarm of bees. Sometimes you have the opportunity to control an object like a levitating skull or chainsaw, and these are useful for preventing your victim from leaving the room. Toying with the family is very amusing thanks to the sheer number of trap animations. Your victims react in a number of ways, including peeing themselves! Unfortunately, a few times per stage you'll find yourself running low on "ectoplasm", and this is where Haunting's gameplay takes a turn for a worse. You're dumped into an underground dungeon maze loaded with pits, flying objects, and grabbing arms. Here you must collect a number of green blobs before you can return to the house, and it's painfully repetitive. Haunting Starring Polterguy offers no continues and has no password feature. My buddy Steve and I played this game for what seemed like hours, but by the time it was over, we were absolutely sick of it! I enjoy the minor-key music that plays throughout the game, but the scream effects are rough. I love the concept behind Haunting, but it's long on novelty value and short on replay value.
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Bram Stoker's Dracula (Sony 1993) D


I loved the movie, but this game doesn't do the film justice - it feels like a third-rate Castlevania. The storyline hardly resembles the movie at all. You control the character played by Keanu Reeves through a series of castle, forest, and graveyard stages. With his preppy clothes and relaxed body posture, he looks like he should be loafing around the mall instead of battling the living dead. He can jump, slash, and shoot (if he finds a weapon). The scenery is not particularly creepy and the music is way too upbeat. Although there are some cool enemies like skeletons, zombies, and werewolves, you are more likely to be taken down by all those annoying tiny rats that scurry around each level. And there are cheap hits galore! Spears shoot out above or below you, giving you no warning or time to react. Heck, even when you know they're coming they're impossible to avoid. All-in-all, Dracula is very mediocre.
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Castlevania Bloodlines (Sega 1994) B+


Castlevania was an insanely popular line of side-scrollers for the NES and SNES. After what seemed like an eternity, it finally arrived on the Genesis in the form of Castlevania Bloodlines. The game plays much like Super Nintendo's Castlevania IV, where you battle creatures of the night armed with a whip and other weapons. So how does this compare to its SNES counterpart? It's not quite as good, but still worth playing. The graphics aren't as detailed or colorful as the SNES version, but they still rate better than average on the Genesis. I found the controls to be a bit tricky when navigating the stairs, but other than that, this is pure platform heaven. I love the bosses, especially the wolf who shatters the windows with his howl.
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Ghouls 'N Ghosts (Sega 1989) A-


Ghouls and Ghosts plays like a lighthearted medieval game with a horror movie flavor (think Army of Darkness). You control a knight battling his way through a constantly-changing landscape of graveyards, caves, mountains, and burning towns. Along the way you encounter a remarkable variety of creatures including skull-spewing plants, zombies, and puking trolls. When you take a hit, you lose your armor and have to run around in your undies until you find a new suit (or die). New weapons and armor can be found in chests. You have to be careful though, because some chests contain an evil magician who will turn you into an old man or a duck! The dark graphics and fantastic musical score really create a terrific atmosphere. Ghouls and Ghosts is excruciatingly hard, but at least you get unlimited continues, so you can play all night. And you will.
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Splatterhouse 2 (Namco 1991) B-


The first Splatterhouse, released for the Turbografx-16, was a fantastic hack-n-slash video game. This sequel provides more of the same, but it's too repetitious. The main character is a muscular guy in a hockey mask. The sights in this game will remind you of every horror movie from Friday the 13th to Evil Dead to Hellraiser. Most of the creatures splatter green blood when hit with a two-by-four, a bone, or any other weapon you can find. The bosses are particularly large and disgusting. Unfortunately, many of these monsters simply require too many hits, a trend that continued with Splatterhouse 3.
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Splatterhouse 3 (Namco 1993) B-


