When I played the first mode of Haunted House, I was unimpressed. But by the seventh, I was a believer. This is one of the earliest examples I've seen of a game with a tangible atmosphere, and it's mechanically like a weird combination of Pac-Man and Adventure.
The titular haunted house creaks as you walk around. You'll hear noises as you navigate from room to room, some that come from you and others from the lurking enemies. In every mode after the first, the house is pitch black. You'll need to ignite and carry around matches if you want to illuminate a pathetically small radius and pick up any items. When enemies enter the room, a cool breeze rushes through and blows out your match, and lightning occasionally strikes to light the area around you while your foe draws near. There's also the musical zinger whenever you ascend or descend stairs; it's the cherry on top. All of these elements, in an Atari 2600 game from 1982? That's cool as hell.
Gameplay wise, it's mostly like Adventure. While that game was stretched out across a kingdom, Haunted House is confined to a small, symmetrical, and labyrinthine manor with four floors. Another aspect shared with Adventure is the items: there's a defensive item, a key to open locked areas, and a MacGuffin that you need to bring back to the beginning of the house to win the game. But like Pac-Man, the challenge comes from the twisty mazes, enemies who back you into a corner, and a limited life count.
Enemies are the game's weakest aspect. They're too aggressive on the later modes, and there's no good way to predict when they're going to come through doorways, leading to numerous cheap deaths. You are given nine lives, which is generous, but you'll definitely need to use at least a few of them to finish most modes. The manual says that scoring is based on the number of matches ignited and lives lost, which makes the often unfair deaths all the more annoying.
But honestly, I learned to live with it. The game is unbalanced and occasionally frustrating, but it's infinitely more alluring and and entertaining. I'll definitely revisit Haunted House in the future, and maybe someday I'll be skilled enough to finish the daunting final mode.
The titular haunted house creaks as you walk around. You'll hear noises as you navigate from room to room, some that come from you and others from the lurking enemies. In every mode after the first, the house is pitch black. You'll need to ignite and carry around matches if you want to illuminate a pathetically small radius and pick up any items. When enemies enter the room, a cool breeze rushes through and blows out your match, and lightning occasionally strikes to light the area around you while your foe draws near. There's also the musical zinger whenever you ascend or descend stairs; it's the cherry on top. All of these elements, in an Atari 2600 game from 1982? That's cool as hell.
Gameplay wise, it's mostly like Adventure. While that game was stretched out across a kingdom, Haunted House is confined to a small, symmetrical, and labyrinthine manor with four floors. Another aspect shared with Adventure is the items: there's a defensive item, a key to open locked areas, and a MacGuffin that you need to bring back to the beginning of the house to win the game. But like Pac-Man, the challenge comes from the twisty mazes, enemies who back you into a corner, and a limited life count.
Enemies are the game's weakest aspect. They're too aggressive on the later modes, and there's no good way to predict when they're going to come through doorways, leading to numerous cheap deaths. You are given nine lives, which is generous, but you'll definitely need to use at least a few of them to finish most modes. The manual says that scoring is based on the number of matches ignited and lives lost, which makes the often unfair deaths all the more annoying.
But honestly, I learned to live with it. The game is unbalanced and occasionally frustrating, but it's infinitely more alluring and and entertaining. I'll definitely revisit Haunted House in the future, and maybe someday I'll be skilled enough to finish the daunting final mode.