The Haunted Mansion

"Nintedo produces another mediocre movie based game..."

I wasn't expecting much from this game, really, when I popped it into my system...and I was right in doing so. There wasn't really much to this game. You run around, you kill things, you solve puzzles that range rapidly from one that a two year old could solve, and one that would drench a 40 year old role players undershirt. I'll start with the basics -

Graphics - 8

I have to give some credit on the graphics. They really pushed the Gamecube to its peak, which isn't great, but still, I was awestruck at the graphics. Especially at the pyramid scene. I could barely beleive my eyes as a perfectly depicted Eddie Murphy strode across the screen, valiantly, to get the Book of Spells. It was amazing.

Sound - 3

Poor voice acting, horrible syncing, and when something was supposed to create suspense, it was killed, because that little crash didn't sound til a minute after the zombie landed behind you. :(

Gameplay - 5

Like I said before, repetitive, only one way to go, so there was no real challenge. The puzzles were either extremely simple, and boring, or so perplexing that it made the game not fun anymore. For instance, when Sabrina tells you to find the correct positions of the vases, how are you to know that you have to engage her in conversation THREE MORE TIMES before the last vase appears. It makes the puzzle impossible to solve, and unless you are a button mashing 3 year old, i'm sure you'd be stumped on that one a while

Difficulty - 4

The game doesn't MEAN to be challenging, but it is challenging in a way that it doesn't make sense. You don't get told what to do, and when you have to solve a puzzle, you usually have to do something that nobody would think to do before solving the puzzle. So...the games pretty tricky like that. Otherwise it's extremely straightforward with 2-3 hit kill bosses, and so much health that you don't know what to do with it.

Storyline - 2

The movies storyline was...lacking to say the least. Now take that story, cut it in half, burn some of it, and you'll have the game. In a nutshell, you save your wife. Personally, the original Donkey Kong had a better story. :P

Replay Value - 0

If you actually managed to sit through this game, I'd be surprised if you could play it again. If terrorists burst into my home and told me to play this game again, I think I would take the bullet. The puzzles are the same the second time, except of course, they feel extremely repetitive. And the long dialogues about nothing would be horrendous to sit through a second time.

Overall - 4

Some games based on movies can be fun, for a while (eg: Harry Potter), but if you take a bad movie, and turn it into an even worse game, well...see you in the bargain bin, Haunted Mansion!

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/04