The Haunted Mansion

"Thankfully, Eddie Murphy has nothing to do with this one."

Games based on movies have a hideous track record. Need I remind you that the game that almost singlehandedly caused the Great Video Game Crash was ET? And if it's an Eddie Murphy movie... well, those who have dared to play a Shrek game can report how dire such things usually are. Thankfully, TDK chose not to have anything to do with the movie other than the name.

Plot: 6/10

We begin with a man named Zeke Holloway applying for a job as caretaker of a certain mansion down in the bayou. Unfortunately for him, the mansion is, as the title suggests, haunted by just under a thousand ghosts. Even worse, a sorcerer going by the name of Atticus Thorn has decided to take this opportunity to snag the Beacon of Souls, a mystical artifact that guides the departed into the Afterlife... and keeps them out of the Afterdeath, which is basically Hell. Should Thorn get his hands on the Beacon, the dead will suffer, so Madame Leona (the head in the crystal ball, for those of you familiar with the Disneyland ride) essentially forces Zeke to gather the missing Soul Gems, refit them into the Beacon, and give Atticus a good thrashing. Cliche, but it kicks the movie's plot down and makes it bite the curb, so it gets a 6.

Our Hero: 6/10

Zeke Holloway is not exactly the most inspiring hero - he's lanky, he dresses badly, and he panics easily. He spends as much time freaking out as he does facing down the enemies, but given that he's trapped in a mansion with all sorts of creatures lusting for his blood, it's understandable. He won't inspire a new generation of main characters, but for a licensed game he'll do nicely.

Our Villain: 5/10

Atticus Thorn, evil sorcerer and Standard Video Game Foe #426. Although he spends much of the game absent, you're filled in on his plan via books found throughout the manor. Once he finally shows up, he's so overdressed you're likely to laugh. He's disappointingly easy in the skirmishes throughout the later parts of the mansion, and the final battle sees him become a disturbingly phallic worm easily defeated via circle-strafing. Nice voice, though.

Graphics: 7/10

The game is very dark... but then, that's the point. Your only sources of light come from windows and the Beacon, so the atmosphere is established off the bat. Zeke and the various other characters (non-enemy ghosts, lost souls, so on) are well-modeled and stand out from the darkness well enough to be seen (and in the case of enemies, shot at). The exception are the small spiders, which are easily lost in the shadows, but that's the point. After you turn the lights on in a room, the decor seems a little repetitive (I swear you'll see the same trunks throughout at least half the rooms), and things become subject to motion blur; however, while the light is off, the game's graphics are very well-done.

Music: 6/10

In most of the rooms, while the lights are off, music is absent. This helps develop a sense of fear, as the only sounds you'll hear are enemy attacks and the Beacon firing. Some rooms have music while the lights are off; in the Conservatory, during the book-jump puzzle, the number of instruments playing indicates how far along you are. Once the lights are on, a soft musical theme sets in. To sum up, while there isn't much music in this game, what there is rather nice.

Controls: 7/10

Responsive and somewhat simple. One button fires the Beacon, one examines objects, one works the soul-collecting aspect of the Beacon, and one is held down to strafe. Nothing sticks, there's no wait time, and the game handles surprisingly well.

Camera: 4/10

Why is it that the camera is the last thing they work on in a licensed game? The one in this game doesn't screw up as badly as the camera in certain other games, but it still doesn't like to look the way you want it to look. At least you can slap it into a rough approximation of how you want to see with the right analog stick, but it's only a treatment, not a cure.

Enemies: 6/10

Repetition is this game's primary fault, and you'll feel it in the enemies more than anything. There are about eight different types of enemy, and you'll fight each of them about five hundred times before the game reaches its end. However, what there are of the enemies is somewhat inspired - the first time you fight a Blue Reaper, you'll see what I mean.

Gameplay: 7/10

While each room in the mansion follows a set pattern, what truly sets this game apart is the first half of each area. Namely, you have to turn on the lights, but how you do so varies from room to room. This leads to some of the most involving puzzles I've ever had to solve. In one room, for example, you must make a plate-throwing poltergeist shatter bottles to create a line of alcohol from a stove to a fireplace. In another, the light switch comes off the wall and you must trick it into moving into place. It seems this part of the game is where the creators devoted most of their time.
The second half of each room is a somewhat tedious search-and-capture, where you must scour the room and touch throbbing objects to unleash shriveled ghosts, which you then suck into the Beacon. While time-consuming and a little boring, it doesn't sour the first half of each room.

Weapons and Power-Ups: 5/10

For a weapon, the Beacon of Souls is pretty run-of-the-mill. You start with the ability to rapid-fire single shots, and soon gain the added abilities of charged shots, spread shots, and so forth. There are your usual get-ten-for-a-one-up items (tarot cards), life-bar extenders (voodoo dolls), and health-ups (Bravery Tonic). In short, not much new here.

Overall: 7/10

As far as games off licenses go, this one's not bad at all. It's not necessarily one to buy at full price, but by now it's likely in the budget bins anyway. This is one of those cases where ignoring the movie's plot did the game a world of good. Give it a rental, at the least.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/07/05