Sometimes you don't feel like dealing with complicated controls and strategy; you just want to kick some ass, and that's what games like Splatterhouse 3 are for. Your extremely buff character, decked out in jeans and a hockey mask, must make his way through a huge mansion in search of his girlfriend. As he progresses, he'll beat the stuffing out of an endless supply of grotesque monsters. Some of these things, particularly the bosses, are very gross! As the name indicates, there's plenty of gore. Apart from a few special moves and weapons, most of the fights are of the "punch, punch, kick, etc." variety. It gets repetitive, but at least you can hit several monsters with one punch when they're close together, and power-ups let you become temporarily bigger and stronger. Graphically, the rooms are unique and interesting, and the characters are huge. There are several routes through the house, and plenty of traps and other surprises. The cheesy story line is developed through the use of digitized images which look pretty neat, and a password is provided at the end of each game. Splatterhouse 3 isn't too deep, but it's a good way to take out your aggression.
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Super Nintendo

Super Castlevania IV (Konami 1991) A-


As the first Castlevania title to appear on a 16-bit system, Super Castlevania IV is everything a fan could ask for and more. This huge action/adventure improves upon the original NES games in every way, and even pays homage to them by recreating some old stages. As vampire hunter Simon Belmont, you'll explore mountains, graveyards, forests, ruins, riverbanks, and dungeons on your quest to confront Dracula. Castlevania veterans will smile when they see familiar adversaries rendered in bright colors and high resolution. There are new enemies lurking as well, include floating horse-heads (?), flying insect men, and stone golems that split into smaller monsters. Striking down foes results in a satisfying display of flames and flying body parts. Dazzling parallax scrolling is used to convey colorful, multi-layered scenery. While it all looks terrific, it did occur to me that these flashy visuals somewhat undermine the dark, gothic atmosphere established by the first three games. Castlevania IV features twelve expansive stages, and it's amazing how much gameplay Konami has managed to pack into this cartridge. The presentation is first-rate, and the control is outstanding. For the first time, you have complete control of your whip. Not only can you aim it up, down, and diagonally, you can even wave it around to kill small pesky creatures such as bats. Perilous leaps still play a major role in the gameplay, but the crisp, responsive controls make even the most risky jumps a breeze. Navigating stairs, a tricky proposition in previous Castlevanias, is no problem at all in this game. A fantastic soundtrack includes a surprising number of musical styles besides the traditional minor-keyed organ hymns. I do have a few minor quibbles. I'm not a fan of the instant death spike traps - I don't think touching one spike should cause you to lose a whole life bar. Second, I found swinging from the whip - a new move - to be trickier than it should be. There noticed a few instances of slow-down, and I hate how the password takes the form of rows of symbols. Still, I found Super Castlevania IV to be easier and more enjoyable than any of the NES titles. It's simple arcade gameplay and flawless control make it an upper tier SNES title.
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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Sony 1994) D


Some of you may recall the lousy movie this game is based on, but if you're lucky, you won't. It's no gem, but Mary Shelley's Frankenstein isn't a total nightmare thanks to its better-than-average graphics and sound effects. You control the Frankenstein monster, who typically shambles around with a slight limp but inexplicably can jump ten feet into the air! I'm telling you - this guy is the Michael Jordan of monsters! I bet he can throw down some monster dunks too! You'll play much of the game stumbling around a dark, rainy town while beating townsfolk with a stick. The music is certainly eerie, and the crisp sound effects (like when you push a wagon for example) are quite convincing. Unfortunately, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein languishes in the fun department. Jumping between platforms is unforgiving, and pulling chains to open new areas gets boring. And seeing the Frankenstein monster hop around like a flea is just had to take. There's a password mechanism that allows you to save your place, but you probably won't get too far.

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Scooby Doo Mystery (Acclaim 1995) B+


I'm really amazed by how well Scooby Doo Mystery turned out! Not only does it look and sound just like the TV show, it even plays like the TV show! You control of Scooby and Shaggy who move together as a team while gathering clues, encountering monsters, and making sandwiches. As you explore a pirate ship, carnival, or mansion (depending on the mystery), you'll often run into your friends Thelma, Daffney, and Freddy. Thelma explains the clues you find, Daffney supplys you with scooby snacks, and Freddy offers hints on what to do next. The stories are actually quite linear, with new areas that open up gradually. Most of the puzzles are pretty easy. You'll have your share of exciting run-ins with monsters, and also engage in entertaining mini-games. The graphics are cartoon quality, with excellent music lifted straight from the TV show. Not only are the controls responsive, but the interface for interacting with characters is also well designed. I do have a few minor complaints. First, touching certain objects like rats will drain your life, but since Scooby and Shaggy don't react at all, you don't even realize you're losing health. Next, at the beginning of the second mystery I became very stuck, and that was no fun at all! Finally, since the mysteries always play the same, I suspect the game's replay value is pretty modest. At least a password feature is included so you don't have to replay old mysteries. All in all, Scooby Doo Mystery is a quality title that does a fine job of weaving a story into an entertaining game. And I probably would have given this an "A" if it wasn't for you snooping kids!!

