Splatterhouse for ios Impressions

I have always been a huge Splatterhouse fan. From the arcade original, to the Turbo Grafix 16 arcade port, to the two sequels on the SEGA Genesis, and to even the humorous and highly addictive Japan only Famicom game. I simply love them all. Now, thanks to Namco people can experience the arcade original on their iPhone or iPod touch. So how does it feel to a seasoned Splatterhouse Veteran?

Honestly, I went in not expecting much. This is based on the weak press coverage of the new ios port, as well as the current poor reception of the upcoming new Splatterhouse game on next gen consoles. To my surprise this is a great a port that truly captures the spirit of the original arcade classic. The game runs smooth ( a little choppy during the infamous mirror scene ) with some nice added features: difficulty levels, different language options, screen size adjustments, achievements, survival mode, and a stage select that allows you to start off on any of the stages you have made it up to. I love this feature for games on small portable devices.

The general user review complaints boil down to two: controls and screen size. If you have ever played a game on the iPhone/iPod then you already know what the lack of a physical thumb pad/joystick feels like for classic games. Personally I would not worry about the controls. I found them to be better then most of the other games that use a visual touch thumb pad. Give it a few minutes and you will have little trouble ducking, turning, and attacking. The controls are by no means broken, nor do they provide a frustration factor in my opinion. If, however you do find them frustrating you can tone down the difficulty. This will give you extra hearts to allow for any life lost from not being use to the controls.

For the screen size complaints,

"this game is presented in its original format. It has not been modified to fit your screen."

This is a plus. No stretched out Rick that makes him look like he has gained a few pounds. You do get to enlarge and shrink the screen to your preferred size. The unused space displays wallpaper which you have the option to choose from.

Overall at $2.99, the game is a steal. The game does seem almost like it was prepared for a possible xbox Live or PSN Network release, though nothing like this has currently been mentioned. I highly doubt we will see this since all three US Splatterhouse games are suppose to be unlockable in the new game coming out the end of the month for the xbox 360 and PS3.

Check back for a possible video review in the upcoming week!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone