The Haunted Mansion

"Go Ahead! I dare you not to Touch that Clock!"

I'm really surprised not to find any Xbox Reviews on GameFAQs yet about this one. There are a few PS2 Reviews, and I stand corrected from my previous posting. I guess I should have been more through about my search. But I digress. I suppose not enough people have picked it up, and I ignored it for a long time, but it got in the right price range and I said to myself "What the Heck! I like Eddie Murphy and his comedy, and I really like Marsha Thomason, let's see what kind of game they made out of it. Boy was I surprised! It has nothing to do with the Disney movie, but more like the Disney Theme Park version by the same name. Frankly, I think the game is better.

Story Line: -Rating 7- Not really much of a unique story line, no twisters in this one. You're a bow-legged goofy looking character by the name of Zeke Holloway, an Ichabod Crane look-alike. Your goal is to survive the ever increasing scary levels as you fumble your way through multiple levels with nothing more than a magic lantern to guide your way, to free the mansion and the tortured souls that inhabit it from an evil spirit by the name of Atticus Thorn. Do you have enough courage to survive? How scary is your mission? It gets scarier at each increasingly harder level, but there is help as you fumble your way thorugh dark corridors, creaky doors and forbidding rooms. Madame Leota and the crystal ball are there to help you.

Graphics: -Rating 8- The graphics are really decent, and the motion is skip free, at least on the Xbox. Your character can run, and even tip-toe, and the spooks are not much to brag about, mostly translucent, but the rooms are charming and chilling, with the proverbial dark windows and mirrors, the statues and paintings that literally follow your movement, the yawning chasms, the deep shadows, all pretty well rendered. You won't be disappointed with the graphics.

Gameplay: -Rating 10- This is really a fun platformer, somewhat different than what you would normally be used to. The fright level is pretty tame, and the mini-bosses and super bosses try their best to scare the wits out of you, and even combine their efforts the deeper you go into the game. Some of these levels are pretty tough. I would suggest playing on the easy level the 1st time through, and then increasing the difficulty level. I played it on medium, and it was tough enough. I'm scared to go to hard, I don't think my fingers could take it. Generally, you must make your way through spirit barrier doors that are blocked until you've scooped up enough shriveled souls that are hidden in inanimate objects laying around each room. Unfortunately, you don't know which object contains them until you've create enough light in the room, usually with a hard to get to light switch, to see the objects wiggle and undulate.. And that's where the puzzle comes in, ingenious ones at that. Each room has it's own way of getting light, and you must find that way. In the meantime, you have a constant barrage of creatures and evil spirits jumping out at you from the spooky shadows trying to scare you to death. You can monitor that also with a bravery meter, and even revitalize your courage with some random tonic floating around.. Occasionally, you'll find a Mumbo doll, which increases your permanent courage, and fortune cards will give you extra lives. And you will need them. And keep your eye out for those tattered pieces of death certificates, which, when redeemed, will give your lantern additional powers. Atticus shows up every now and then, but he's not so tough, but some of his creepy goons he looses on you are. The gameplay is solid.

Sounds: -Rating 9-. Spooky, creepy, haunting, they're all there to provide the right atmosphere. Not much music, but what's there, is pretty good. I like the little ditty played when you click on pause. There's the proverbial screams and screeches, and opening the spirit doors always give you a little start, it's like unsealing a door that's been under tremendous pressure. The sounds are appropriately timed to give you a heads up when something approaches, and the game really wouldn't be anything without the sound effects.

Replay Value: -Rating 8- Like I said before, you may want to play it on easy the 1st time through, and there's cheat codes available if you want to replay certain levels at any difficulty level, and you will find yourself thinking "Now that was a fun room", like the pool room, or the toy room. Some rooms you might not want to play again, because they are very frustrating. There's a mix. Some rooms require ingenious puzzles to solve, and some rooms require you to fight some pretty mean bosses, and some rooms are a mix. There's a ton of rooms to choose from. Go ahead, pick your poison, and stay away from the invincibility cheat code! But if you find yourself frustrated to the point where you can't help it, the codes resets after each Save, Quit and Reload. Now what was that code again....XBBBXY...no, XBBYBX.., or is it Square Triangle Triangle....forget it! I'm not giving it to you. You don't have to stray far to find them.

Final Score: -8/10- A high 8. This game is worthy of being in any collection, and can be picked up for less than $15 new, even cheaper in the used bargain bins. If you're more of a Third Person Shooter, or Action player, a puzzle solver.... then this is the game for you! Oh! Did I mention that the Lantern shoots too?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/25/06