Home Alone

"A game based on a movie that is actually fun? Wow, can't be!"

Home Alone(the video game) recieved a lot of criticism when it came out for the Sega Genesis. Maybe it was because the Macauly Culkin backlash had already started; or maybe most people felt this game was childish, and stupid.

Or maybe people just weren't ready for a game that was based on a movie, and was actually G-O-O-D.

In Home Alone, you are Kevin...or Macauly Culkin. The two bad guys are going around ransacking houses. Your job is to stop them. You can do this via setting up traps(marbles on the floor, blowtorch on the roof) or injuring them with your weapons. This was the true highlight of Home Alone. You could find items around the house, and turn it into the next Iraqui super gun! A can, some wire and a magnet mean an electrical grenade! Balloons, a can and some pepper will create a pepper mortar which will have the burglars sneezing like crazy! There are about 25 different weapon combinations to foil those burglars!

There are 5 houses in all. The burglars go about each one, leaving yours till last. You go to each house by manouerving your sledge / sleigh, which is easy to control. If you get there before the gruesome twosome, a map pops up, enabling you to select traps, and where to place them.

Each house is very different too. There's the old creepy house, and the futuristic house, which has robots moving around in it!

The fun element in Home Alone wears thin after awhile though. It gets to be more annoying than fun which a low point.

Overall, Home Alone is a really fun game and I was surprised at how good it was, after all the reviews it recieved bashing it. It isn't going to be amongst the top ten games for the Genesis, but I thoroughly recommend renting it.

Gameplay - 6. Can be frustrating at times, but can also be fun.

Control - 5. I found the controls to be annoying at times. You have to pause to create/switch weapons, and if you have just ran out of ammo and theres a bad guy coming straight at you, this isn't good. Plus often the jump just wouldn't work.

Graphics - 7. No real flaws, but nothing special either. What you come to expect from the Genesis.

Sound - 5. Not too many sound effects. Plus moving the sleigh around gets annoying as hell really quickly due to the “SSSRRRRGHHHHHHHH” “SRRRRRGHHHHHH” effect it makes. Lucky Macauly's scream isn't in this, otherwise it'd get a big fat 0!

Lastability - 4. Once completed, chances of going back are rather slim. Going back and completing it again is rare. Going back and setting up more traps just to see the tall guy be caught in them though....is expected.

Overall - 6. It's not a bad game, and I would recommend adding it to your collection. Renting may be a better choice though. An excellent gamesplayer will have completed it on easy mode in a matter of hours. However for the majority of gamesplayers, it can take a few days to complete.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 02/22/01