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The Addams Family (video game)

August 24, 2023

The Addams Family is a platform game based on the 1991 film of the same name and developed and published by Ocean Software. It was released for home consoles such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, computers such as the Amiga, and handheld consoles like the Game Boy.

The Addams Family
Amiga box art
Developer(s)Ocean Software
Publisher(s)Ocean Software
Acclaim Entertainment (Genesis)[a]
Platform(s)Master System, Genesis, SNES, Amiga, Atari ST, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Gear, Game Boy, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseSNES
Sega Genesis
NES
  • NA: Jan 1992
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

The game has the player control Gomez Addams. His mission is to rescue other members of the Addams family from the clutches of Abigail Craven, who, alongside The Judge and the family attorney Tully Alford, is trying to seize the Addams' wealth. The game is non-linear, with players moving throughout the mansion's many inside and outside areas, some of which are hidden. Opponents include bosses each holding a member of the Addams Family hostage, making them necessary to defeat. Power-ups, extra lives, and money are also collectable.

Ocean, a leader in the market of video game adaptations of film in the late 1980s, began development of the tie-in for The Addams Family film in April 1991, before the film switched studios from 20th Century Fox to Paramount Pictures. It was originally planned to be a puzzle video game released only on computer consoles. However, that changed when Ocean was called by the studio to develop a version for the SNES. The final result was that all versions, including the computer versions, were platformers with the same storyline, setting and objective. The game was critically well-received for its graphics, sound, and music, but also was widely considered to be a derivative platformer of its time.

Gameplay and plot

 
Players control Gomez Addams and play through various locations of the mansion.

The Addams Family is a side-scrolling action-adventure platform game.[1] The story involves Abigail Craven scheming to obtain The Addams Family's secret wealth. To do this, she brainwashes Uncle Fester, who has just lost his memory, into being an ally, and is also aided by The Judge and the Addams' family attorney, Tully Alford, who takes control of the mansion. Morticia Addams, Pugsley Addams, Wednesday Addams, and Granny go to the house to meet with Tully about the property, only to be kidnapped within it by Abigail. When Gomez Addams gets home, he finds the other family members gone.[2][3] To save his family, Gomez runs, jumps, and squats his way throughout the large mansion invested with ghosts, mutants, monsters, bats and rabbits, as well as stage hazards like stars, swinging clock pendulums, and fire lakes.[4][5]

Puzzle-solving is also involved in saving the Addams family members. For example, Wednesday is found in an ice-themed freezing area and it is up to the player to figure out how to thaw her out, and Granny is trapped in a stove that's turned off by a switch the player must find.[6][7] The Amstrad CPC game has many doors that can only be unlocked by keys hidden throughout the mansion.[8] In most versions, the underground chambers must be activated to save Morticia; Lurch plays a tune in the Music Room that activates it, but only when Wednesday, Pugsley, Granny and Uncle Fester are rescued and meet up in the room.[9] In the NES version, Gomez has to collect $1,000,000 to save Morticia.[6] The Judge is the game's final boss.[1]

The Addams Family is similar to open-ended titles such as The Legend of Zelda and Metroid (both 1986), as the player has the freedom to maneuver both the indoor and outdoor areas of the mansion in any order.[10] The core of the game is in the mansion's Hall of Stairs, consisting of the front entrance and six doorways.[10] Rooms these doors lead to include the kitchen, the games room, and the portrait gallery, and each feature around 40–50 screens.[11] A boss, a huge bird, is located in the outside garden.[12] One of the doors near the front is invisible and leads to Pugsley's Den, which has power-ups, money, and five 1-UPs; it also has another secret area within it containing 27 lives.[10][13] Throughout the mansion, there are bonus areas holding extra lives and money, as well as unnoticeable spots in non-secret areas containing the same.[12][10] There are also boxes where Thing provides clues, such as how objects in a room work and where to go next.[12][13]

Similar to Mario games, Gomez kills enemies and bosses by stomping on them, and collects power-ups and coins.[12][4][14] Power-ups include a sword, a golf club that can shoot balls in a similar fashion to fire flowers, the fezi-copter hat that makes Gomez fly, and shoes that increases his speed. All of these can be held from door-to-door except for the fezi-copter, which disintegrates by the time Gomez enters a door.[10] The Game Boy version additionally has four collectible potions, left around by Pugsley, that are needed to access certain areas. The Wolfman potion increases his speed, Frankie gives him invincibility that lasts for 10 hits with enemies, Sea Monster enables him to swim underwater, and Drac makes him fly.[15] Also only in the Game Boy release, power-up items are limited in energy, meaning power vials must be collected to keep them in use.[16]

In some versions, Gomez' maximum health is represented by heart containers, starting with two.[17][10] Up to three additional heart containers, as well extra lives, can be collected.[10] Collecting $25 fills one of the containers ($50 in the Amiga version), and $100 gives the player a 1-UP.[12][10] The player also has unlimited continues, although is put back at the Hall of Stairs once all the lives are lost.[10] A password is earned after defeating a boss, which also rewards the player with either one of the Addams family members or a heart container.[10] The NES, Game Boy, and CPC releases uses different representations of health. The NES version has a regular life bar, while the Game Boy and CPC version uses a system with a consistent amount of hearts.[18][19][8]

In the CPC version, Gomez has to survive in a screen for 60 seconds after he finds an Addams.[8]

Development

In the late 1980s, British developer Ocean Software gained a reputation for being the leader, and go-to producer, of game tie-ins for computers and consoles, such as RoboCop (1988), Batman (1989), Total Recall (1990), RoboCop 3 (1991), and Hudson Hawk (1991).[12][10] In April 1991, they started development on a tie-in for an upcoming film based on the fictional cartoon family The Addams Family; this was before the project switched studios from 20th Century Fox to Paramount Pictures.[20][21] The game was first announced by ACE magazine in June 1991.[22] Near the release of the movie, film industry journalist David J. Fox reported a widespread trend of video game tie-ins for major film projects. He attributed this to studios looking for other sources of income and promotional methods to make up for a rising decline in theater attendance.[21] Nintendo, in 1990, reported customers spending $2.4 billion on video games, nearly half of the $5 billion spent on movie tickets the same year.[21] The Addams Family's business plan was different from most others in that the game was released a month after the film. Just one other project around the same time had a similar strategy, Steven Spielberg's Hook, its video game published by Sony Imagesoft.[21]

The team consisted of James Higgins as coder, Warren Lancashire for game design and graphics, Simon Butler for additional graphics, and Jonathan Dunn for music.[20] Ocean only had the script to work with throughout development. Because most of the story was dictated by character dialogue, it was tough to incorporate it into a video game; they ultimately chose to base the game on the film's last 20 minutes.[20] Described Higgins, it was natural that the game starring a gothic family would have horror fiction tropes such as skulls and ghosts as enemies; however, Butler's surreal sense led to the creation of enemies like the flying teacups and tricycle-riding frogs.[20]

The Addams Family was initially planned to be a puzzle video game released only on computer systems, but within two weeks of development, Paramount called Ocean asking to create a port of the game on the SNES. After finishing the SNES version in November 1991, they went back to the code for the computer version and, with a console-game-influenced viewpoint, disliked it to the point of rejecting it. They found it had too little graphical colorfulness, too slow of a frame rate and no parallax scrolling.[20] Additionally, with a lack of "console-style" products released on systems like the Amiga, Ocean had wanted to be the first company to develop and release a 16-bit computer game that was a Mario-esque platformer well before the game's development began.[20][23] Thus, they made the computer ports identical to those of the console releases, "arcadey" platformers with pickup items, extra lives, level warps, secret areas, and bonuses.[20] Two other console-type platform games would be released on computers around the same time as The Addams Family: Fire and Ice and James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod.[20] Thus, reviews of 16-bit computer versions of The Addams Family constantly brought up those two titles.[12]

Reception

The most common claim about The Addams Family was that it was good in terms of gameplay, graphics and sound, but offered nothing special or original to the platform genre.[b] Total! journalist Andy, reviewing the NES version, opined that even considering it was a typical platformer, it was disappointing for an Ocean game given the standard set by their NES adaptation of Hook.[51] Reviews of the Mega Drive port published in 1994, such as those from Computer and Video Games and Hyper, found it especially out-of-date given the amount of more innovative platformers already in existence, such as James Pond 3 (1993) and the Sonic games.[14][37] Ed Ricketts, in addition to viewing the game as "slick, bland, well-programmed, large, not too difficult", and a "decent effort", was bothered by its poor utilization of the Addams Family license, finding the sprites and special mannerisms of the Addams characters only bearing a slight resemblance.[11]

