The game will take a second and a third episode, a little richer but equally violent. While more rugged than expected-change-including developer, Namco Bandai has finally managed to rescue one of its old series to the current generation. Splatterhouse series was not particularly popular, but many veteran players still remember spending a lot of coins in the old recreation of 88, or one of their adaptations to console-exclusive to Splatterhouse 3 MegaDrive. At a time when they recover past glories, either high definition adaptations, sequels completely new, as is the case at hand, or directly emulation Virtual Console, for example, and the genres of action and Smite so fashionable, it seemed that it was inevitable, as it has; again look back at these games.
Splatterhouse for the current generation is a revision or reboot; you need not know the old glories to be enjoyed fully, although it has some references to them at specific moments. History tells us the misfortune of a couple, Rick and Jennifer, who are assaulted in the mansion of Dr. West, who happens to be a professor of both young men. The incident ends with the girl kidnapped and Rick mortally wounded in a pool of blood at the point of not telling. Moments before traveling to another neighborhood, a mysterious mask near his bed and coax him to talk about getting it in exchange for heal the wounds and give sufficient power to rescue his bride and avenge West.
Almost without options, the puny hero accepted, becoming a sort of fleshy-Hulk more inspired in the third installment in the former, which mimicked the character of Jason from Friday 13 – with a force unleashed and endless bloodlust. The mask will not leave us until we get to Jennifer, so you better do our part of the treatment and crossed the mansion and other locations that will meet for the dimensional gates before it is too late.
I must say that Splatterhouse is a tribute to gore, splatter gender, with all that that implies. Must be taken on a comic by its excesses, particularly in the amount of blood that splatter the screen and the ground from every corner of the stage: in the game more fluid is poured red in the series Mortal Kombat, God of War, Ninja Gaiden and Gears of War together and multiplied by ten. Say it is not just a gift for a child. However, it is so great that over their initial surprise, failed to become an element created to revulsion or fear, we’ve spent more terror to Heavy Rain certain scene or detail of amputations of God of War III, “but In any case, is clearly not suitable for all kinds of stomachs. La Tomatina is so absurd that it is impossible to consider seriously.
Splatterhouse takes the gameplay much more in common with Final Fight style beat’em up in a three-dimensional gender Slash’EM up as the game can be played by Kratos Santa Monica, Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. It is a game too fast, or aesthetically beautiful, and Combos spend almost to the background, and are so “developed” as repeatedly pressing a button. The type of moves intended to be primitive, no frills, powerful punches, throws and hit with weapons. Impacts easy to run dry, with a standard button and another for the blow strong-hold is charged for wreak more havoc. You can jump, but their use in combat is almost anecdotal, the largest utility has is to press another button to fall down and hurt heavily rivals close to the blast. There are loads to sprint and grip to throw enemies like sacks of potatoes.
Rick, or whatever the result of combining the hero with the mask, begins his search for the corner of the mansion of the doctor found a variety of twisted creatures that in some cases remind us vaguely human, others are pieces of joined so coarse meat. The monsters are pretty artificial intelligence mostly zero-thing-not very important to us, and will be released to us to try and surround.
After several blows to strike these enemies, a red aura marks them as ready to be dispatched by our anger. How? Grippers trigger a short sequence, the landscape becomes dark and the other monsters disappear, no fear of being attacked during the carnage, with a catalog of performances as varied as striped bodies, arms and heads torn exploited. Did we mention that the game is violent? These movements are controlling the sticks in the direction you throw the members, so depending on the death, is different. With the bosses are also the inevitable moments of pressing buttons to finish the fight more grotesque, if possible.
As he says near the beginning of the mask, the blood here is everything. So much for progress in some areas with doors that require a sacrifice in red blood cells to suck life of nearby monsters, and to improve skills, provides blood to kill enemies, and violent death are rewarded with more quantity. In the manner of many other action games, except that here we do not collect “red orbs” is straight-blood, the fluid acts as currency to gain new moves, combos, hits, increase vitality bar or activate our powerful state, stronger and more blood collection. At this stage of “evolution”, the landscape will turn blue, and a barbed-that remind us a little of the Spawn comic book creatures, grow in our back. That’s when we’re a veritable killing machine, but for a limited time.
Although playable melee combat is a bit rough and simple for our liking, there are at some stage weapons such as axes or a stick with which to crush rivals in a strong and fast. Its possession is not very long, but there are skills that enhance their stay in our hands, but worth it when we get a chance. There are also firearms such as shotguns and … amputees, as our own arm. The aggressiveness of some enemies more dangerous than normal maybe we cut our left arm that can pick up from the ground to tiing clubbed him. The mask will grow another few seconds, so do not worry much about him, we spare. Special mention for the bosses, some imposing and with different patterns of attack according to the damage received.
In general, the more we miss Splatterhouse playable level is the lack of depth it has. The exploration is almost nonexistent, partly because the scenario is very empty, and most runs in closed-even outdoor landscapes are not very open. There are some tasks such as retrieving pieces-nude photos of Jennifer, to be exact, or listen to recordings of Dr. West that tell lurid details of what’s happening in the mansion and its experiments, but to lose these documents have to be very confused because they are visible.
The puzzles are not the forte of Splatterhouse, because they require actions as enemies impaled on skewers, which has no special mystery, “and at worst, are goals that really are not very clear until by chance the carry-what is a bit frustrating. Actually the game is not designed for much more than vents crushing skulls and tarnishing the image of blood, which will disappoint those who expect variety of situations with gratuitous violence.
A curious way, to cite some parts of the game to recover the original gameplay of the first three Splatterhouse, taking a side view and 2D displacement, with enemies appearing on the right-and left-occasions, while some cliff jump we run on soils spiked and dodged knives hanging. Not bad. And as announced, the three original Splatterhouse are available as unlockables, a unique opportunity to discover these legends, or relive old times. It is true that it is not too valuable extra-nostalgia aside, but is grateful to be included on the same disk and not as a digital download, and payment.
A graphic level, sadly Splatterhouse series B shows a style of low production or unrefined. We are not referring to some aspects which have been intentional, as it is a game ugly, ugly to win, something that can be accepted by the kind of tribute that wants to be. That is little variety of textures, mostly places dirty and rusty, almost unrecognizable monsters, little detail … at times reminiscent of a videogame adaptation of Ghost Rider with a little more color. There are few truly interactive objects on the stage, except for some boxes and furniture to break loose red worms, which can step on to get more blood. Yes, just under the stones needed to bleed to punch him.
But no, the greatest failure, and not easily forgotten, is that barely reaches 30 frames per second, with regular jerks. It is true that the type of warfare is not as fast as a Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry “where 60 is a must,” but the small number of effects beyond the blood, the quality of modeling and lighting Namco Bandai does not justify such a low point.
A Castlevania: Lords of Shadows also can be blamed for the same defect, but instead showed more overall quality Splatterhouse. Put another way, it is worrying that when we are in a nearly dark hallway with no characters on the screen that our muscular friend note forced the game, let alone if there are five monsters attacking from all directions-is a mess-with framerate dancing more than they should. At this time we also realize a “small” artistic failure, and our character is very similar to one’s enemies. Result? Sometimes it is difficult to know if we have fallen to the ground, if we get beat and beat.
Splatterhouse, after the change of developer, also suffered a slight change to adopt a cel shaded cartoon-shading or type not too notable. It is not clear why the decision is perhaps a measure to soften the violence of the game. That does not stop seeing guts and amputations, but among the technical level of the motor-not too powerful, and it is not as anatomically realistic, for example, the next installment of Mortal Kombat, many lurid scenes lose some of its strength. However, the touch of color comic style gives a little more personality to the image, so it’s not bad.
A sound level meets the game itself good. The soundtrack is sugarcane, with songs by bands like Lamb of God, Mastodon, or Terrorizer, alternating with more ambient music for brief respites between combat. In addition, there are good job on vocals, unfortunately, is not dubbed into Castilian, only translated, “especially the role of the mask. A deep voice that continues to speak to the human side of the main character throughout the game with comments quite ironic and distasteful, taunting enemies for more blood, and all with a good collection of bad words to any adverse situation that let’s play. Actually you are just taking baby to the mask.
Besides the classic Splatterhouse even fun once we passed the story mode. This is a survival sands bearing 20 waves of enemies of increasing difficulty, an option to bathe in blood directly, without having to advance the main story looking creatures to kill. Related to this, we imagine, is the option to download content, today announced, there is nothing on the menu of the game, headed to stores digital distribution systems.
Conclusions:
Some say very imperfect, Splatterhouse is nonetheless interesting. It appeals to a very specific type of player that gets put in the background some shortcomings in terms of variety of gameplay and technical aspects. Easily be remembered by hectoliters of blood drawn from non-voluntary manner of enemies, but we need more meat to sink your teeth into it. It really is not a poor game: bases is based on the progression of skills as seen in many other games, the combat is somewhat technical but easy to master, and do not say it is an easy game, and within the ordinary in many aspects , the game has a certain morbid charm, supposed that seeks to offer.