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Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts (Capcom 1991) B-


This medievel side-scroller is a complete remake of Ghouls and Ghosts (Genesis, 1989) with entirely new stages and monsters. New areas include a haunted pirate ship and a snow stage (who asked for that, by the way?). The graphics, special effects, and music are significantly better than the Genesis version, but the gameplay is about the same. You control a knight running through a series of locations while destroying monsters and collecting power-ups. Although this game should have rated higher than its Genesis counterpart, it doesn't, due to a few major issues. First, the action tends to get slow (read: slow-motion) when the action gets hectic, and when you die, you're sent way back to the start of the stage. At least the Genesis version let you continue fairly close to where you left off. Even unlimited continues don't help when you keep keeling over just before the end of a stage. Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts would have been a great game had it been more forgiving.
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Demon's Crest (Capcom 1994) C


This game should be right up my alley, considering my affinity for occult themes, and the fact that this is a spin-off of the excellent Ghouls and Ghosts series. I've also been advised that this game was preceded by two Gargoyle's Quest games for the GameBoy and NES. Demon's Crest was widely praised by the media, but I don't think it's all that. You control a red demon that can shoot fireballs and hover over the landscape. Later he acquires "crests" which endow him with additional powers, including the ability to slow time, fly high in the air, or swim. The action begins with a boss encounter against a huge zombie dragon which makes a rather dramatic (and frightening) appearance. It certainly grabs your attention, but it's probably not the best way to start a game like this. Upon completing the initial graveyard stage, you glide freely over a pixelated countryside to select your next challenge. Demon's Crest excels in presentation, but its gameplay could be better. Navigating through the graveyards and castles of the early stages is no problem, but too many advanced stages are covered with thorns that are hard to avoid. The controls are touchy, so trying to navigate spiked labyrinths is frustrating. Your demon's size makes it difficult to avoid incoming projectiles, and he can only shoot forward, often unable to hit objects in clear view. Switching crests (powers) can only be done from a menu screen. Why isn't there a button assigned to that? There's no pause button either, which is annoying for reviewers trying to take notes (curses!). In general, I found Demon's Crest too difficult. Its production values are outstanding however, with well-defined graphics and stereo effects so realistic they caught me off-guard. Upon hearing the howl of a ghost, I actually looked around to make sure there wasn't someone else in the room with me! The creepy organ music is also very effective. Flickering torches give castle ruins an eerie glow, and graveyards are overgrown with twisted trees and shrouded in mist. A twelve-character password allows you to save your progress. Demon's Crest is certainly a feast for the eyes and ears, but is it enough to overcome the difficulty and frustration?
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Nosferatu (Seta 1995) C-


Nosferatu tries to mimic the gameplay of a Castlevania title, but lacks style and seems generic in comparison. The word "Nosferatu" means vampire in German, and this platform adventure challenges you to save your girlfriend from the original bloodsucker himself, Vlad the Impaler (the real Dracula). Most levels are a maze of castle ledges and walkways, but bosses are fought outside where there's more room. Your vampire hunter has plenty of fighting moves at his disposal, including a flying round-house, upper cut, and charge. There's a nice variety of monsters to beat up, ranging from the traditional movie monsters (Frankenstein, Mummy, etc) to some truly bizarre original creations. Inexplicably, the second boss is pair of gorillas! The game lacks tension, although there are occassional surprises like falling corpses and hands that grab you from under the floor. Too many traps litter the later levels, and if you don't fall into a spiked pit on your own, you're likely to be pushed into one. In terms of graphics, the creatures look great but the castle walls start to get boring after a few levels. The controls are less than responsive, making it difficult to enter certain doorways or get off a punch in time. The audio is weak, with sparse sound effects and music that's uneven in quality. A few of the tunes have an edgy Nine Inch Nails flavor, but others just sound goofy. Nosferatu not a terrible game, but it fails to distinguish itself in any way, making it a thoroughly forgettable experience.
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Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Konami 1993) A-