Michael Foster disagreed that The Addams Family was a clone of other platform games, feeling it had "a lot of variety, and it's complex without being impossible".[17] Reviews also felt its level design had enough thrilling elements to keep the player's attention, such as funny enemy sprites, hidden areas, creative power-ups, and a constant barrage of foes.[1][42][41] Jonathan Davies, a journalist for Super Play, called it one of the best-looking and most imaginative SNES titles.[7] Other critics outside the lukewarm consensus included Amiga Action's Brian Sharp who called The Addams Family one of the top three video game adaptations of films,[12] Amiga Computing's Jonathan Maddock that called it one of the Amiga best platform games,[27] and a reviewer for Joystick that claimed it the best platformer on the Atari ST.[41] On the other end of the spectrum, Mega magazine's Andy Dyer dismissed The Addams Family as a "complete non-event" with uninspiring graphics, repetitive level design, and enemies that irritate rather than tests the player.[62]

Of frequent discussion was the high difficulty.[13][7] Rod Lawton of Amstrad Action reported the CPC port being filled with brutal timing puzzles and constantly respawning enemies.[8] Aktueller Software Markt journalist Hans-Joachim Amann wrote that lives can run out very fast, to the point where it was still hard even if the player had more than ten lives.[4] Reviews noted the game's large amount of areas to traverse and master, praising how they contributed to the challenge level and lastability.[c] Amiga Computing's Jonathan Maddock suspected it was larger than any other Amiga title.[27] Both Andy and Nintendo Life journalist Jamie O'Neill wrote that figuring out which actions to take, such as the right order of areas to traverse, was a major key to success.[51][10] O'Neill that the freedom in moving around the very large mansion fools the player into thinking progress is being made.[10] Opined Rob of Mean Machines wrote that "there are always new rooms, passages and puzzles to solve, and the password systems ensures that your efforts are pursued".[13] Davies, however, felt the open-ended-ness robbed The Addams Family of being similar to Mario in terms of addictiveness; whereas the player would feel increasingly satisfied by beating more and more levels, that same sense of progress would not be in a title where the player can go wherever he likes.[7] While some reviewers found the controls responsive and easy to use, others were critical of how slippery Gomez was, and also criticized the collision detection for being imperfect and too harsh on the player.[d] Ricketts, covering the Atari ST port, was ticked off by the "fire" button being for jumping, reasoning it went against players' instinct.[11]

Sharp called the graphics "humorous and a joy to watch on screen".[12] A common positive was the game's background, specifically their amount of detail, color, and the diversity of backgrounds.[13][41][10] Sharp and O'Neill noted the smooth parallax scrolling.[12][10] Computer and Video Games writer Garth Sumpter highlighted the pictures of the Family in the hallway and the use of beer-rugs and armour suits as hazards.[14] The sprites were also spotlighted for their animation and cute style.[e] Reviewers appreciated the game's upbeat music, such as O'Neill who also highlighted the bass parts in the SNES version.[12][10][24] Maddock was surprised by how uncannily the Amiga executed the Addams Family theme,[27] but the Amiga version's rejection of backgrounds in the SNES version, which the Amiga didn't have the speed to handle parallax scrolling, garnered a mixed response.[29][28] Amiga Format's Neil West felt it detached the game of atmosphere, while it was easier to see sprites without the backdrops for Maddock.[29][27]

Reviews of the game on 8-bit consoles were less favorable, common complaints being the lack of gameplay depth, challenge, and average visuals and audio.[6][51] GamePro journalist The Spam Weasal claimed the NES version had some of the worst music for the console, arguing it was just the theme playing over and over again.[6] Lar of Aktueller Software Markt was bored by the Game Boy game, describing the experience as endlessly hopping on platforms. He also condemned the lack of effort put in the backgrounds, the useless weapons, and the limited available health.[5] Total! magazine's Andy found the Game Boy version inferior to the NES release. He felt there was legitimate challenge in both 8-bit ports in that the player has to be cautious of where to go and what actions to take, especially the Game Boy version for its small amount of fuel for the power-ups and their requirement for defeating bosses.[50][51] However, he thought the Game Boy port was "a little too empty" to engage gamers, describing it as wandering around a big location for a long time, and reported rescuing three Addams family members and collecting half of the required items in a single playthrough.[50][51] He also disliked the Game Boy version's imprecise shooting and "fairly awful" music, and called the NES rendition of the theme "naff" and "warbly".[50][51] ACE's Gary White, although more positive towards the Game Boy port, reported an overwhelming amount of enemies being thrown at the player the instant the game began, making it difficult for novice players to adjust themselves to it. He was also annoyed by Gomez' "strangely restrained" jumps and the overabundance of platforms.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Released under the Flying Edge brand
  2. ^ [24][1][13][6][29][37]
  3. ^ [28][29][8][12][10][63]
  4. ^ [10][42][13][1][51]
  5. ^ [29][13][41][10]

