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The Plot:  "Haunted Mansion" will be another movie based upon a Disney ride, the second major feature after "Pirates of the Caribbean" was a roaring success earlier this year. "Mansion", which is out Thanksgiving, will star Eddie Murphy and will apparently take place in modern times. The game version of "Pirates" was another title that was taken over and redeveloped by Disney into a "Pirates" game. That game was rushed to meet the release date and contained a great deal of bugs. "Haunted Mansion" isn't joined by its film counterpart, but the title has made it out in time for what could make a fun Halloween weekend rental. The game focuses on Zeke, a kindly young man who stumbles upon a decaying New Orleans mansion in hopes of becoming the new groundskeeper. Upon entrance, he's approached by the ghosts who inhabit the mansion, who inform Zeke that the house is possessed by evil spirits, which they'd like him to rid from the place. Gameplay (the game is single player only) is somewhat repetitive, but the game's creative design keeps interest relatively high. Zeke must enter into a room in the mansion, destroy the evil ghosts in the room with blasts from his magic lantern and find a way to turn on the lights. Once the lights are on, Zeke must go about collecting the shriveled souls in his lantern (a meter tells how many souls are in the area and how many have been collected). This isn't always so easy, though: hidden passages must be found in each room and other items - such as tarot cards (collect 10, get another life) can be picked up as well. Once everything is cleaned up in the room, Zeke can break through the bonds over the door to the next room. Lighted areas will cause Zeke's courage meter to expand, because the lighter areas are less scary. Puzzles are often clever throughout and those who enjoy the genre and can accept the somewhat stop-and-start pace will find the game entertaining. What really impressed me about the game was the look. The game's mansion seemed rather similar to the kind of stunning production design seen in director Jan De Bont's "The Haunting" (unfortunately, we all know how the rest of that movie was). Paintings are appropriately creepy (and sometimes really pull in your attention - literally), bookcases pop open, spiders creep about and attack, cobwebs are visible everywhere and some rooms are exceptionally dark and shadowy. Rooms are certainly not sparse, with chairs, interesting furniture and papers blowing around the floor. The game is rated "T" (Teen), which seems rather high, although I suppose it can come in on the low end of that rating. The game is kiddie in terms of the gameplay (Zeke gets scared until he passes out) and there's no real violence, but the tone and atmosphere are somewhat darker than most kiddie fare and may scare some of the youngest players. It seems as if the designers were trying to walk the border of creating a game that adults will be involved by and won't scare kids too much. The ghostly Madame Leota gives hints to players throughout and discusses new findings. Players save their current point in the game at one of the grandfather clocks scattered throughout the rooms. There's some issues with the game, however. The game's camera is generally without issue, but there's times throughout the game where it becomes difficult to see off-screen enemies, such as the small spiders that creep about. There is a lock-on system for Zeke's lantern attacks, but the camera still creates an issue at times. While some of the dark rooms were suitably creepy, a couple of times I became a little frustrated while trying to search for a level in near-complete darkness. Also, despite largely successful attempts to try and change up the look and puzzles in each room, the fact that one largely (with some exceptions, such as a wild pool table sequence) goes through the same steps each time started to get to me after a while. Given the nature of the game, there's not much in the way of replay value. Flaws aside, I felt positively about the game. The designers have gone to great lengths to try and capture an appropriately spooky feel and mix up the look and "specifics" of the rooms. The $39.99 retail price is also a bit more reasonable than most new releases. Rating: 7.9/10 The DVD Graphics: "Haunted Mansion" does look great. There's plenty of detail in the rooms and character designs are generally solid (although Zeke is somewhat on the generic side in terms of looks). Papers shift around believably as papers are gently lifted by a stray breeze passing through the room. Lighting and shadows are excellent, although given this is a puzzle game, I wished a couple of rooms could have had at least a lantern or two. Overall although, this was quite a slick looking game - several times I stopped to appreciate small details in the environments. Rating: 9/10 Sound: "Haunted Mansion" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 on the XBOX version. The game's sound effects work is pretty good - creepy rustling, boos and other shifty, spooky sounds are clearly heard throughout. Unfortunately, I thought the game could have made better use of the surrounds - effects should have been heard from the rear speakers more often and moved more smoothly around the listening space. Rating: 8.2/10 Rating Issues: As previously noted, the game is rated "T" (Teen). The rating seems largely geared towards the tone of the game and not the "gameplay" itself. Final Thoughts: "Haunted Mansion" can't entirely overcome the feeling that it's a tad repetitive at times, but the designers have done a fine job trying to keep viewers interested in the surprises that every new room brings. The look of the game certainly is one of its highlights. Worth a rental, but some may want to check it out on sale. |