Ah, I LOVE me some Splatterhouse! It's the Halloween season, and being the huge gore-fest horror movie buff, Splatterhouse is absolutely perfect for Halloween. I adore the Splatterhouse series because of it's numerous references to famous horror flicks. Splatterhouse also has buckets and buckets of gore. Delicious gore........
Uh, ahem. After reviewing the first game, I decided to look up and play the 2nd one, which apparently is only on the Genny. I would guess that the sequel would be on the TurboGrafx 16, but I digress.
The plot is kinda confusing due to it being edited for the American release. It's been three months since the events of the first game. Rick Taylor, the hero of the series, is being haunted by his inability to save his beloved Jessica, and the Terror Mask's visions. The mask beckons Rick to go back to the house and save her. Even though the house burned to the ground in the first game.
The gameplay is familiar to the first game: it is a side-scrolling action beat 'em up with a arcade flair. Rick still uses his meaty hands to obliterate the evil ghouls, along with lead pipes, shotguns, and thigh bones. You fight through the distinct stages until you reach the evil boss. Unfortunately, the diversity of the stages isn't as great as the original. Actually, as a matter of fact, the level design is kinda dull. It's not unbearably bad, but it's noticeable. But the action is still there, almost to a fault. You still slaughter hordes of evil monsters which always explode into a billion pieces when you hit them.
The graphics are pretty good. Everything has good detail to it and looks pretty good, especially for the Genesis, but nothing particularly jumps or stands out. They get the job done, I guess. Splatterhouse was never renowned for it's sound design, and this game is no exception, sadly. The tunes aren't bad, but they're not up to Sonic 3.
The game is a little more difficult than the 1st, mostly because of the bosses. The boss encounters in the 1st are pretty hard, but in this one they are just plain frustrating. Especially that monster who does the slide kick over and over again.
I think that the big issue with Splatterhouse 2 is that it's not really a sequel. It's more along the lines of a remake, as the house seems to be back(at least on the American version). People probably won't like the fact that Splatterhouse 2 is actually more of a retelling of the first one, even though the plot tries to tie it in with the 2nd one. I like this game a lot personally because it's more challenging and most importantly, more violent. So, if you don't like violent games, Splatterhouse 2 is not for you.
Splatterhouse 2 is that perfect game to play around Halloween time. I always play through the series every Halloween season, and I'm really hoping this reboot coming around this November is decent(I'm honestly more excited about Epic Mickey.) But if you are new to the series, you need to play the original first, or you will not understand the appeal of Splatterhouse 2. Horror buffs and gore hounds will love this game, but gamers looking for a deep experience should look elsewhere.
PROS:
+ Lots of horror movie references and Delicious gore.
+ Challenging and Intense Arcade-style gameplay.
+ Decent graphics and Tunes that create the mood that the game's looking for.
CONS:
- A little too similar to the original.
- Confusing plot that seems to be a retelling of the 1st game.
- Frustrating and occasionally cheap bosses.
OVERALL: ***7.8 out of 10***
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