Review of the Week - Home Alone SMS

Started by TrekMD, December 19, 2014, 03:13:13 AM

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TrekMD

[align=center:34ny0pum]Home Alone - Sega Master System

Reviewed by Doug Titchmarsh[/align:34ny0pum][align=center:34ny0pum][/align:34ny0pum] We all loved Macauley Caulkin as Kevin McCallister in the Home Alone films right? The Master System gives you the chance to take on those bad guys yourself in this film based title, so lets live out those childhood dreams right now. Only it's not quite the same, in the game you have to run around the house avoiding the baddies and your crazy dog which knocks you over. You can collect items to help defend yourself but it's not the same as seeing the thieves hit in the middle of the face with an iron on a string or a toolbox full of tools. Still it's a fun little game to play for a short while, jumping, running and discovering hidey holes and secret passages, and it's all against the clock too so if you don't hurry up the bad guys get away with all your stuff. Collecting ammo allows you to fire off some shots at the bungling burglars and earn a potion to stop time for a while to give you a chance. The problem is you do it once, then again, and then again. It gets repetitive really quickly and the fun is gone. Visually Home Alone has a lot of good stuff, from the digitised stills at the title screen and cartoony cut scenes in the game which are very appealing in an 8 bit way to the way the characters are drawn and the colourful rooms to explore, it's all very nice. The in-game music is also pretty cheery and fits in with the games theme. Sound effects are up to the same high standards too making it a high quality affair for the senses. Home Alone then, a good idea treated well visually and sonically, but let down by unimaginative and tedious gameplay.

[align=center:34ny0pum]Home Alone (Sega Master System) with Commentary[/align:34ny0pum]


[align=center:34ny0pum][size=180]Review Found Here
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Going to the final frontier, gaming...


Shadowrunner

I probably watch this movie every Xmas, and I actually just watched it a couple nights ago. I've never played this game though, and unfortunately it doesn't sound like I'm missing much.

zapiy

Not a game i have ever seen or played, perhaps i have not missed out going by Doug's review lol.. Having said that its Xmas and i will no doubt watch the movies for the 1000 time lol so i might have a bash.

Own: Jaguar, Lynx, Dreamcast, Saturn, MegaDrive, MegaCD, 32X, GameGear, PS3, PS, PSP, Wii, GameCube, N64, DS, GBA, GBC, GBP, GB,  Xbox, 3DO, CDi,  WonderSwan, WonderSwan Colour NGPC

TrekMD

No one seems to like this game.  I think the better version of Home Alone is the Sega Genesis/MD version.  At least the characters are animated to be like in the movie.

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


Ben

I'm with Zapiy on that as well, I never played this one or knew anyone who did, although I do remember passing it up at the video store back in the day.  I was burned by too many movie based games at some point and quit trying them. 

Fin

The Mega Drive version was definitely the better of the two.

Set traps, find parts, create random cool weapons, wait for the bandits to arrive and run around stopping them. It was strategic and fun.

I played the genesis version hundreds of times and i can't think of a better movie based game that took the spirit of a film and made you part of it, you felt like you took on the role of the person stopping the bandits, rather than just have you play through of scenes of the film.

The master system game feels much more like traditional movie games, ok but meh.

sloan

Never played it, but the cut scenes look slow and monotonous every time he gets caught.

onthinice

Never played it either. I do have the NES version and comparing the two 8-bits, I would nod in NES direction. Still it looks like a good effort.

TrekMD

From what I hear, the NES version is no better in terms of gameplay! 

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


onthinice

I do not think it is any better. Home Alone 2 for the NES was actually a better game. Just my thoughts.

TrekMD

I'll have to try them out so they can added to the NES reviews section.  ;)

Going to the final frontier, gaming...