In this lighthearted shooter Konami parodies a number of classic horror films to good effect. Playing as a boy or girl, your character must rescue a certain number of civilians from rampaging monsters in a series of imaginative overhead stages. Released at a time when Nintendo did not allow blood in their games, Konami made the graphics appear cartoonish and whimsical in order to tone down the violence. You'll make use of unconventional weapons like water guns, pop sickles, and exploding 6-packs. Items you can collect include a potion that temporarily transforms you into a super-monster. Zombie's graphics are beautifully detailed, and each of its 50+ stages boasts its own unique theme. There's a mummy-infested pyramid, a school invaded by aliens, and a mall loaded with zombies, just to name a few. Creatures include a wide range of movie monsters ranging from the Creature from the Black Lagoon, to little Chucky the doll, to a chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. The game is expertly programmed, and the controls are super responsive. Another feature worth mentioning is the catchy music that plays throughout each stage. I would love to have the soundtrack to this! A two-player simultaneous mode is included, but that requires cooperation to keep both players on the screen, which is more confusing than fun. Overall Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a winner that will especially appeal to horror movie buffs.
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Sega CD

Bram Stoker's Dracula (Sony 1993) B+


This is a good Sega CD game, if only because it couldn't have been done on a regular Genesis. Initially, I was prepared to trash this game, thinking it might be the lousy Genesis version with some grainy movie footage thrown in. But I was wrong; this Dracula game looks and plays completely different. Most of the graphics look digitized, especially your character and the background scenery. Speaking of the backgrounds, they look terrific. Detailed and creepy, they even ROTATE around you as you walk through them (you couldn't do that on the Genesis). This game conveys genuine atmosphere. From the woods, to the castle, to the graveyard, chilling music and spine-tingling sound effects accompany the excellent graphics. But how is the gameplay? It's not bad but not great either. Basically you punch, kick, and jump your way through bats, rats, ghosts, and zombies. The control is adequate, but you are subject to far too many unavoidable hits. As you can guess, there are some really grainy clips from the movie shown between the levels. But despite its flaws, this is a great game to pull out around Halloween.
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Dracula Unleashed (Sega 1993) D


You'd expect a CD game based on a vampire-infested 1899 London to be pretty exciting, but Dracula Unleashed is basically a slow, plodding mystery. It's played by moving a cursor around the screen and clicking on objects or icons. The idea is to collect various items and take them to the right places at the specific times, causing the storyline to unfold in the form of live-action video sequences. Unfortunately, if you miss a key event, your game will end abruptly. Fortunately you can save at any time. While Dracula Unleashed sometimes provides clues to keep you on track, the gameplay tends to be more "trial and error" than true detective work. The story isn't very suspenseful or compelling, and there's virtually no payoff until you get three-quarters through the game. The visuals consist of grainy video clips and well-drawn illustrations. I'd have to admit that the acting is respectable for a CD game, and the characters are likeable enough. I didn't recognize any actors in the cast. The downtown scenery is convincing except for the graveyard which looks like some dirt in front of a stone wall - lame! If they would have used an actual, decrepit old graveyard, it would have raised the game's grade at least by one letter. Some of the special effects, such as the floating bodies, are very well done, but the flashing eyes look terribly fake. Dracula looks a lot like Dracula from the 1992 film, but you only see him near the end of the game. There's some gore, but the Sega CD's trademark pixelation prevents it from being particularly explicit. The sound effects are terrific, especially when you ride in the carriage, and the music is well orchestrated and creepy. The user interface could be more streamlined, but it's acceptable once you learn a few shortcuts. Dracula Unleashed is a good-looking game, but only patient gamers will be able to deal with its slow pace.
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Frankenstein (Sony 1994) D-


