Each October, I try to revisit some Halloween games and/or try out a new one. This time, I went old-school…very old-school…to play Haunted House on the Atari 2600 VCS. It’s a game I’ve played before briefly, but I never really got into it. Until now, that is.
The object of the game is to venture into an old abandoned haunted house, find (and assemble) three pieces of a magic urn, and then escape out the front door. The problem is that there are 24 rooms in the haunted house (six each on four floors) and many of the doors are locked. Oh, and there’s no electricity, so you’ll be in the dark (except in the first mission, which is essentially a training stage). In fact, all that you can see of your character is your eyes! To see where you’re going, you’ll need to light a match. You have an unlimited supply of matches, but they only last for a limited time. And they’ll be blown out automatically if an enemy enters the current room. In case you’re wondering, the enemies you’ll encounter are tarantulas, vampire bats, and ghosts. If one of them touches you, you’ll lose one of your nine lives.
Somewhere in the mansion, you can find a magic scepter that will protect you from enemy attacks; it’s an extremely useful thing to have on-hand. There is also a master key hidden in the house that will open all locked doors. But there is a catch, of course. You can only carry one item at a time: the scepter, the key, or the urn (or urn pieces–they automatically combine when you find more than one). So juggling those items is crucial to completing your mission. Each floor of the house has multiple stairways, so you may have to take roundabout ways to reach certain areas when you’re not holding the master key.
The game has nine different variations, each more difficult than the last. The first one has lights on and all the doors are unlocked, but later levels have no lights, locked doors, more enemies, and so on. In some variations, the scepter won’t protect you from ghosts. Regardless of which variation you play, the urn pieces and other items are placed randomly, so the game will be different each time.
Of course the graphics and sound are extremely simple, but the effects are done well given the limitations of the system hardware. You’ll hear the gust of wind blowing out your match when an enemy enters a room and you’ll hear thunder (and see the house light up temporarily from lightning). Haunted House isn’t very difficult once you learn how to play, and the games will generally be quite short. But it is fun to play, especially this time of year. I haven’t completed all nine missions yet, but once I do, I’ll be back with a review. In the meantime, feel free to check out my other Atari 2600 reviews or my reviews of Halloween games. Have a great Halloween, everyone!
