Monster House Review (GCN)

The summer movie season has seen its ups and downs, but only a few of the releases showing on screens seem to have that sparkle of originality. Amongst them is Monster House, a film from the producing team of Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. In the film, three kids find themselves reluctantly teaming up when they find out that a strange house in their neighborhood is actually alive, eating dogs off the lawn and preparing itself for a feast of trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. In an effort to save these poor souls, these kids end up infiltrating the house to try and stop its heinous plot. The film itself actually has a great basis for a video game, so it's no surprise that THQ has released one with the officially licensed Monster House.

The game follows the movie's plot line pretty close, as you take control of DJ (the normal kid), Chowder (the fat kid), and Jenny (the girl) as they get into the house (it swallows them with a carpet tongue) and begin to work their way through it in an effort to bring down its foundation. As you proceed through the house, you'll literally find enemies coming out of the woodwork, like spiders made up of floorboards and lamps that suddenly have a mind of their own. Later parts of the game will introduce larger, less vulnerable enemies as well, putting your skills to the test.

As you proceed through the house, you'll have to play as each of the three main characters, as they have different abilities that will help you proceed through the level. DJ, for instance, possesses a camera that can stun enemies; Chowder can launch water balloons that can damage a multitude of enemies; and Jenny can use sharpshooting with a slingshot and marbles that can allow her to hit switches. All three of them carry water pistols as their main weaponry, able to shoot out small or big streams to soak enemies and stop them in their tracks. The game also contains some puzzle-solving elements, requiring you to find a switch or an item to get ahead.

The gameplay's not really that original, as it has the basic kind of shooting controls that you've played in games before. There's even some resemblance to Resident Evil 4 with its timed sequences (you have to press a certain button to avoid dangers). However, watching enemies emerge from the unlikeliest of places around the Monster House is pretty inventive, and creates small moments of paranoia without going completely overboard on terror. It's enough to keep players drawn in for a while.

The presentation doesn't really contain any spark in terms of new game design, but it works just as well. The graphics look reasonably well done, with only some small slowdown coming up during some of the larger battles in the game and nice little level details here and there. The animation on the enemies is somewhat natural and really makes them look like appliances run wild. As for sound, the movie's voice cast (aside from some big-name celebrities) steps up and delivers as they should, and the music has a creepy ambience that follows the tone of the movie's soundtrack.

Monster House seems to have everything going for it, aside from longevity. The big problem with the game is that once you've beaten it, there's little reason to go back. I thought it would've been a novel idea to see some multiplayer at work here, watching two kids go at it with water pistols while the house shifts and turns, creating a bit of a challenge. Instead, you can only revisit the house to find hidden toy monkeys (there's 32 in all) and arcade tokens. The art gallery is decent, but the real extra that might attract players is Thou Art Dead, a Castlevania/Ghosts n' Goblins knock-off where players kill all sorts of ghouls as they move from level to level. It's a fun little game, and has some great moments of nostalgia to it, including a nod to Super Mario Bros. that's quite humorous. (I won't say what, you'll just have to play it.)

Monster House isn't going to be a classic that's remembered months from now, but at least it has some effort behind it that keeps it out of the bin of failed licensed movie tie-ins. The presentation, while not amazing, is still good, and the gameplay does offer some fun if short-lived shooting thrills. And Thou Art Dead isn't too shabby either. Family gamers and fans of the film should definitely rent this and then decide if this House is worth some long-term investment. Just make sure you don't mow the lawn- it probably HATES that.

Our Final ScoreOK

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