References

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External links

August 24, 2023
addams, family, video, game, addams, family, platform, game, based, 1991, film, same, name, developed, published, ocean, software, released, home, consoles, such, super, nintendo, entertainment, system, computers, such, amiga, handheld, consoles, like, game, a. The Addams Family is a platform game based on the 1991 film of the same name and developed and published by Ocean Software It was released for home consoles such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System computers such as the Amiga and handheld consoles like the Game Boy The Addams FamilyAmiga box artDeveloper s Ocean SoftwarePublisher s Ocean SoftwareAcclaim Entertainment Genesis a Platform s Master System Genesis SNES Amiga Atari ST Nintendo Entertainment System Game Gear Game Boy Commodore 64 Amstrad CPC ZX SpectrumReleaseSNESNA 1992Sega GenesisNA 1993NESNA Jan 1992Genre s PlatformMode s Single playerThe game has the player control Gomez Addams His mission is to rescue other members of the Addams family from the clutches of Abigail Craven who alongside The Judge and the family attorney Tully Alford is trying to seize the Addams wealth The game is non linear with players moving throughout the mansion s many inside and outside areas some of which are hidden Opponents include bosses each holding a member of the Addams Family hostage making them necessary to defeat Power ups extra lives and money are also collectable Ocean a leader in the market of video game adaptations of film in the late 1980s began development of the tie in for The Addams Family film in April 1991 before the film switched studios from 20th Century Fox to Paramount Pictures It was originally planned to be a puzzle video game released only on computer consoles However that changed when Ocean was called by the studio to develop a version for the SNES The final result was that all versions including the computer versions were platformers with the same storyline setting and objective The game was critically well received for its graphics sound and music but also was widely considered to be a derivative platformer of its time Contents 1 Gameplay and plot 2 Development 3 Reception 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksGameplay and plot Edit Players control Gomez Addams and play through various locations of the mansion The Addams Family is a side scrolling action adventure platform game 1 The story involves Abigail Craven scheming to obtain The Addams Family s secret wealth To do this she brainwashes Uncle Fester who has just lost his memory into being an ally and is also aided by The Judge and the Addams family attorney Tully Alford who takes control of the mansion Morticia Addams Pugsley Addams Wednesday Addams and Granny go to the house to meet with Tully about the property only to be kidnapped within it by Abigail When Gomez Addams gets home he finds the other family members gone 2 3 To save his family Gomez runs jumps and squats his way throughout the large mansion invested with ghosts mutants monsters bats and rabbits as well as stage hazards like stars swinging clock pendulums and fire lakes 4 5 Puzzle solving is also involved in saving the Addams family members For example Wednesday is found in an ice themed freezing area and it is up to the player to figure out how to thaw her out and Granny is trapped in a stove that s turned off by a switch the player must find 6 7 The Amstrad CPC game has many doors that can only be unlocked by keys hidden throughout the mansion 8 In most versions the underground chambers must be activated to save Morticia Lurch plays a tune in the Music Room that activates it but only when Wednesday Pugsley Granny and Uncle Fester are rescued and meet up in the room 9 In the NES version Gomez has to collect 1 000 000 to save Morticia 6 The Judge is the game s final boss 1 The Addams Family is similar to open ended titles such as The Legend of Zelda and Metroid both 1986 as the player has the freedom to maneuver both the indoor and outdoor areas of the mansion in any order 10 The core of the game is in the mansion s Hall of Stairs consisting of the front entrance and six doorways 10 Rooms these doors lead to include the kitchen the games room and the portrait gallery and each feature around 40 50 screens 11 A boss a huge bird is located in the outside garden 12 One of the doors near the front is invisible and leads to Pugsley s Den which has power ups money and five 1 UPs it also has another secret area within it containing 27 lives 10 13 Throughout the mansion there are bonus areas holding extra lives and money as well as unnoticeable spots in non secret areas containing the same 12 10 There are also boxes where Thing provides clues such as how objects in a room work and where to go next 12 13 Similar to Mario games Gomez kills enemies and bosses by stomping on them and collects power ups and coins 12 4 14 Power ups include a sword a golf club that can shoot balls in a similar fashion to fire flowers the fezi copter hat that makes Gomez fly and shoes that increases his speed All of these can be held from door to door except for the fezi copter which disintegrates by the time Gomez