Monster House Review - DS

Just in time for the movie, THQ has released the movie tie-in game for Monster House. Although licensed games have been improving lately, the genre has endured a stigma over the years for being quick marketing attempts to cash in on the propensity of kids to make their parents buy them stuff. While recent tie-ins like Over the Hedge and Chicken Little have been decent, if generally forgettable platformers, Monster House is a step backwards.

Pumped and Primed

Three kids, a haunted house out to kill them, squirt guns, and great atmosphere should have made Monster House a sure bet. The game follows the plot of the movie relatively closely, as DJ, Chowder, and Jenny struggle to put a stop to old man Nebbercracker’s evil, people-eating house. Determined to rescue the neighborhood from the vile place, the kids become trapped in the house and must work their way to the furnace to destroy the heart of the possessed abode.

Each of the young heroes has a water gun primed and ready for action, and a secondary weapon. The cape wearing Chowder throws water balloons, Jenny has a trusty slingshot, and DJ, oddly enough, has a camera with a bright flash. The water guns have endless ammo, but must be pumped up regularly to “reload” them, which in the heat of combat quickly becomes tiresome.

The guns can be upgraded through the game, and each shoots water somewhat differently. While DJ’s gun acts like a machine gun and Jenny’s like a semi-auto, Chowder’s gun is the shotgun of the group, and easily the most satisfying to use. Minor differences aside, the kids all act pretty much the same. Their range of motion is remarkably limited. They can only jump when there is a gap, although they can at least duck to dodge attacks.

Haven’t I seen this before?

For a large part of the game, the kids are separated and struggling to survive while trying to find each other. The game switches between each of them at regular intervals, and the gameplay itself consists of exploring the house while combating the scads of evil house minions. Unfortunately, the exploration isn’t nearly as involving as it could be since the paths are so linear and there’s a surprising amount of backtracking, or passing through the same areas with different characters. This rehash of linear locales makes the house much less interesting than it should be, although the excellent atmosphere helps alleviate this somewhat.

Far worse is the extreme overuse of the same few monster types. After several hours of destroying the same evil floorboards, chairs, TV sets, strange spider things, and air ducts over and over, you’ll be wishing for any kind of variety. Repetition is really the killer in Monster House. The game is clearly for younger gamers, but reuses so many elements that initially seemed interesting that it’s unlikely to hold anyone’s interest for long.

Atmospheric Combat for Kids

Also, for an E-rated game, there’s an incredible amount of semi-difficult and intense combat. All three characters will walk into rooms and find themselves stormed by enemies from all directions, and the game often throws multiple minor boss battles at you without providing any way to save the game in between. Monster House only saves in bathrooms, or at the start of specific locations, and is none too generous with restart spots. Another annoyance is that the L3 button causes you to rotate 180 degrees, and in the heat of battle, accidentally pressing the analog stick down is a common and infuriating problem.

One thing Monster House does well is capture the look, feel, and sound of the movie. Although the graphics aren’t exceptional, the characters and the house both look very close to the movie versions, and the reactions of the kids (and their commentary) to the spooky rooms is quite good. The locations have great atmosphere and the ambient sound effects fit the theme perfectly.

Run Away!

Unfortunately, a game needs more than good atmosphere. Monster House could have been a spiritual successor to the GameCube launch title, Luigi’s Mansion, and rips off plenty of elements from Nintendo’s haunted, vacuum cleaner-endowed game. It just doesn’t do it very well.

Article by: Jason D’Aprile
Video produced by: Tom Price