Goosebumps HorrorLand Hands-On
You're never going to find these rides at Disneyland.
Those who were conscious in the '90s or who happen to wander into the children's book section at Barnes and Noble every once in a while might recall Goosebumps, a popular children's horror series by R. L. Stine. More than 300 million books have been sold in 32 different languages, and Stine is still expanding the Goosebumps world with a new spin-off series titled Goosebumps HorrorLand. Elastic, Scholastic Interactive's new publishing label, and developer Gusto will be bringing an adventure game of the same name to the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 2 for the young crowd who want to immerse themselves in the Goosebumps world.
The game's storyline isn't based on any of the books, but the story's themes should be familiar to those who have read the series. When you start the game you can choose to be a boy or a girl, and you receive a ticket to HorrorLand, a fright-themed amusement park with no way out. You have to collect the missing pieces of your ticket to leave in one piece. The park has five areas, each appropriately named with its own theme: Carnival of Screams, Vampire Village, Fever Swamp, Mad Labs, and Terror Tombs. Each area consists of six minigames to play so that you can earn frights that help you unlock new areas. Exploring the surroundings by kicking over trash cans can yield tokens that you use to play the games or go on the rides. In this preview build, we got a chance to play around with 30 minigames, 12 of which can be played with a friend.
Some of the highlights include Bumper Carnage, a bumper-car game in which you tilt the Wii Remote to steer and use the 1 and 2 buttons to move forward and back. When you shake the remote, you'll thrust yourself forward, and the goal is to knock out your opponents three times. Before the timer runs out, a gaping hole will open in the center of the arena, so you have to make sure you don't fall in or else the game is over.
Wheel of Misfortune has you running down a platform and then jumping onto a wheel on which you're trying to get the most points or earn some tokens. To get your character to run, you have to hold the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in each hand and shake them up and down as if you're running, and at the critical point you'll hit A to jump. Once you jump, you have a meter that will indicate how long you can hover in the air while you wait for the perfect moment to hit A again to land on the wheel. If you wait too long or if you miss the red zone, you'll find yourself face-first in a pool of water at the base of the wheel.
HorrorLand Derby is similar to those carnival games that have multiple horses lined up on the right, although in this case it's you and a bunch of monsters. You have to throw a ball across a panel and watch it fall into a slot to see how many steps your character can take. You aim with the Nunchuk and flick the Wii Remote to throw the ball. This game is also very much like Mummy Run; the targets are a little different but the gameplay is still the same. There are a few games that are similar but with different themes, including mini-putting games as well as batting-cage-like games in which you swing a bat or a racket at bats and flying beetles.
One of the more elaborate and grossest games is called Rub-a-Dug Slug, in which you have a giant slug with orifices all over its body, and you have to use the Wii Remote to fill up the holes before worms start to protrude out of them. Once the worms start coming you have to pinch them, shake them, and yank them out.
Given that it's still an early build, some of the controls weren't as tight for some of the games as they should be, and the graphics are still a little rough. Hopefully this will be fixed in the final version. Otherwise the music is fitting and the park feels very much like how a Goosebumps amusement park should be. Players who like to collect things can also go after the 25 monster cards, which feature Goosebumps monsters such as the Abominable Snowman and Amaz-o as well as new ghouls. Goosebumps HorrorLand will be released in October on the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 2.
Goosebumps HorrorLand Quick Links
Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Answers | Forum | Check Prices
- GameSpot Score3.5bad
Content you might like…
-
Goosebumps: HorrorLand Review
The controls in this horror-themed minigame collection are possessed by an evil spirit whose only goal is to drive you mad.
- Nov 18, 2008
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Images
- Scholastic, Inc.
- SScholastic Media
- Adventure
- Release: Oct 30, 2008
- ESRB: Everyone 10+
Games you may like…
-
Goosebumps: EfH
(PC) -
Goosebumps: AotM
(PC) -
Wheelspin
(WII) -
Ultimate Red Ball
(WII) -
Lego Indiana Jones
(WII)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
See More Similar Games
19 Comments