At the time it was released, Halloween drew a lot of controversy. Many felt the violence, especially against children, was and excessive and a lot of retailers refused to stock it. Those that did often kept it behind the counter and on request only. Due to these restrictions, the game was a commercial failure and is now fairly hard to come by, but if you are lucky enough to find a copy, you're sure to enjoy it.
Haunted House
Like adventure, only in the dark, Haunted House is one of the earliest entries in the survival horror genre. Featuring scrolling maps and a multi-level play field, it was quite advanced for its time. Unfortunately, it's also quite confusing, as you'll spend most your time wandering around in the dark, frantically lighting matches as you attempt to find 3 pieces of an urn. Eventually, things get so dark that the walls aren't even illuminated and you can only guess your way through the maze.
A bat, tarantula and the ghost of the house's owner provide the only resistance to your quest. When you encounter one, your match will go out and if they touch you 9 times, you'll lose the game. Oh, and presumably die. Honestly, though, they're incredibly easy to avoid and don't offer more of an annoyance than a challenge.
Perhaps a little ambitious for 1982, but it's an important part of horror gaming's history. Worth a look, but like Ghost Manor you'll probably not play it more than once
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Everything that Halloween did right, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, does wrong. Sure, taking control of Leatherface and slaughtering girls sounds fun, but once to realize how bland and frustrating the map design is, the only thing you'll be taking a chainsaw to, is the cartridge.
While other games will give you either a scrolling map or static map, TCM give you a scrolling foreground and a static background. It's incredibly disorienting because you actually move the map around Leatherface rather than move him around the map. On top of the weird design, the map is also cluttered with dozen of objects that Leatherface will get hung up on if even a single pixel touches them. Once you're stuck, you can't move, all you can do is saw through and that wastes precious fuel that serves as your life. Run out of fuel and the game ends.
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