Monster House (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

As we mentioned some time ago, this is the year of the CGI movie and August brings us not one but two such outings: this and The Ant Bully, both of which have handheld offerings. Monster House is based on that old urban myth that the rather run-down house in the neighborhood is in fact haunted and children of all ages take great delight in daring their friends to go and knock on the door. Anyone who actually managed this, of course, was either crowned the coolest kid on the block or a complete weirdo. How you manage to capture all this and successfully transfer it into a game seems like a tall order to us but THQ have seen fit to release both a GBA and DS version of the game. Dare to read the review then?

Gameplay

Monster House sets you on a quest to seek out and destroy the house's furnace in order for the most troubled residence on the block to stop munching on its neighbors. Your journey allows you to control one of three players, each of whom have their own unique abilities although you do actually travel around as a group for the game's duration. The abilities in question mainly relate to the weapons and after only a little time with the game you'll work out which weapon is most effective against various creatures and household objects. There are other rather useful attributes, which you'll require further on in the game. DJ is the only member of the group who can climb ladders, for example, while Chowder is able to move some of the larger objects blocking your path. Before attempting any of this though you'll have to root out your basic equipment (flashlights, walkie talkies, etc) that was lost when the house originally snatched you and your friends from the street. As you travel from room to room you are likely to do a great deal of backtracking mostly due to the 'discover a locked door, find the key, open the door' mechanic which is at the heart of the game. There are other puzzles and Monster House draws on many of the classic formulas, which have made this type of game so popular to GBA owners. The house itself is vast and you'll be constantly referring to your handy map just to remind yourself where you are and where you've been whilst also giving some valuable hints as to which direction you should be heading in. Finally I have to mention the 'save' feature which is far more difficult than it should be as it can only be achieved when you visit certain rooms. The real problem here is that you don't to know where they are, meaning you may replay dangerous situations repeatedly for no apparent reason.

Controls

Very standard stuff here with each new move receiving a helpful 'pop-up' during the game. Still, there does appear to be a little too much falling into the abyss should you find yourself too close to an opening in the floor for our liking.

Graphics

Visually Monster House is absolutely wonderful reminding you just how good things can be on the GBA. The impressive locations give a real feeling of depth to what is essentially a 2D experience. The animation is also well above average especially when normal household objects come alive. This is all tied up with a well designed and easy to navigate interface and while the DS version is glorious 3D this version has a charm all of its own.

Sound

As usual with a GBA soundtrack the music loops a little too much for its own good though given the sheer size of this adventure the lack of musical variety is likely to annoy gamers everywhere. It does though complement the gameplay perfectly as do the well-designed sound effects, which accompany the game's action perfectly.

Final comments

In the world of movie tie-ins anything which deviates from the standard platformer is worth a look and developers A2M have done a fine job here of at least capturing some of the excitement of the movie onto this tiny cart. There's nothing too original though and the whole thing sticks to the Zelda adventure formula throughout the 10 or so hours of gameplay. Not that this is a bad thing though and ignoring the constant backtracking, this is a thoroughly enjoyable little game. It's just a bit of a mystery that, yet again, the GBA version is far more successful at capturing the spirit of the movie than the supposedly superior DS version. Stranger still when you consider that A2M developed both versions.

Pro: Great looking GBA Title, Engaging Puzzles, Lengthy Game.
Con: Lots of Backtracking, Not Very Original.
Final score: 7.1

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