#2 The Addams Family
Having started somewhere comfortable, it was time to head in the opposite direction!
I was never a fan of the Addams Family. While I’m familiar enough with the characters to recognize them, its no surprise I never played this as a kid. Coming to it now, no nostalgia to cloud my judgement, my first impressions were simply…Oh God!
Right from the off you know this is bad!. Your hit box is atrocious, meaning taking damage unfairly is inevitable. Worst still, platforming is just a complete lottery. Unless you’re at the perfect Apex of the jump, you’ll fall right through platforms. Many obstacles appear to have invisible sides you can jump straight through! Its the kind of hogwash modern gamers simply don’t have to contend with, and certainly most wouldn’t have the patience to learn to adapt too.
Perhaps the worst sin is that beneath the issues, there’s actually a decent game to be played. It’s a non-linear platfomer, taking place in the Addams Family residence offering plenty to explore. There’s no time limit (always welcome) and there’s even a bit of puzzling to solve along the way. However Just when you think your into the swing of the games terrible control system, you’re thrown into the ‘Chiller’ aka the kitchen freezer, and suddenly your wrestling these awful controls across ice! Nothing more fun than frantically pressing left, right, left, ahhhh jump, left, right etc… as you battle obstacles in your path.
Many attempts later I’m nearing the end of the game. Having negotiated both the Attic and Rooftop, the latter is simply a horrid trial and error test, I make it to the final door, only to be told I haven’t found enough money to enter? OH FOR ***** SAKE!!.. Back to the beginning to grind through the entire game making sure I pick up all the money bags. You basically can’t miss any, you’ll need to find all the hidden stashes too!
Eventually the door opens. I grab my phone ready to get a snap of the end screen, then suddenly some knifed wielding lunatic kills me! WTF happened? So do it all over again! This time avoid knife man, finally save Morticia and mercifully game over! This challenge is really gonna be fun!