Frankenstein is an ill-conceived adventure/fighting hybrid. The adventure portion isn't bad, but the fighting is downright idiotic. You actually control the monster in this game, which automatically eliminates any possibility of terror or suspense. You begin in Frankenstein's lab, and the graphics are fairly decent. The uninspired gameplay involves exploring rooms, gathering items, and using them to access new areas. Occasionally you'll encounter a person or another monster, and that's where the game takes a turn for the worse, as the game abruptly changes into Street Fighter-style fighter. To see your monster go from a limping corpse to a high-jumping martial arts expert is practically comical. Your number of fighting moves is very limited, and the fights are far too difficult to win. You'll eventually get to explore a town, but your goal is never clear. On a positive note, the background organ music is effectively scary, and you can save your place to memory. But all in all, this Frankenstein is a real turkey.
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Mansion of Hidden Souls (Vic Tokai 1994) B


This game has a bizarre premise. A boy and girl find a butterfly in a field at night, and the girl says she wishes she were a butterfly. The next thing you know, the boy finds himself in a mysterious mansion, searching for his sister. Its rooms contain talking butterflies that used to be people. The boy's sister will soon be turned into one as well, unless you can find her before "the hunter" does. It sounds pretty silly, but Mansion of Hidden Souls gradually drew me in. Gameplay consists of exploring rooms, finding items, and opening new areas. The first person view makes you feel like you're actually walking through the house. The controls are simple - just push the joypad in the direction you want to go. The graphics are smooth and detailed, and although the rooms don't look particularly dark or scary, eerie music and mysterious voices help convey a creepy atmosphere. The layout of the house is actually quite similar to Resident Evil (Playstation). The story is interesting, and the puzzles are fair and never frustrating. Mansion of Hidden Souls has little replay value, but it's probably worth playing through once.
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Sega 32X

Corpse Killer (CD 32X) (Digital Pictures 1994) F

I recently bumped up the grades for the Saturn and 3DO versions of Corpse Killer, mainly because I found the game's cheesy acting to be somewhat endearing. But the 32X version will get no such benefit. Although basically the same game, this version is prone to intermittent video skipping, which seems to occur every few seconds during the action sequences. Corpse Killer is a poor game to begin with, and this flaw makes it nearly unplayable. You assume the role of a soldier sent to a remote island to rid it of zombies and the mad professor who's producing them. The action consists of simple "aim the cursor and shoot" stages sandwiched between dramatic video clips. The footage features vibrant colors but only fills three-quarters of the screen. The acting is cheesy all around, but Vincent Schiavelli does deliver a fun, over-the-top performance as the mad scientist. The jeep-driving Rastafarian Winston is quite good also, but the hot blonde reporter is awful to the point of being unintentionally hilarious. Corpse Killer's gameplay is shallow, easy, and not enjoyable at all. Aiming the cursor with control pad is clumsy and inexact, but Sega's Menacer light gun is also supported (in case you own that colossal monstrosity). The interesting locations are the best aspect of the game, including a fort, village, jungle, beach, and graveyard. The pixilated, floating zombies are clearly just superimposed in front of the scenery, and they look awful. Weak sound effects include the same grunt noise for every zombie shot. I do enjoy the bongo drum music however - it seems appropriate. But if you're looking for a playable version of Corpse Killer, seek out the Saturn or 3DO versions.
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3DO

