Overall 7.3 Graphics 7.5 Sound 7.8 Addictive 5.3 Story 5 Depth 3.4 Difficulty 4.6
7
It isn't Halloween, but... NovemberJoy
Michael Myers is known decently well in the horror department, and the movie he stars in, Halloween, actually deserved the media attention. But, was the game as good as the movie? Let's find out.
As for the graphics, they aren't bad for Atari standards. There's multiple objects on screen, and the two floors are represented adequately. In fact, there's a light-flickering effect that occurs in some of the rooms, too! The animation also looks somewhat lifelike, though the objects that aren't people don't look especially good.
As for the sound, it's mostly just your character's footsteps, until...Michael Myers appears out of thin air! When this happens, the game starts playing the Halloween theme, and it sounds pretty good for an Atari game. This is ruined by one simple flaw - Michael Myers, for some reason, will appear in EVERY SINGLE ROOM that you visit besides the safe rooms on each side of the house. And the theme plays every time he shows up! It stops being scary or suspenseful when you know he's going to appear on every screen, and the theme starts getting just a LITTLE annoying after you hear it about a hundred times.
The gameplay is simple - assuming the role of a babysitter, you must rescue children from the insane killer Michael Myers by taking them to one of the two sets of safe rooms at the ends of the house. And, of course, you also have to avoid Myers, mainly due to the fact that, well, he's an insane killer with a knife, what do you expect? If he does touch you, then...huh? The babysitter is decapitated, but she just runs offscreen. Is this supposed to be comical or horrific? It's hard to tell from where I'm standing.
While the house may be small, there sure are a lot of kids in it - in fact, as long as you can survive, there are an infinite number of kids to rescue. Also, it'd seem as though those are some unhappy children, because there's no furniture or anything in any of the rooms, except for a knife that you can find. Great idea to leave THAT out when you have kids in the house! And, of course, you have to take these kids to the safe rooms, so that Myers doesn't get them. Unfortunately, the game starts to falter in that regard - for some reason, the kid will sometimes decide not to advance with you when you move to the next screen, even if you're dragging the kid with you by holding the fire button. How hard is it to program such a mechanic?
We've already discussed what Myers does to the babysitter when he attacks her, but what about when he attacks the kids? It will happen eventually, unless he kills you and takes your three lives before he can get that chance. Once he starts getting faster, he becomes much harder to avoid, and if there's a child on the screen, he'll go after the kid instead of the babysitter. If he catches them...augh! He proceeds to brutally kill them, splattering gore all over. I know this is a game based on a horror movie, but how did THIS get past the controversy filter?
Avoiding Myers is more difficult than it normally should be. For one thing, there's two rooms on each screen, so you have less floor space to work with in dodging around him. Even worse is the fact that, because of the way the children are positioned, the bottom part of the floor is blocked from your walking space, further limiting you.
For the most part, the babysitter has no defense against Myers, which leaves you to run away from him. But, you can find a weapon, in the form of the knife, which you'll sometimes find lying around on the ground. If you pick it up, you can utilize it to stab Myers and send him running. But, it's difficult to do so, because the knife has very little range and only stabs out for a second, and you lose it if you get a successful hit. But it does earn you points, so it's a good idea to try to hit him with it if you find a knife.
By the way, the point system. Basically, you get 675 points for saving a child, 325 points for stabbing Myers, and you lose absolutely NO points from allowing a child to be killed. How does this make sense? Shouldn't you be penalized for letting the kids die? You don't lose points, you don't lose a life, you don't even get a mocking tune or anything. If you didn't have the point system, there wouldn't be any reward for saving the children, and no penalty for killing them...
Since this IS an Atari 2600 game, the game gets noticeably more difficult as it goes on. At first, Myers walks like he has a limp, and you can outrun him easily. But, as your score increases, he becomes much faster, to the point where it's difficult to escape from a room because he moves too fast. And, of course, barely being able to escape from rooms is a handicap that is very difficult to overcome when you're trying to save children as well. I'd really like to see somebody stab Myers when he's at maximum speed...it'd be pretty entertaining, I have to admit.
