Monster House

"Smash TV reworked around a kid's movie"

To be frightfully honest, I have NO idea what the actual movie Monster House is about, outside of a house that eats things. I know three kids (a male lead, a spunky girl, and a chubby pal - all cliches) get involved, and apparently some cops do as well (if the cut scenes are anything to go by).

However, if you do as I do and simply skip the story pieces and stick to the game play, this is a suprisingly good game. Yes, it is a movie tie-in, with characters and themes from the movie. But that is not the only source of inspiration.

Way back when the NES and Turbographix and Genesis were around (as in, early 1990s), there was an arcade game known as Smash TV. The basic concept was to blast anything and everything, with one controller moving you around while you used the other to blast in any direction. All the while, foes are charging you.

Monster House runs on very simmilar lines. Naturally, instead of various themes from assorted shows, you get levels based off of rooms inside the hungry house. While not the most varied of designs, the dark themes and typical colorings of a horror house suit the mood well.

The basic controls involve using the D-pad (or face buttons for you lefties) to move around, while you use the stylus to aim your weapons. I say weapons, because each character has their own unique water gun (yes, water guns). You can choose a "weapon" at the start of each room (and by weapon, I mean character); DJ (the main male) has a typical rapid-fire gun, Jenny (the female "love interest" (ha ha)) dual wields pistols (which have almost no notable differences compared to DJs most of the time), and Chowder (what kind of a name is THAT?), who wields a Contra-style spread gun (only three-way normally). Each character can collect the odd power-up for more health, invincibility, and a Super Spread Gun (the true Contra five-way). Also, when a character looses all five hearts, you have to choose another one. However, as you beat rooms, the others gain back a heart.

Speaking of rooms, most are simply unlocked by beating the one prior, though many require you to obtain "toys." Other than unlocking rooms, these serve no real purpose, and are rather easy to find for the most part.

As far as foes go, you have your typical swarm types (in this game's case, assorted "plates"), wall cannons ("wall lamps"), self-destructing threats ("Grandfather Clocks" and "pot heads" (aka walking plants)), among other "evil" things.

Not the most original, but the somewhat fast pace, coupled with solid controls and a nice pace make up for one fun, if old-school feel.

There are downsides to this game, chief among them being the linear design of the game. Yes, as I said you do need to accumulate toys to get into some rooms, but even this doesn't make the game more diverse. Also, the soundtrack is just downright boring. I am unsure if this is from the movie, but a few original horror cliche tunes (such as chants and chains) would have spiced it up (and given it an E10+ instead of an E for an ESRB rating). Finally, the story scenes could have been taken out and I would never have cared.

In short, a VERY good old-school arcade game in a kiddie package (and a fun movie tie-in to boot). Not often something like THIS comes along and makes me take notice. Worth a try, though only for fans of the movie or old-school gamers...

Score: 8 of 10

+ Best Features: Smash TV clone, solid controls, nice difficulty, US$14.99

- Worst Features: Soundtrack, story bits, somewhat repetative levels, movie tie-in

* If You Liked: Konami Arcade Collection (DS), Monster House (PS2, Xbox, GC)

* Guilty Pleasure: The fact that many fellow co-workers were interested when I told them what this game was kin to...

- (Ugly) Reality: The simple fact that more license games don't take inspiration from older games and make them as good as this.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/07, Updated 11/20/07

Game Release: Monster House (US, 07/18/06)