Games

“Halloween The Game” – Single Player Review!

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We’re living in extraordinary times where our favorite horror titles are making a strong comeback—something we could only have dreamed of not too long ago. For example, did you ever think it would be possible to rampage through Crystal Lake as Jason on a bloodthirsty quest to slash, dismember, and mutilate those stupid enough to come to your lake? Or consider picking up a chainsaw and becoming Leatherface as you chase after unsuspecting hippies around the old homestead? Modern video games make that possible. Fuck’s sake, they even released a game based on Killer Klowns From Outer Space!

It was only a matter of time before the godfather of slashers got his own game, and Halloween is proving to be a massive hit among fans. Like many other horror titles, Halloween has already been a video game before, with kids turning on their Atari 2600 to survive a grueling night when he came home.

With its pixelated gore and a surprisingly impressive rendition of the classic theme that the franchise is known for (I mean, considering it’s on Atari!), it’s not a bad attempt—unlike Ghostbusters on the NES. However, it is really limited, much like many other horror titles from that era. Thankfully, those days seem to be behind us now.

Now, imagine actually running around Haddonfield on October 31st, as you and your friends try to warn the townsfolk about the horrors of the Boogeyman.

Or picture yourself picking up the knife and stalking your prey, ending one life after another in beautifully gruesome ways most befitting the horrors of the season.

The Night He Came Home

Michael Myers has already been introduced in DBD, allowing players to step into the shoes of The Shape. However, what Gun and Illfonic offer fans now is a different experience altogether. In this game, you don’t just play as The Shape; you truly become him. They immerse players right into the heart of the movie, similar to their previous titles.  

You will roam the dimly lit streets of sleepy Haddonfield, a town that many of us recognize from countless movie rewatches. In a way, it feels like a strange homecoming, as if we’re returning alongside Michael. However, this time, instead of just spectating, you spend your time breaking into people’s homes, where the real excitement begins. Before choosing your preferred method of killing, you have the option to take your time, utilizing your stalking ability, which secures Michael several advantageous kills. In my opinion, definitely worth it.

Once you choose your method of murder—whether you prefer a classic stabby-stab-kill or an environmental one—you’re free to unleash your creativity. A couple of memorable moments for me include using a kitchen stove (I smell bacon!) and a grandfather clock! I got overly excited when I realized the clock was even an option. The kills are both creative and cruel. Or if you prefer to explore Michael’s softer side, you can just hug someone to death.

In single-player mode, you play as Michael and track his steps from the moment he escapes Smith Grove’s mental institution. As The Shape, Michael has no face, meaning until you fetch the iconic mask, his face is blurred out, and this is how you start out. You’re walking around barefoot in nothing but a hospital gown, and thanks to an orderly stabbing you with a sedative, you don’t have your full capacity of powers yet. This allows the player a chance to learn all of Michael’s abilities gradually and also proves what an unstoppable force The Shape really is. The guy is drugged and still manages to kill anyone in his path!

With only a paper-thin gown as shielding and his bare hands, Michael kills the guards and orderlies in whatever order you so choose. You’re in command here, so as The Shape, this is your party. You’re rewarded for not letting a single victim escape and also for not being detected. You’re also given points for creative kills, so go hard on them.

The iconic (feel like I’m saying that a lot here) opening of the movie plays out as Dr. Loomis pulls up to the front gate and you’re tasked with taking the car and getting the fuck out of dodge. Right away we’re deep into John Carpenter’s classic lore, and this was all just the prologue.

You soon find yourself rampaging through the Rabbit in Red nightclub, with only a broken bottle as a weapon while they all have a meat cleaver, knives, and one bitch pulls out a gun. That’s ok though because in minutes Michael’s slaughtering everyone inside. Oh, that little shit who thinks he gets away, just you wait. Just you wait. Thinks he’s so badass on his bike. I wonder if that motorcycle of his will come in handy later on? Hmmm.

Afterward, you hunt down the car mechanic next door and don his jumpsuit. The Shape is nearly complete. This leads us to the outskirts of Haddonfield, where you pick up the mask from a convenience store. You then get to dispose of the silly clerk (in a very nasty way if you like) and continue carving your legacy into the face of your hometown.

As you progress, keep an eye out for Loomis tapes, which are reminiscent of the Pamela and Tommy tapes from Friday the 13th. These tapes expand on the lore and provide bonuses if you aim to achieve 100% completion. You can also revisit missions and butcher up the same assholes in whole new ways!  

However, I encountered a stupid-ass glitch where characters spawned on rooftops, appearing terrified but unable to move. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get up there to teach them a lesson. But remember how Jason could throw knives at his victims? Well, Michael can pick up lawn darts, which are great to have on hand to remind those rooftop cheaters who’s really in charge!

Many elements in this game will evoke nostalgia. As Michael, you’ll return home and replay the events of that fateful night when you were just a child, and your sister was upstairs, being all killable. She’s practically asking for it!

This is where the game truly shines. You get to experience some key moments from the film, but it’s important to note that you won’t relive every scene. You won’t be stalking babysitters during the day, standing outside Laurie’s classroom, or encountering Tommy. It’s not a frame-by-frame remake sort of deal. Instead, you’ll rampage through the town after sunset, adding your own bloody touch to the legacy, and there’s no one safe from you.

Also, as a fun fact, a lot of residents are watching TV in the safety of their living room when you make your way in. I took a moment to see what was on the old boob tube, and it was Nosferatu! I was impressed. If only it had been The Thing, right?

I’m trying to be as spoiler-free as possible, but do you get to hunt down some babysitters and reenact the terrible events of that Halloween night? Oh, I don’t know. Nods

Keep in mind that this is all from the single-player mode, and I haven’t even begun to explore the online matches. However, I’ve already jumped back into missions multiple times to relive the macabre moments we all love. For me, that alone was worth the cost of the game.  I’m also curious about what additions might come later.

Will there be sequel material later added similar to what we saw with Friday the 13th? Will we get new maps and additional characters? That being said,

Jaimie?

This idea would be intriguing, but I’m not sure how they could make it work considering she was just a little kid. People would shit out of their noses if Michael chased down and killed a child. However, I would love to see Jaimie Lloyd as a playable character.

Perhaps she could be an adult by now; I don’t think fans would mind, especially since many enjoyed Part 4, one of the most beloved horror sequels of all time. Just give us the damn clown girl! Try out an alternate timeline too where she’s the killer. Switch things up, and fans would love it.

The game just released, and I believe the potential is limitless. However, It’s well-known how Gunn and Illfonic were unable to complete everything they planned for the massively successful Friday the 13th game (due to that stupid lawsuit), which left many fans frustrated. We never got Uber Jason or the space station map. There were even rumors of Freddy being added to the game, allowing us a Freddy vs. Jason scenario which would’ve been superior to the fucking movie. Fans got screwed over!

Additionally, fans were disappointed to learn that Texas Chainsaw Massacre would not be receiving further attention. Because of this, many people are hesitant to invest their time and enthusiasm into their newest game, Halloween, and I can’t blame them. Piss on shit; I didn’t intend to buy this game for those very reasons. I took my chance though and, as you can tell, I’m a pretty happy camper.

The bottom line is the game’s already enjoyable and offers a lot for fans to appreciate. It’s had a good opening week and is proving to be strong despite the bugs and weird glitches we’ve been dealing with (damn rooftop cheaters). Patches have been rolling out to fix issues…and take away the sex players could have. If Sims can woohoo, why can’t there be woohooing in a horror game? So the game isn’t perfect, but still a lot of fun.

Besides, what better time to explore the shadows of Haddonfield than now, as we approach Halloween?

Now, when are we getting, oh I don’t know, the A Nightmare On Elm Street game?

Manic out!

Games

Ghostbusters The Video Game Review!

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Horror fans have it pretty good these days, especially if you love both movies and video games! Sure, yeah, alright, I know this isn’t anything necessarily new, and I can already see the incoming comments being pre-typed out. “But Manic,” you may say, “has an asteroid fallen on your cranium thus resulting in permanent brain damage? Hasn’t there always been horror movies adapted to video games and did they not suck mule bollocks?”Why yes, and yes, dear reader. We’ve indeed suffered through a slew of mighty titles of some of our most beloved spooky franchises only to be fooled into playing a joke of a game and duped big time.

And we did our damnedest to act like we were having fun. We sat before the flickering glow of our mega-ton square TV, and we suffered through Friday the 13th, Ghostbusters, and/or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Bless our sloppy hearts, we even acted like Jaws was fun ffs! We either rented these titles on Friday, and this was our entire weekend, or some of us were unfortunate enough to get these as a gift. In either case, we couldn’t help but feel maybe and just possibly a teensy bit fucked over. Horror franchise games on early consoles are now legendary for how rat-dick terrible they were thanks to the cancerous spitting of angry video game YouTube personalities. For too long, horror games were the butt of jokes and memes.

It would seem those days are thankfully long gone, as time has allowed many of these beloved IPs a chance at redemption, and today we’re covering one of the biggest redemption stories out there.

It’s time to answer the greatest question ever posed to our generation: who ya gonna call?

Years prior, back when we were all loving up on our newly acquired PS3 or Xbox 360, a seriously ambitious game came around and gave fans a serious jolt of very, very good nostalgia. That game was, of course, Ghostbusters!

Scepticism was already working its way against this one thanks to how godawful the NES experience was. It’s one I still have never beaten only because I don’t have the patience to deal with it. The NES title was (sighs) an attempt. It was something, sure. Not a good something, but it was something.

It lacked all the stuff that made Ghostbusters a pop icon. With the NES port, gone was all the character charisma, charm, and outright fun that made the movie a stellar hit. It’s also said that glimpsing mere screenshots from that old game can cause unexpected childhood PTSD in many nostalgia enthusiasts, so view with caution, dear reader.

All of the complaints (rightly) lobbied at the original game are entirely obsolete with this one, though. For the first time in forever, it felt like the gamer finally got to be a Ghostbuster. You wore the pack, and you joined our beloved goofballs on a massive adventure into the paranormal and fun world of Ghostbusters!

We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!

One of the biggest advantages of this project is that the original writing team, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, returned to create a new story that continues the narrative from the original films. That’s right—the creative minds behind the films, which became a global phenomenon, were back with a brand new installment in the Ghostbusters legacy.

But we’re just getting started.

1) Firstly, the original cast returned to reprise the roles we all loved. Remarkably, they even convinced Bill Murray to put on the proton pack again and lend his voice along with the rest of the cast.

This may be an emotional moment for fans, especially since this is the last time Harold Ramis portrays Egon. I was particularly touched during missions where you and him investigate some spooky corners of New York together.

2)Thanks to the return of the original cast, this game is arguably the Ghostbusters 3 we all hoped to get one day. In my opinion, it serves as a fitting conclusion to the trilogy, as there are many references throughout the game that pay homage to both films. Players will have the opportunity to revisit the Sedgewick Hotel, battle a really pissy Stay Puft in the streets of New York City, and uncover the origins of the slime from Ghostbusters 2. Additionally, we can explore the Firehouse and even interact with the painting of Vigo the dickhead! Oh, and what would Ghostbusters be without everyone’s favorite slob of a specter? Yup, Slimer is back too

3) Tying up loose ends. The villains in the story are probably who you’d come to expect, with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man returning early on as a boss fight. Additionally, Gozer the Gozerian is heavily talked about, which might make some people roll their eyes—after all, haven’t we seen enough of that paranormal edgelord? However, I don’t consider Gozer the main antagonist of the game.

That title belongs to Ivo Shandor, who is revealed to be the source of everything that has gone wrong in the Ghostbusters’ careers of busting ghosts. Although he is dead, his malevolence transcends the void and threatens to pull the astral dimension into New York, which would ruin the city’s pizza style forever—and we can’t allow that! Near the end of the game, we learn that Shandor has a secret island buried beneath the river, and of course, we need to go there to put an end to his nonsense. Oh, and I should mention that Walter Peck makes a return, still has no dick.

4) Nostalgia flows like milk and honey… or perhaps more like slime, as this game is filled with it. It’s clearly designed to evoke nostalgia, featuring moments where we interact with a dancing toaster or explore the New York Public Library while hunting down an evil spirit that’s captured the librarian ghost. The game aims to tug at our heartstrings, with its music, setting, and humor all reminiscent of the happier times we grew up with.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered_20191008175745

That said, don’t assume this is all fluff with no substance. The game is ambitious and presents a brand-new story as mentioned earlier. You’ll have your reliable proton pack and ghost trap ready, but the pack also features three additional capabilities that you can unlock as you progress. Egon has been tinkering with the pack, allowing you to test out these new (highly dangerous) enhancements. You lucky punk! It’s not every day you get to play with interdimensional science thingies.

5) You become a Ghostbuster! I really appreciate that we don’t just play as our favorite Ghostbuster, but instead take on the role of a new recruit learning the ropes as we join the team on a mission to save the world once again. Your missions will vary, involving the entire group at times, while at other moments, you’ll team up with just one other member to explore and uncover some ancient occult mysteries. This lets you feel like part of the team as they all, well, are themselves, and we love them for that.

6) This game was made for older consoles, and I get that modern gamers might feel frustrated because it doesn’t offer an open world to explore. I won’t pretend that having an open world wouldn’t have been incredible! However, what we do get is a tightly woven storyline and a game that doesn’t require weeks of commitment. I consider it the third story in the trilogy, and it functions like a movie. The difficulty can be adjusted to your preference, making it easy to breeze through and enjoy those heartfelt moments. I do have to admit, though, that the section in the cemetery (specifically at the gate) with the flying cherubs was a real PAIN IN THE ASS! That part gave me the most trouble, but aside from that, the game is a blast.