In conclusion, Halloween is actually a pretty good game for the Atari 2600, and it's a faithful-enough adaption from the movie, as well. But, it could've been more than it was. The controls were sometimes problematic, and maybe Myers could only appear at certain times, instead of every room? It would've been better that way...
Final Rating - B+(It's worth your time for a play, but it isn't too amazing. If it had just those few improvements, it could be great)
So, this is NovemberJoy, fading out. See you next ti-what? Who's this guy at my doorstep? I'll go check, I'll be back in a second...
*sounds of screams and horrible mutilation*
Myers - That's what you get when you don't give MY game a perfect score...
THEND
Graphics 7 Sound 6 Addictive 7 Depth 5 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 11-29-12
Review Replies: 1
7
Halloween's dark secret! endings
Its Halloween, and its time to do a review.. of Halloween, for Atari. Going this far back, I wasn't expecting much, but I must admit, I was pretty surprised with this game. It is basedo off the horror movie, and this has probably some of the best Atari age music I've heard. Your goal is to rescue kids that are in a house that Micheal Meyers, the masked psycho, is also in. You must avoid Meyers while guiding the kids to the door. Your lives are represented by jack o' lanterns, which is a nice touch considering thats the movie poster. You do get a chance to defend yourself though, so grab that carving knife, and sink it deep into this review.
Graphics: 8
Honestly, its not too bad. You can clearly see you are playing a female protagonist, and you wander the rooms of a house. Each room is two tone, the floor and walls being different colors. Being early age of gaming, you see windows but no furniture or anything like that, pretty typical. The house appears to have two stories, or a basement, as there is a bottom level that you can access by going through doors. You will find small children waiting helplessly at the bottom of a screen, if you hold the fire button you can walk them with you to the exit. You get points, and then the house resets.
When Micheal Meyers appears, the famous theme song plays, and he is dressed in his grey jumpsuit, just like the movie. Meyers chases after you until you exit the screen. Because the actual map is small, expect to see him a lot. One effect I really enjoyed was in some rooms, the lights flicker randomly. Its a nice, spooky touch.
There is a fair amount of violence in this game, one that even GTA do not do, but we'll get to that in a minute. You find a stick-looking object on the ground -which is a knife to defend yourself. Its range is horrible, but its the only offensive move you get. If you cannot sneak past Meyers and he catches you, your character will run about with their head cut off, the stump squirting blood. It actually looks a little bit funny, nowadays. But the worst part, the kids you are supposed to rescue can be caught and are also murdered! Their small bodies lying on the ground, bleeding. This kind of violence crosses boundaries and I am highly against it, but the atari age was a bit lawless, its crude graphics serving to break barriers of all types. I won't knock the game down for this, it was a reflection of the times and the film, but its presence is very surprising. The NES would also endanger children, Friday the 13th comes to mind, with the children's lives being your grisly timer - but their deaths were always offscreen.
Sound: 10
The classic Halloween theme is recreated here, and plays anytime Meyers shows up to harrass you. Its rendition is very well done, and its actually the best music piece I've heard on the atari systems.The basic sound effects are the small chirps and blips you would expect, but that chilling melody of our monster - is executed beautifully.
Addictiveness: 5
There isn't a lot to this game, so the thrills wear thin quickly. Even if I was playing this in Atari days, I don't think I would have kept playing this for very long. The lack of other hazards or scares is a big factor.
Depth: 3
Where I think this game stumbles is relies entirely on Meyers for action. And while this may be true to the movie, this won't work in video games if you just have him showing up every other room only to be left behind and forgotten. If you leave the screen, he does not pursue. He usually waits until you're almost halfway across a room then appears from doors or side entrances. If there were perhaps, I don't know, a hole in the floor you could fall in, or had to navigate around an indoor pool or a large couch - it would have added a lot to this.
The knife weapon you get is nearly useless. The timing on it, and its tiny reach make it a weapon of last resort. In the five times I tried to use it, I only succeed twice. It takes practice, but I often just tried to do without it. It does not stop psycho Meyers for long, he just runs away.
Diffculty: 7
The game speeds Meyers up and adds more layouts. As mentioned in depth, I wished it had included some furniture to navigate around, or provided threats other than Meyers.
Overall: 7.0
What I find really funny, is this old 70's video game, with is blocky graphics, I felt did a better job with the source material than many liscened games that followed (LJN, I'm looking hard in your direction), like X-men for NES, Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde. Meyers and his classic theme are represented strong here, the questionable violence element aside, this game gave small chills for a earlier time.
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 5
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 10-31-14
Review Replies: 1
8
Halloween Review Marcmoney
Overall - 8
Halloween is an awesome game to play. I have been a fan of watching Halloween movies and I just thought that I should try this game out. I used to be scared of watching Halloween series when I was a child, but now I am not afraid of them anymore. :)
Graphics - 9
The graphics are good. It is just one house and it is a few rooms.
Sound - 9
The sound gets the game going. Whenever Michael Myers comes out, it plays his song and it is just scary to play it. :P
Addictiveness - 8
The game is kind of addictive. I would play this game frequently.
Depth - 5
Halloween is not that of a big game to play. You just basically save people and bring them to a safe room and you get points for it. That's kind of it. I would expect something better, but I did find a sword and I think it gets harder when you save a lot of people. So you can kill him with a sword I'm guessing, but I died when I just got it cause he got me. :P
Difficulty - 5
The game is not that hard. All you do is just avoid Michael Myers and you will be fine. :)
Wrap Things Up...
Halloween is a good game to try out and very popular in movies. I recommend trying this game out, I guarantee that you will like it if you loved watching Halloween movies. :)
Graphics 9 Sound 9 Addictive 8 Story 10 Depth 5 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3.7/5
Submitted: 08-07-11
Updated: 08-07-11
Review Replies: 2
9.5
Halloween ZacharyPiskura
When I play an Atari 2600 game I expect a easygoing, simple family game. But this pushes the envelope. What with its stunning version of the classic Halloween tune. Also this game has as much violence as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, yet Texas Chainsaw massacre is more notorious for its violence. I think there is something to be said about the graphics, first of all I really enjoyed the Michael Meyers figure, it was simple and very interesting. If not for the beheading and amount of blood this could have been a children's Atari 2600 perhaps called "Tag". Anyway, there is no story or depth in this game, but what do you expect, its Atari 2600 you go for score. As for addictiveness I would not just crave to play it as I do with Halo 2600. I enjoyed the movies, and the game did not ruin it for me
Graphics 7 Sound 10 Addictive 5 Story 1 Depth 1 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 08-09-11
Review Replies: 0
7.2
The scariest halloween ever.... sort of. BestGamer24
In 1978, a new kind of terror arrived. Halloween was the first of it's kind, as well as the first modern horror movie. A crazed serial killer causing havoc throughout a small town in Illinois. Halloween inspired other movie franchises, including Friday the 13th. The original movie was very successful, and had roughly 7 sequels before getting a reboot.
In 1983, a game for the already dying Atari 2600 was released. Developed by Wizard Video Games, 'the Shape' appeared in his first video game, titled Halloween. Let's look at one of the first licensed horror games and the first Halloween game.
Graphics, 7: The game looks like your average Atari 2600 game. Some games have better graphics, but some games have worse. When the game starts up, you'll see a spilt-screen with two separate rooms. There can be black boxes on some of the rooms that can either be windows or doors. If there's a door on both floors, you'll go downstairs.
If there's only one door on one of the floors, you'll be transported to a new room. The floor is a separate color than the wall, only used to differentiate the floor from the walls. The walls and floors can come in various colors. You will most commonly see either orange, yellow, or green. Occasionally, you can see blue or brown. The walls and floors are different colors in every single room. It's almost as if the house has hundreds of rooms. There's also some cross-beams to separate the floors.
