Developed by ImaginEngine
Published by Atari SA
Released for XBLA (10/2010)
Also on Wii/PC
Haunted House is a remake of a classic Atari 2600 title. The original game was very unique for the time that it came out and is remembered fondly by many who played it back in the day. This remake stays true to its source material for the most part but how well does gameplay from 1981 hold up in a title released these days?
Right when you start out you'll notice that Haunted House is a very dark game and rummaging around in the darkness is pretty much the name of the game. You're able to pick up various light sources ranging from matches, cellphones, candles, torches and lanterns. Some of the stronger ones, like the torches for instance, will damage nearby enemies while the weaker light sources like the matches will simply just provide you with a little light to help see where you are going.
Being based off an Atari 2600 title, Haunted House is a very simple game. Your objective is to simply reach the end of the floor and move up to the next one. After clearing four floors on each of the games four worlds you will face off against a boss. There are various enemies you'll encounter consisting of your typical ghosts, rats, bats and the like. You have no way to directly attack the enemies, rather you have to either lure them to a fireplace or use an offensive light source such as a lantern. When using the lantern, vanquishing an enemy will involve usually circling around them out of attack range until the light finally vanquishes them. This brings me to one of my first issues with this game: this combat system is pretty lame and I feel like something better could have been implemented.
There is some effort to mix-up the gameplay in the form of colored lanterns, which basically work the same way as colored keys in most games, where you'll need to have the appropriately colored lantern to expose hidden pathways. In addition to the lanterns you can find magical lights, which allow you to do a power move that will eliminate any enemies within your range. These have a recharge time after use though, so use them wisely. There are also collectibles scattered about in the form of journal entries and treasures but they serve no real purpose to the game other than an achievement. There is also a coop mode offered as well so if you can bring somebody along it will help make the game more enjoyable.
Another issue I ran into with Haunted House is that the action does not stop when the dialog boxes pop up to provide information. These are nice to have, but it sucks when a ghost or rat is assaulting you while the game tells you what type of key you need to get through a door. This should have been caught before release and would have been an easy fix. It doesn't completely break the game, just be ready to mash the X button quickly to dismiss the prompts. Also the enemy attack distances seem a bit off. There were numerous times when I was trying to avoid the enemies but would end up taking damage even when the enemy was clearly not even close to my character. The overhead and somewhat angled perspective of the camera also creates some issues with walls blocking your line of sight. Most games solve this problem by making the walls appear transparent when they obstruct your field of view but in Haunted House they remain solid even when they block the view of your character. This can make navigating that bottom area of the screen a pain sometimes, especially getting through some of the narrow doorways.
Haunted House made a good initial first impression, but after an hour or two of play the game grew rather tiring. Your defense against enemies feels odd and the levels are too repetitive both in layout and in looks. It would have been nice to have included the original game as well, either for those who missed out or don't have an Atari 2600 around to play it anymore. I appreciate Atari trying ot bring back some of these old properties, but they really need to take more care in making something that plays good today rather just ride on the old nostalgia of what the company once was.
Final Verdict: Haunted House is a tough one to recommend, but if you're an older gamer who remembers the old classic you might get some fun out of this title.
Related Links:
Buy Haunted House - Xbox Marketplace
Atari - Xbox Overview
Atari - Official Site
Haunted House - Metacritic
Haunted House - GameFAQs
ImaginEngine - Wikipedia
Haunted House Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Haunted House - True Achievements
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