Corpse Killer (Digital Pictures 1995) D


Full motion video (FMV) games were once thought to be the "next big thing" in home entertainment, but ultimately they tanked because there's only so many ways you can interact with real video. In Corpse Killer, you're a soldier dropped on a zombie-infested island, and your mission is to find and stop the madman who's responsible for it all. You're befriended by a jeep-driving Rastafarian and a struggling reporter (who's also a major league hottie, by the way). Despite the elaborate storyline and abundance of video clips, most of the action involves moving a simple cursor around the screen and blasting approaching zombies. The gameplay is hopelessly simplistic, but I did find myself somewhat charmed by the "so-bad-they're-good" video sequences. The mad scientist is particularly entertaining, thanks to the over-the-top performance given by Vincent Schiavelli. I've played Corpse Killer on several other systems (Sega CD, 32X, Saturn), and this is easily the best looking version, but also the most difficult and frustrating. There are more indicators on the screen, the video looks cleaner, and the zombies aren't pixilated like they are in other versions. I also noticed some additional footage not available on other systems. The game supports a light gun, but like most 3DO owners, I didn't own one. Fortunately I found the cursor control to be adequate. One thing I didn't like about this version of Corpse Killer is the lack of falling "bonus" items. On other systems you can shoot small symbols to boost your ammo or health, which adds a miniscule amount of strategy to the shallow gameplay. If you have a place in your heart for these old FMV games, you'll appreciate Corpse Killer for what it is. But I think most people will dismiss it as a steaming pile of dung.
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Escape From Monster Manor (Electronic Arts 1993) B


I've always enjoyed Haunted House games, so I found Monster Manor very appealing despite the fact that it's really a Doom clone. Your mission is to collect pieces of a Talisman scattered through an old house. This house is HUGE, with each floor consisting of an endless series of corridors and rooms. The rooms contain a few spooky items like coffins, statues, and hanging bodies, but for the most part they are wide open and all start looking the same after a while. You'll constantly need to consult your map to figure out where to go next. The semi-transparent ghosts are nicely rendered, but they could have been scarier (they were modeled in clay). Control is responsive; your movement is fast and smooth, and the shoulder buttons provide a handy strafe function. But the best aspect of Monster Manor is the audio. The background music is incredibly eerie, and the gristly sound effects will send chills down your spine. You often get the impression that something terrible is waiting for you in the next room! One thing I didn't like was how fast your life and ammo drains - you constantly need to replenish yourself. And while in some areas there's so much life and ammo you're tripping over them, there are other areas where they're painfully rare. And boy did I get tired of picking up all those gems and coins, which apparently only affect your score. Despite its flaws, Monster Manor is a pretty exciting game, and I don't think you can get it on any other console.
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Alone in the Dark (Interplay 1994) D


Long before Resident Evil popularized the 'survival horror' genre of games, there was a similar game called Alone in the Dark. In this third person 3D adventure, you investigate an old house while collecting items, solving puzzles, avoiding traps, and battling monsters. Sound familiar? The graphics are polygon-rendered, allowing for numerous camera angles. Unfortunately it also means that the objects are very blocky, the action is slow, and you don't always get the best camera angle. The controls are a bit clumsy thanks to a confusing user interface. An "action" menu lets decide if you want to fight, search, push, etc. Thank goodness there is a "run" button, because otherwise the slow pace would be unbearable. While most of the puzzles aren't too bad, getting past some of the monsters can be a chore. A few of these creatures look downright silly - one looks like the Tasmanian devil! Alone in the Dark is at its best when you're searching and exploring, but the low frame rate makes the fighting slow and confusing. There aren't too many thrills in this game, but there is a certain amount of suspense. The sound effects and background music are particularly effective. You can save your place at any time. Alone in the Dark was an innovative game for its time, but it has not aged particularly well.
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Casper (Interplay 1993) B