enters a door 10 The Game Boy version additionally has four collectible potions left around by Pugsley that are needed to access certain areas The Wolfman potion increases his speed Frankie gives him invincibility that lasts for 10 hits with enemies Sea Monster enables him to swim underwater and Drac makes him fly 15 Also only in the Game Boy release power up items are limited in energy meaning power vials must be collected to keep them in use 16 In some versions Gomez maximum health is represented by heart containers starting with two 17 10 Up to three additional heart containers as well extra lives can be collected 10 Collecting 25 fills one of the containers 50 in the Amiga version and 100 gives the player a 1 UP 12 10 The player also has unlimited continues although is put back at the Hall of Stairs once all the lives are lost 10 A password is earned after defeating a boss which also rewards the player with either one of the Addams family members or a heart container 10 The NES Game Boy and CPC releases uses different representations of health The NES version has a regular life bar while the Game Boy and CPC version uses a system with a consistent amount of hearts 18 19 8 In the CPC version Gomez has to survive in a screen for 60 seconds after he finds an Addams 8 Development EditIn the late 1980s British developer Ocean Software gained a reputation for being the leader and go to producer of game tie ins for computers and consoles such as RoboCop 1988 Batman 1989 Total Recall 1990 RoboCop 3 1991 and Hudson Hawk 1991 12 10 In April 1991 they started development on a tie in for an upcoming film based on the fictional cartoon family The Addams Family this was before the project switched studios from 20th Century Fox to Paramount Pictures 20 21 The game was first announced by ACE magazine in June 1991 22 Near the release of the movie film industry journalist David J Fox reported a widespread trend of video game tie ins for major film projects He attributed this to studios looking for other sources of income and promotional methods to make up for a rising decline in theater attendance 21 Nintendo in 1990 reported customers spending 2 4 billion on video games nearly half of the 5 billion spent on movie tickets the same year 21 The Addams Family s business plan was different from most others in that the game was released a month after the film Just one other project around the same time had a similar strategy Steven Spielberg s Hook its video game published by Sony Imagesoft 21 The team consisted of James Higgins as coder Warren Lancashire for game design and graphics Simon Butler for additional graphics and Jonathan Dunn for music 20 Ocean only had the script to work with throughout development Because most of the story was dictated by character dialogue it was tough to incorporate it into a video game they ultimately chose to base the game on the film s last 20 minutes 20 Described Higgins it was natural that the game starring a gothic family would have horror fiction tropes such as skulls and ghosts as enemies however Butler s surreal sense led to the creation of enemies like the flying teacups and tricycle riding frogs 20 The Addams Family was initially planned to be a puzzle video game released only on computer systems but within two weeks of development Paramount called Ocean asking to create a port of the game on the SNES After finishing the SNES version in November 1991 they went back to the code for the computer version and with a console game influenced viewpoint disliked it to the point of rejecting it They found it had too little graphical colorfulness too slow of a frame rate and no parallax scrolling 20 Additionally with a lack of console style products released on systems like the Amiga Ocean had wanted to be the first company to develop and release a 16 bit computer game that was a Mario esque platformer well before the game s development began 20 23 Thus they made the computer ports identical to those of the console releases arcadey platformers with pickup items extra lives level warps secret areas and bonuses 20 Two other console type platform games would be released on computers around the same time as The Addams Family Fire and Ice and James Pond 2 Codename RoboCod 20 Thus reviews of 16 bit computer versions of The Addams Family constantly brought up those two titles 12 Reception EditReview scores all versions Review scoresPublicationScoreAmigaAtari STC64Game BoyMaster SystemNESPCSega GenesisSGGSNESZXACEN AN AN A775 1000 24 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AAllGameN AN AN AN AN A 25 N AN AN AN AN AAktueller Software MarktN AN AN A6 12 5 N AN AN A5 12 26 N A10 12 4 N AAmiga Action94 12 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AAmiga Computing91 27 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AAmiga Force83 28 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AAmiga Format78 29 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AAmiga Power88 30 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AAmstrad ActionN AN AN AN AN AN A90 8 N AN AN AN ACrashN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A91 31 Computer and Video GamesN AN AN A52 100 32 N AN AN A73 100 14 80 100 33 N AN AElectronic