The Addams Family

"A Fun Mario knock-off"

The Addams Family made by Ocean, is a surprisingly
fun game. You control Gomez Addams, who was played by the late and great Raul Julia in the movie that the game is based loosely upon. Gomez has to save the rest of his family, as Wednesday, Fester, Pugsley, Granny and Morticia are all missing. Gomez has a few weapons that he can use along the way, such as golf balls and a sword, as well as neat contraptions such as the flying Fez. Gomez can also stomp on most of his enemies, a move that a certain Italian plumber is known to use to eliminate the baddies. So you could say this is a great Mario clone.

The great part of Addams Family is that it is very nonlinear, as you can save everyone but Morticia in any order you so please, and there are many parts of the mansion that are secret and that hold bonuses. The not-so great part is the uneven control of Gomez. It's very hard not to have Gomez take a lot of damage in certain levels(The freezer levels come to mind). Also Gomez must also sometimes use the bad guys to spring to out of the way places using a ''Springboard Jump'', and that is a little difficult to master. A good part of the game is that Thing will give you some hints if you hit his box(it's a box with an A on it). Did I mention this game plays like a Super Mario Brothers game already, with stomping on enemies, and shooting golf balls like fire balls, and with traps that act like Mario game traps.(Gameplay:7/10)

The music in the game is so-so, as I don't remember any of the background music well except for the great Addams Family theme at the beginning. The graphics on the other hand were great. It had a cartoonish look that fit the games campy feel, and Gomez had a really cool animation as if you don't do anything, he starts to tap his feet. The colors are varied, but mostly bright when they need to be, and dark enough to work, but not look ugly. The bad guys also look very campy, which adds to the fun factor. (Sound and Graphics: 6)

The plot is like this: you, Gomez Addams, have to save your family, and regain the family fortune. You have to face many nasty creatures like a Witch, a Goblin, and a very nasty Judge. The plot doesn't quite take itself too seriously, as there is much camp in what the characters say, and how ridiculous some of the stages look, but half of the fun of this game is exploring the secret rooms, and looking at how campy the oven levels are.(Plot: 8)

Addams has a lot of replay value because the mansion is huge, and it will take you at least three replayings to find all of the rooms. The ending of the game, is really nice too. Not to spoil it, but the programmers definitely had fun creating it. (Replay value: 6)

The Moment of Truth, to buy or not to buy?
My recommendation is that you buy this excellent, and slightly overlooked SNES title. You will not be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/03, Updated 07/28/03