Okay, I was terribly harsh in my initial review of this game, but as I often say to my wife, "I can explain!" It turns out that certain 3DO games run better on some systems than others. When I first reviewed this game a few years back, I played it on my Goldstar system, which thrashed and stuttered the whole way through. As you can imagine, the sporadic controls and fragmented music really tainted the experience. However, now that I've had a chance to play it on my Panasonic FZ-10, I can see Casper for what it really is - an engaging, easy-to-play adventure. Despite its quirks, Casper is certainly more enjoyable than most of the 3DO titles I've inflicted upon myself. I will admit that the premise is somewhat disturbing. Casper is actually a dead kid trying to resurrect himself! And while the cartoon version of the Casper character looked "friendly" enough, this 3D incarnation looks somewhat creepy. Still, Interplay infused the subject matter with enough with whimsical style and good-natured humor to make it palatable to most gamers (including kids). Gameplay involves exploring a huge mansion, collecting items, pigging out on food, assembling jigsaw puzzles, and avoiding unfriendly ghosts. As it turns out, ghosts love to eat broccoli and tuna fish sandwiches! Who knew? The game isn't the most logical in the world, so the ability to suspend disbelief is pre-requisite. For example, Casper can transform with a mist to navigate the ventilation system, but can't penetrate a barred door! One puzzle requires you to drop a lead weigh on a sparkly area to trigger a switch. That's hardly intuitive, but most of the game's puzzles are simple enough to hold your attention. Eventually, you'll open up so much of the mansion that it becomes confusing to navigate. A map screen would have been helpful. Still, the game is addictive, and I like how you can save you progress at any time. In terms of presentation, Casper rates extremely high. The house has a decrepit but elegant look, evocative of Disney's Haunted Mansion. The lavish orchestrated musical score tows the line between playful and ominous. This is a game that eventually grew on me. If your 3DO can handle it, Casper is a pleasant diversion.
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Night Trap (Digital Pictures 1993) A-


I'm a big fan of this game on the Sega CD/32X, so I was really anticipating the 3DO version to be something special. Night Trap is a full motion video game where you monitor eight rooms of a house, trying to trap thugs who attack a group of girls having a slumber party. The storyline and acting are cheesy, but that's all part of the fun. Beating the game requires trial and error as well as memorization, but I like how events happen in different rooms concurrently, and each time you play you can see something new. To me, this game really puts the capabilities of a CD to good use. Compared to the 32X version, the video looks much cleaner. The video screen is larger and the image is less grainy, but the frame rate looks a bit choppier for some reason. Actually, I found that the cleaner image actually took away somewhat from the mysterious quality of the game. Switching between cameras is faster in this version, but the 3DO controllers tend to be way too sensitive. Night Trap for the 3DO is still a fun game, but this version is hardly an improvement.
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Philips CD-i

7th Guest, The (Virgin 1993) D


I'm still trying to figure out why this slow, plodding mystery game was so popular on the PC in the early 90's. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the tepid gameplay. Perhaps it was the abundance of eye candy, effectively combining live acting with nicely rendered environments. 7th Guest places you in a mysterious mansion for a night with six other ghostly "guests". As you explore the various rooms, you'll encounter ghosts played by live actors filling in parts of a very scripted storyline. In addition to watching video clips, you also need to solve a series of puzzles. While not particularly taxing, the fact that you don't get any directions makes the puzzles a bit more difficult and fun. Unfortunately the storyline is confusing and the snobby characters aren't particularly compelling. What's most notable about 7th Guest is its biggest downfall: the general lack of atmosphere. Much like the early Alone in the Dark games, the developers failed to understand that bright, clean, colorful rooms just aren't very scary. Even the "surprise" animated clips that are supposed to be intense fall flat. 7th Guest is a novel concept, but despite its good looks, there's not much of a game here.
Check for 7th Guest, The on Ebay

Saturn

D (Acclaim 1995) C+


D is a bone-chilling, spine-tingling first-person adventure where you control a woman wandering around a huge mansion attempting to discover what happened to her father. This game is unique because it's played in real time, and it ends exactly after two hours after you start playing, unless you finish it, of course. You can't even pause or save your place, so make sure you have two hours free before you undertake this intense adventure. The plodding pace made me impatient at first, but I soon got caught up in the creepy atmosphere. D is effectively frightening and has some genuinely intense moments. Chilling sound effects and ominous music are used effectively, and the first person graphics, although somewhat grainy, are good enough to immerse you in this dark world. Movement is smooth but also very SLOW - slow enough to make retracing your steps feel tedious. Fortunately the puzzles tend to be straight forward, so you won't get stuck in any room for too long. Your character automatically moves toward vital objects, and there are no red herrings to be found. Unfortunately, by the time you get to disk 2, the slow movement and endless puzzles start to get tiresome. The replay value is gravely wounded by the fact that you can never skip the cinematics, which are often lengthy and annoying. But overall D is a spooky and worthwhile trip, at least the first time through.
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House of the Dead (Sega 1998) B-


