Until this game
suddenly appeared on store shelves, I bet that a lot of gamers werent
even aware it existed. Haunted Mansion had the misfortune of being
released at the same time as Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and it was
completely overshadowed by Rares first game on Xbox. Which is sad,
really, because Haunted Mansion is a lot better game than Ghoulies.
Based on the ride itself rather than the movie currently playing in
theaters, Haunted Mansion provides an entertaining crawl through the
famous haunted house that will appeal to more than just kids but older
gamers and die hard fans of the ride as well.
In Haunted Mansion,
you play as Zeke, a timid fellow who is looking for a job as housekeeper
at the mansion. Much to his surprise, the house is haunted. He is
quickly approached by a group of friendly ghosts who ask him to rid the
house of the bad ghosts and so Haunted Mansion begins. Equipped with
only a special lantern, it is up to Zeke to solve puzzles and turn on
the lights in each room to rid the house of the bad ghosts so that the
friendly ghosts can finally rest in peace.
The gameplay in
Haunted Mansion is deceptively simple, but a lot of fun as well. The
mansion is broken up into dozens of rooms and you have to turn the
lights on in each room and then suck up the wandering spirits into your
lantern. Before you turn the lights on, however, the ghosts will try to
attack you so you have to shoot them with balls of energy from your
lantern. Most of the rooms have a puzzle that you have to solve before
you can reach the light switch. The puzzles fit the theme of each room,
so in the music room, for example, you have to activate musical
instruments which then causes books to move around and form a staircase
up to the light switch. Other puzzles are more like minigames and will
see Zeke doing things like running around on a pool table trying to help
ghosts sink their shots. Each room has a different puzzle and most of
them require a little bit of thinking in order to solve.
Once you get the
lights turned on, the gameplay changes completely. You have to search
paintings and furniture which causes harmless spirits to come out so you
can suck them up with your lantern. The way the game features a lot of
different types of gameplay within each room, and the fact that each
room is a new and unique puzzle to solve, means that the game never
feels repetitive. You have to shoot ghosts and solve puzzles, but once
you have the lights turned on you then have to explore and capture the
wandering spirits. This is fun, plain and simple.
Unlike Microsoft with
Grabbed by the Ghoulies, TDK Mediactive has no problem in admitting that
Haunted Mansion is a kids game. None of the puzzles are too difficult
for a little kid to solve, but the puzzles and gameplay still manage to
be entertaining enough that adults will enjoy the game as well. The
haunted house theme is executed very well and the atmosphere is
definitely spooky, but there isnt anything in the game that is too
scary for the youngsters. I would say that this is a kids game done
right. It is simple enough that the ten and under set can enjoy it, but
it isnt so simple that adults wont have fun with it as well.
Haunted Mansion does
have a couple of problems, however. The game wont take very long to
complete, and once you beat it there isnt really any reason to play
through it again because you wont see anything new or different.
Another annoyance lies in the fact that you cant go back through
previous rooms to play the minigames. Once you save your game, there is
no going back. Some of the puzzles are fun enough that youll want to
play them more than once, but it isnt worth playing through the game
multiple times just to reach the four or five rooms that you really
liked.
Graphically, The
Haunted Mansion looks very good and does a great job of capturing the
look and feel of the Disneyland ride. Pictures and room layouts, as well
as the characters themselves, are all ripped straight out of the ride.
The mansion is suitably spooky with spider webs all over the place, and
there is a lot of detail in everything. The character models for Zeke
and the ghosts he is hunting are also nicely detailed. The sound is also
very well done. Some of the music was taken from the ride, but there are
new tracks as well that do an excellent job of maintaining the haunted
house feel. The sound effects for the ghosts and everything else fit in
with the theme perfectly and do a good job of immersing you into the
game.
The Haunted Mansion
is a fun game that has a lot to offer to just about everyone. It is
simple enough that little kids will enjoy it yet the puzzles and
gameplay are not so simple as to insult your intelligence if you are an
older gamer. Fans of the ride will also find a lot to like in this game
as they can explore the locations that were otherwise off limits and
interact with all of the characters. Haunted Mansion is a fun trip
through a haunted house that was, sadly, overshadowed by an inferior
product in Grabbed by the Ghoulies. The two games share a lot of the
same concepts exploring a haunted house and moving from room to room
clearing out ghosts and monsters but Haunted Mansion is simply more
fun. Because of the short length and lack of replay value, however, I
cant really recommend it for a purchase. Give it a rent. You wont be
disappointed.
Eric Qualls (11/22/2003) |