Everybody in this game looks like an average Atari 2600 character. The person you play as, who i'm assuming is Laurie, has to protect the child she is babysitting (or children) from Michael Myers. She is wearing a green shirt and a red dress, which makes her stand out from everyone else. The children wear a green shirt and blue pants, and they're also much smaller than anyone else. The main attraction (to me at least) is Michael Myers. He wears a gray suit with black boots (they look like boots) and a pale, plain, emotionless white mask with a slim brown line across the mask, simulating the hair. Michael is carrying a knife, which is just a thin white line, with some black on the end resembling the handle. You can also find a sword or a knife, and fight off Myers. All he does is run off though, you can't kill him.
At the top of the screen, there are three pumpkins which represent how many lives you have left. If Michael catches you or one of the children, you head disappears and you run around for a few seconds with blood gushing out from your neck. It's incredibly violent for a Atari 2600 game, and for 1983. At the bottom of the screen is your score. It's just numbers.
Well, I've said a lot about graphics, but they look good for the 2600, so graphics gets a 7.
Sound, 5: Every noise is just a beep in this game. It was that way with most 2600 games as well, but many other games have better sound than this game as well. When you first start the game, the Halloween theme plays. It's recognizable, and sounds decent for all the beeps in it. Also, when Myers appears, the theme plays as well. Other than that, there's no music at all. When Laurie walks, beeps represent foot steps. Also, then Laurie is walking a child to the safe spot, there's a long series of rapid beeps, which can add to tension, especially if Myers is chasing you. The sounds are just beeps. It doesn't sound bad, it just gets repetitive after a while. The theme is cool though. Sound gets a 5.
Addictiveness, 6: This game was surprisingly fun...for 10 minutes. The game is very repetitive. You goal is to save as many children as you can while fighting off Michael Myers. Makes sense, since Laurie was a babysitter. To save a child, you must be in the same room as the child, hold the button on top of the controller, and move the child to the leftmost room in the game while avoiding Myers. If you succeed, you get 675 points. That is a very odd number of points. Why not 100, or 1,000? I think they just though of a random number of points. It sounds boring, but it's actually pretty fun. It will get old after a few minutes though. Addictiveness gets a 6.
Story, 7: I assume the story is the same as the movie. The movie's story goes like this; On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.
Laurie (who's a babysitter) was one of the survivors of Michael's rampage throughout Haddonfield. She was babysitting a boy named Tommy, and Michael was stalking her, and he eventually tried to attack, only to be fought off by the detective. In this game, you may play as Laurie trying to protect Tommy (and herself) from Michael. Story gets a 7.
Depth, 2: There's not much to offer in this game. Everything I've said about the gameplay is it. You just protect Tommy from Michael. You can try to kill Myers, but you can't. I wish I had something else to say about the depth, but there's only one game mode on this game. It would have been cool to have a multi-player mode, but it's just not there. Depth gets a 2.
Difficulty, 1: Halloween is a very easy game. It's a little too easy. Michael Myers walks very slow, similar to how he moved in the films, and he's very easy to escape from. When you leave the room Myers was just in and walk back in, he'll be gone, only to try to attack you again. Myers does appear in every single room, although he's very slow. Also, you can walk slightly up and down the room. If you're at the bottom of the room, just before Myers gets you, you can run up towards the wall, and easily run past him. I've noticed that the more points you have, it seems as if his speed increases. Getting the children into the safe room is easy as well. You jjust hold the only button on top of the controller, and if Myers appears, just leave to room, go back and continue carrying the child to the safe room. Maybe if you score enough points, Michael Myers will get faster and become more challenging. Halloween is very easy, so difficulty gets a 1.
OVERALL, 7.2: So this was Halloween. Not a terrible game, but not a great game either. It was decent for it's time, but it doesn't hold up very well. It gets old rather quickly, but is fun for about 15 minutes. You just don't do anything exciting in this game. If you want a game where you have to avoid Michael Myers (or another crazed serial killer), you're better off playing Babysitter Bloodbath (formally known as Halloween). I'm sure you can still find the original Halloween version of the game.
Until next review bye!
Graphics 7 Sound 5 Addictive 6 Story 3 Depth 2 Difficulty 1
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 11-25-16
Updated: 11-25-16
Review Replies: 0
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