The first in a series of popular zombie-shooting light gun games, House of the Dead delivers brain-splattering mayhem with branching routes and some of the worst dialogue ever recorded for a video game. Panned by critics when initially released on the Saturn, House of the Dead is a little rough around the edges (literally) but still undeniably fun. The action is pretty much non-stop as the green blood flies everywhere and heads get blown off with extreme prejudice. As you are automatically guided around a huge mansion, all sorts of ugly ghouls pop up at every turn. There are also quite a few boxes and barrels to shoot, which often reveal health and power-ups. The character models are definitely chunky, but it's the sloppy, pixilated scenery with numerous seams and clipping problems (objects that don't overlap correctly) that really make this game look mediocre. Considering this game came out late in the system's lifecycle, you'd think they could have done a better job. The Saturn light gun, on the other hand, is responsive and exceedingly accurate. In fact, even without calibration, these guns are superior to the ones I have for my Xbox. Despite its flaws, I enjoy playing House of the Dead, especially since the changing paths make each play slightly different. And any game where you shoot killer monkeys can't be all bad.
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Corpse Killer Graveyard Edition (Digital Pictures) 1994 F


Corpse Killer is one of those full motion video (FMV) games (I can hear the groans) that takes place on a zombie-infested island. You play a lieutenant out to rescue three fellow soldiers held captive by a mad scientist named Helman, nicely played by Vincent Schiavelli. Other characters include a Rastafarian named Winston who transports you from place to place in his jeep. He's also a decent actor, but then there's the blonde reporter named Julie who's cute but far less convincing. It doesn't help that she has cringe-worthy lines like "Cool toy - I bet you know how to... turn it on. I bet you know how to do a lot of things". Wow, is it getting warm in here or is it just me? Corpse Killer is basically a collection of short video clips interspersed with lame shooting sequences, requiring you to aim by moving a cursor with the joypad (sorry - no light gun support). You can hold down a button to shoot rapidly, and the splattering blood makes mowing down scores of pixilated zombies at least somewhat satisfying. Actually, many of the digitized "zombies" look like poorly dressed programmer geeks, and I suspect many were developers wanting to make an appearance in what they thought would be a runaway hit of a game. The action isn't totally mindless, as you can shoot certain icons to gain life and ammo, and certain enemies require different kinds of bullets to take down. The video quality is grainy, but at least it's full screen. Filmed on location, the scenery looks terrific. You'll battle in a graveyard, fort, shipwreck, swamp, and an abandoned village. One thing that's sure to annoy players in the poor instruction manual which fails to mention key pieces of information, such as how aborting your mission takes you to the game save screen. I was grateful that the right button lets you skip the video sequences. Corpse Killer isn't all that bad thanks to its unintentionally funny video clips, and even the shallow shooting action grew on me after a while. But it's still hard to say this is a good game while keeping a straight face.
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Mr. Bones (Sega 1996) A-

Mr. Bones is a collection of high quality mini-games sandwiched between some extremely impressive full motion video (FMV) clips. You control a skeleton named Mr. Bones who was formerly a blues musician. He is pursued by an army of skeletons under the spell of an evil wizard. The video clips that convey the storyline are the most impressive I've seen on the Saturn, seamlessly combining live actors and computer animation. I'm pretty jaded when it comes to FMV, but these clips held my attention. The levels themselves range from typical side scrolling mayhem to some of the most original concepts I've ever seen in a video game. Some of the more unique stages include playing a guitar (cool!), playing drums, telling jokes (seriously), gliding through a huge cathedral, fighting a skeletal T-Rex, and saving a village of little people from spiders (their high-pitched screams are hilarious). In most stages, hits will cause you to actually "lose" bones, forcing you to crawl around with no legs, or hop on your spine! Although no single level here could stand on its own, it's evident that a tremendous amount of thought and effort was put into each one. The graphics are sensational, and the sound effects and music are equally impressive. If Mr. Bones has a fault, it's the difficulty level. Just making it through the first level is entirely too hard. Also, the jumping control could be more responsive at times. But overall, Mr. Bones is an amazing piece of work.
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