Gaming MonthlyN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A25 40 1 N AGame PlayersN AN AN AN AN AN AN A6 10 17 N AN AN AGameProN AN AN AN AN A10 25 6 N A18 20 35 14 20 34 20 20 36 N AHyperN AN AN AN AN AN AN A74 100 37 N AN AN AJeuxvideo comN AN AN A15 20 38 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AJoypadN AN AN A77 39 N AN AN AN A93 40 N AN AJoystickN A97 41 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AMean Machines SegaN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A89 13 N AMega FunN AN AN AN AN AN AN A70 42 N AN AN ANintendo LifeN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A 10 N ANintendo PowerN AN AN A11 5 20 43 N A12 4 20 44 N AN AN A14 5 20 45 N APlayer OneN AN AN AN A69 46 N AN AN AN A94 47 N AST ActionN A93 48 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AST FormatN A74 11 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN ASuper PlayN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A82 7 N ATotal N AN AN A52 50 N A55 51 N AN AN A70 52 N AVideo Games DE N AN AN A56 53 N A63 54 N A71 55 50 56 73 57 N AYour SinclairN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A86 58 Zero90 100 59 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AZzap 64N AN A57 60 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN ACommodore FormatN AN A92 61 N AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AMegaN AN AN AN AN AN AN A25 62 N AN AN ASuper GamerN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A84 63 N ASega PowerN AN AN AN A79 64 N AN AN A79 64 N AN ASega ProN AN AN AN A75 65 N AN AN A77 66 N AN ASega VisionsN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN A 67 N AN A The most common claim about The Addams Family was that it was good in terms of gameplay graphics and sound but offered nothing special or original to the platform genre b Total journalist Andy reviewing the NES version opined that even considering it was a typical platformer it was disappointing for an Ocean game given the standard set by their NES adaptation of Hook 51 Reviews of the Mega Drive port published in 1994 such as those from Computer and Video Games and Hyper found it especially out of date given the amount of more innovative platformers already in existence such as James Pond 3 1993 and the Sonic games 14 37 Ed Ricketts in addition to viewing the game as slick bland well programmed large not too difficult and a decent effort was bothered by its poor utilization of the Addams Family license finding the sprites and special mannerisms of the Addams characters only bearing a slight resemblance 11 Michael Foster disagreed that The Addams Family was a clone of other platform games feeling it had a lot of variety and it s complex without being impossible 17 Reviews also felt its level design had enough thrilling elements to keep the player s attention such as funny enemy sprites hidden areas creative power ups and a constant barrage of foes 1 42 41 Jonathan Davies a journalist for Super Play called it one of the best looking and most imaginative SNES titles 7 Other critics outside the lukewarm consensus included Amiga Action s Brian Sharp who called The Addams Family one of the top three video game adaptations of films 12 Amiga Computing s Jonathan Maddock that called it one of the Amiga best platform games 27 and a reviewer for Joystick that claimed it the best platformer on the Atari ST 41 On the other end of the spectrum Mega magazine s Andy Dyer dismissed The Addams Family as a complete non event with uninspiring graphics repetitive level design and enemies that irritate rather than tests the player 62 Of frequent discussion was the high difficulty 13 7 Rod Lawton of Amstrad Action reported the CPC port being filled with brutal timing puzzles and constantly respawning enemies 8 Aktueller Software Markt journalist Hans Joachim Amann wrote that lives can run out very fast to the point where it was still hard even if the player had more than ten lives 4 Reviews noted the game s large amount of areas to traverse and master praising how they contributed to the challenge level and lastability c Amiga Computing s Jonathan Maddock suspected it was larger than any other Amiga title 27 Both Andy and Nintendo Life journalist Jamie O Neill wrote that figuring out which actions to take such as the right order of areas to traverse was a major key to success 51 10 O Neill that the freedom in moving around the very large mansion fools the player into thinking progress is being made 10 Opined Rob of Mean Machines wrote that there are always new rooms passages and puzzles to solve and the password systems ensures that your efforts are pursued 13 Davies however felt the open ended ness robbed The Addams Family of being similar to Mario in terms of addictiveness whereas the player would feel increasingly satisfied by beating more and more levels that same sense of progress would not be in a title where the player can go wherever he likes 7 While some reviewers found the controls responsive and easy to use others were critical of how slippery Gomez was and also criticized the collision detection for being imperfect and too harsh on the player d Ricketts covering the Atari ST port was ticked off by the fire button being