I always like to choose a game that fits the Halloween spirit to enhance the spooky vibes. This is the one I picked this year—so far! Since it’s a quick game, I actually have time to play a couple more. Conveniently, a brand new Castlevania game is coming out soon. I also see there’s an actual Hellraiser game releasing soon! Horror fans have it good.

I should also mention that Ghostbusters was later remastered for the PS4 and is available for both the PS4 and PS5, the current Xbox, and Switch. So, if you missed it when it first came out, you still have a chance to team up with the professionals and bust some ghosts in time for Halloween.

Manic out!

Editorials, Horror Nostalgia

Tales From the Video Store: PUPPET MASTER II

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As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. Oh shit, wrong movie. As far back as I can remember, I was completely enthralled with the killer doll genre, long before Chucky took center stage in 1988 and really kicked off a line of killer doll films from competing studios. It all really started for me with Talky Tina and THE TWILIGHT ZONE, then spilled over into Stuart Gordon’s DOLLS– a film I became obsessed with when I was very young, and still has a grip on me today as an adult. Not long after DOLLS hit video store rental shelves, which is where I discovered it, another film that Charles Band, who produced the 1987 horror flick, and his production company FULL MOON PICTURES showed up in the horror section of my local Mom and Pop Video Store entitled PUPPET MASTER. And this little movie did for FULL MOON what Freddy did for NEW LINE- it built a legacy and a ton of quirky B Horror and straight-to-VHS horror films to follow. And we all have Blade and friends to thank for it.

To be totally transparent, I actually saw PUPPET MASTER II before seeing the first movie. I know, wild; I was totally confused, but it didn’t restrict any love that happened upon my first viewing because I was immediately hooked and went to rent the original the following day. So, hence, the sequel is the one that truly sparked my love for the franchise and the one that remains a favorite. Not just for nostalgic reasons, but I firmly believe this is the best film of the franchise without a doubt.

SYNOPSIS:

The living puppets dig up their dead creator, Andre Toulon. Running low on the secret life-giving fluid, Toulon and his killer creations harvest brain fluid from a team of paranormal investigators at the Bodega Bay Inn. At the same time, Toulon targets a researcher he believes is his reincarnated wife.

Puppet Master II ramps up the body count, expands the franchise lore, and introduces some of the most iconic elements of the entire series. The deadly marionettes-Blade, Jester, Pinhead, Tunneler, and Leech Woman are running out of the mystical green elixir that sustains them. To save themselves, they head to a foggy graveyard, dig up the mummified corpse of their creator Andre Toulon, and bring him back from the dead.

Toulon is now alive, but he is a decomposing mess wrapped in bandages. To brew a fresh batch of his life-giving serum, he needs a very specific ingredient: fresh human brain tissue. YUMMO. Conveniently, a team of unsuspecting paranormal investigators rolls into the creepy Bodega Bay Inn to look into the events of the first film. Toulon, masquerading as a hotel guest and trying to channel his best Claude Rains impression, unleashes his mini-monsters to harvest the team’s grey matter.

Things take a bizarre turn when Toulon realizes the lead investigator, Carolyn, looks exactly like his deceased wife, Elsa. The plot shifts from a simple slasher into a mad-scientist romance. Toulon concocts a plan to murder Carolyn, kill himself, and transfer both of their souls into life-sized human mannequins so they can live happily ever after.

How romantic. Also the most nightmare-inducing images of the entire movie.

Puppet Master II is also the introduction to one of my favorites of the franchise, TORCH. The only puppet with the absolute balls to kill a kid.

As an 80s kid, I’m a stickler for practical effects, and David Allen’s stop-motion animation gives the puppets a distinct, uncanny movement that CGI just can’t replicate. Which is something I’m afraid of happening, as rumors are circulating that BLUMHOUSE will be rebooting the beloved B Horror franchise in the future. I’m all for breathing new life into the puppets of my generation, but let’s be clear- Blumhouse has always been hit or miss, with a lot more misses, unfortunately, when it comes to horror movie reboots. This is why I can’t even fuck with the new Chucky movies or series. There is way too much CGI going on, and it makes the dolls look even more cheesy than intended and completely unrealistic. I mean, it’s about as fake as you can get, and we’re talking puppets and dolls who come alive from spells and potions. Which is a WILD thing to even say. But I just know that Blumhouse would pull that same kind of shit, and Toulon’s creations will just become another mediocre product from Jason Blum.

Yeah. I said it.

That being said, Puppet Master II perfectly balances genuinely creepy imagery with the delightful, low-budget B-movie charm of the early ’90s, and I’ll always remember the first time I saw it thanks to my local video store. Another treasure that gained momentum through word of mouth, an intriguing VHS cover, and inspired young horror fans to come back for more B horror.

All hail the memories of horror movie video rentals.