Who here remembers Haunted House on the Atari 2600? Ok well for 98% of you who didn’t raise your hands here’s what that game looks like start to finish.
Not exactly a whirlwind of entertainment there (or coherence really) but it seems the geniuses at Atari are convinced that this is the game everybody wants remade. In a press release this morning it was announced Haunted House is being reimagined for the modern consoles. The game will be sold as downloadable product on the XBLA, Wii, and PC (apparently Sony either wants none of this or is not good enough in Atari’s eyes for the remake) and as of now has no price point and a release window of ”September 2010″.
The major addition to the formula of the “blockbuster hit” (Atari’s words not mine) of the original franchise seems to be that of an actual story which I will let Atari explain below:
Haunted House pays homage to the classic favorite as players fight for their lives in Graves Mansion as the grandchildren of the original character that disappeared without a trace in the evil mansion over 30 years ago. Chased by pesky poltergeists, haunted by scary skeletons and exhausted from battles with creepy creatures, players are in a goosebump-educing fight to explore the dark and creepy depths of Graves Mansion in search of the four lost pieces of the magical urn. The player’s goal is to reassemble the urn and defend their family’s legacy with the aid of mystical tomes, powerful light sources and multiple keys.
Promises are made in the press release of all sorts of new gameplay for the series such as boss fights, multiple levels, and hidden treasures. A big focus with this title seems to be that of being “family friendly” which is odd as the children this is being marketed to will have never even heard of the original. That said from what I’ve seen so far via screen shots it looks to be keeping to a formula not too dissimilar from the original.
While my love for games of the past remains strong I feel rather adamant that some of them should stay there and this remake only reaffirms those feelings.