for jumping reasoning it went against players instinct 11 Sharp called the graphics humorous and a joy to watch on screen 12 A common positive was the game s background specifically their amount of detail color and the diversity of backgrounds 13 41 10 Sharp and O Neill noted the smooth parallax scrolling 12 10 Computer and Video Games writer Garth Sumpter highlighted the pictures of the Family in the hallway and the use of beer rugs and armour suits as hazards 14 The sprites were also spotlighted for their animation and cute style e Reviewers appreciated the game s upbeat music such as O Neill who also highlighted the bass parts in the SNES version 12 10 24 Maddock was surprised by how uncannily the Amiga executed the Addams Family theme 27 but the Amiga version s rejection of backgrounds in the SNES version which the Amiga didn t have the speed to handle parallax scrolling garnered a mixed response 29 28 Amiga Format s Neil West felt it detached the game of atmosphere while it was easier to see sprites without the backdrops for Maddock 29 27 Reviews of the game on 8 bit consoles were less favorable common complaints being the lack of gameplay depth challenge and average visuals and audio 6 51 GamePro journalist The Spam Weasal claimed the NES version had some of the worst music for the console arguing it was just the theme playing over and over again 6 Lar of Aktueller Software Markt was bored by the Game Boy game describing the experience as endlessly hopping on platforms He also condemned the lack of effort put in the backgrounds the useless weapons and the limited available health 5 Total magazine s Andy found the Game Boy version inferior to the NES release He felt there was legitimate challenge in both 8 bit ports in that the player has to be cautious of where to go and what actions to take especially the Game Boy version for its small amount of fuel for the power ups and their requirement for defeating bosses 50 51 However he thought the Game Boy port was a little too empty to engage gamers describing it as wandering around a big location for a long time and reported rescuing three Addams family members and collecting half of the required items in a single playthrough 50 51 He also disliked the Game Boy version s imprecise shooting and fairly awful music and called the NES rendition of the theme naff and warbly 50 51 ACE s Gary White although more positive towards the Game Boy port reported an overwhelming amount of enemies being thrown at the player the instant the game began making it difficult for novice players to adjust themselves to it He was also annoyed by Gomez strangely restrained jumps and the overabundance of platforms 24 Notes Edit Released under the Flying Edge brand 24 1 13 6 29 37 28 29 8 12 10 63 10 42 13 1 51 29 13 41 10 References Edit a b c d e f Steve Ed Martin Sushi X March 1992 The Addams Family Electronic Gaming Monthly Vol 5 no 3 p 24 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Creepy Kooky Ooky Spooky The Addams Family Instruction Manual SNES Ocean of America 1992 p 2 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Creepy Kooky Ooky Spooky The Addams Family Instruction Manual NES PDF Ocean of America 1992 p 3 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d Amann Hans Joachim June 1992 Die etwas andere Familie Aktueller Software Markt in German p 126 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c Grauselgie Angelegen heit Aktueller Software Markt in German March 1992 p 127 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d e f The Spam Weasel March 1992 The Addams Family GamePro No 32 p 30 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d e Davies Jonathan November 1992 The Addams Family Super Play No 1 p 74 a b c d e f Lawton Rod July 1992 Addams Family Amstrad Action No 82 pp 28 29 Retrieved 13 September 2021 Playing The Game The Addams Family Instruction Manual SNES Ocean of America 1992 pp 10 13 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t O Neill Jamie 22 October 2010 The Addams Family Review SNES Nintendo Life Retrieved 26 August 2021 a b c d Ricketts Ed August 1992 The Addams Family ST Format No 37 p 80 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sharp Brian July 1992 The Addams Family Amiga Action No 32 pp 24 25 Retrieved 26 August 2021 a b c d e f g h i Rob Julian June 1992 The Addams Family Mean Machines No 21 pp 62 64 Retrieved 26 August 2021 a b c d Sumpter Garth November 1993 The Addams Family Computer and Video Games No 144 p 85 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Potions The Addams Family GB PDF Ocean of America 1992 p 7 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Power Vials The Addams Family GB PDF Ocean of America 1992 p 8 Retrieved 12 September 2021 a b c Foster Michael December 1993 The Addams Family Game Players No 35 p 174 Retrieved 8 July 2021 Status Display The Addams Family GB PDF Ocean of America 1992 p 5 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Status Display The Addams Family Instruction Manual NES PDF Ocean of America 1992 pp 6 7 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d e f g h Brennan Ciaran March 1992 The Addams Family The One No 42 pp 28 30 Retrieved August 26 2021 a b c d Fox David J November 10 1991 ff Centerpiece Movies A Land Between Movieland and Cableland VideoGameland Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on August 27 2021 Retrieved August 26 2021 The Addams Family ACE No 45 June 1991 p 9 Retrieved August 26 2021 The Addams Family CU Amiga April 1992 pp 34 35 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d White Gary April 1992 The Addams Family ACE No 55 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Baker Christopher Michael The Addams Family Review AllGame Archived from the original on 15 November 2014 Retrieved 26 August 2021 The Addams Family Aktueller Software Markt in German April 1994 p 112 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c d e Maddock Jonathan August 1992 The Addams Family Amiga Computing No 51 pp 92 93 Retrieved 26 August 2021 a b c Price James May 1993 The Addams Family Amiga Force No 5 p 16 Retrieved 26 August 2021 a b c d e f West Neil June 1992 The Addams Family Amiga Format No 35 p 66 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Bielby Matt June 1992 The Addams Family Amiga Power No 14 pp 20 22 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Hickman Lucy Nick April 1992 The Addams Family Crash No 98 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Rand Paul May 1992 The Addams Family Go No 7 p 18 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Skews Rik December 1993 The Addams Family Computer and Video Games No 145 p 99 Retrieved 15 September 2021 Lawrence of Arcadia March 1994 Addams Family GamePro No 56 p 148 Retrieved 27 August 2021 The Unknown Gamer November 1993 Genesis ProReview The Addams Family GamePro No 52 p 62 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Arnold J Douglas July 1992 The Addams Family GamePro No 36 p 70 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c Humphreys Andrew February 1994 The Addams Family Hyper No 3 p 68 Retrieved 27 August 2021 DjiDane03 3 May 2013 Test de The Addams Family sur Gameboy Jeuxvideo com in French Archived from the original on 20 July 2013 Retrieved 27 August 2021 O Prezeau March 1992 The Addams Family Joypad in French No 6 p 129 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Trazom February 1994 The Addams Family Joypad in French No 28 p 81 Retrieved 28 August 2021 a b c d e The Addams Family Joystick in French No 29 August 1992 p 272 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b c Markus Sandrie March 1994 The Addams Family Mega Fun in German p 104 Retrieved 27 August 2021 George Rob February 1992 Now Playing Nintendo Power Vol 33 pp 102 105 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Now Playing Nintendo Power No 31 December 1991 pp 84 87 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Now Playing Nintendo Power No 35 April 1992 pp 100 103 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Elwood Addams Family Player One in French No 36 p 38 Retrieved 27 August 2021 The Addams Family Player One in French No 23 September 1992 pp 52 55 Retrieved 27 August 2021 The Addams Family ST Action No 59 March 1993 p 62 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Dillon Tony August 1992 The Addams Family ST Review No 4 pp 68 69 Retrieved 12 September 2021 a b c d Andy July 1992 The Addams Family Total No 7 pp 48 49 Retrieved 26 August 2021 a b c d e f g h Andy July 1992 The Addams Family Total No 7 pp 36 38 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Andy August 1992 The Addams Family Total No 8 pp 40 41 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Schneider Boris February 1992 Addams Family Video Games in German Retrieved 27 August 2021 Knauf Andreas December 1992 Addams Family Video Games in German p 103 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Addams Family Video Games in German April 1994 p 84 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Addams Family Video Games May 1994 p 112 Retrieved 15 September 2021 Knauf Andreas June 1992 Addams Family Video Games in German p 111 Retrieved 27 August 2021 Pillar Jon June 1992 The Addams Family Your Sinclair No 78 Archived from the original on 2000 11 19 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Lopez Amaya June 1992 The Addams Family Zero No 32 pp 24 55 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Shields Steve Osborne Ian July 1992 The Addams Family Zzap 64 No 86 pp 60 61 Retrieved 26 August 2021 Lurch James June 1992 The Addams Family Commodore Format No 21 pp 62 63 Retrieved 12 September 2021 a b Dyer Andy November 1993 The Addams Family Mega No 14 p 36 Retrieved 27 August 2021 a b Nintendo Games Index Super NES Super Gamer No 2 May 1994 pp 122 124 Retrieved 16 March 2021 a b Stout Andy December 1993 The Addams Family PDF Sega Power No 49 p 44 Retrieved 15 September 2021 The Addams Family Sega Pro No 26 December 1993 p 71 Retrieved 28 August 2021 Johnson James December 1993 The Addams Family Sega Pro No 26 p 38 Retrieved 28 August 2021 Addams Family Sega Visions February 1994 p 86 Retrieved 15 September 2021 External links EditThe Addams Family at MobyGames Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Addams Family video game amp oldid 1159524317, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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