Home Alone
System: NES
Release Date: October 1991
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Action
I made my family disappear… and now I’m Home Alone! Kevin McCallister may have missed the wake up call to go to France, but it’s not going to be a relaxing vacation away from his family. The Wet Bandits are on the prowl and in order to steal what they want, they need to snap off his cajones and boil them in motor oil. This is your house. Can you defend it?
The goal of Home Alone is to survive for 20 minutes without getting caught by Marv or Harry. In order to do this you’re going to need to be fast. You’re also going to have to be quick with the traps. Littered around the house are icons that represent traps. You pick them up with the A Button and drop them with the B Button. As the burglars trip them, the icons must be picked up and put down again to work.
Traps can only be tripped three times before they disappear. This can be nerve wracking as the time limit starts to wind down and you’ve used up all the traps. But don’t despair, there are hidden traps! The chandeliers at the top of the stairs can be dropped if you stand above them and press up and the A Button. The TV in the living room and salt and pepper shakers in the kitchen are also fair game.
You have to be smart as you run around, because Marv and Harry are faster than you. They run faster, they go up and down stairs faster. Making the transition from the pipe to the kitchen is difficult and can get you caught. As is when you try to get on any of the stairs. You’re in trouble if you’re not holding onto a trap and they get on your tail. The basement and 2nd floor feature dead ends, so getting caught there can ruin a run.
You can hide in certain spots around the house by holding up, but these aren’t marked and don’t always work. Killing some time can be helpful. You can check how much is left by pressing the Start Button. If you can last 20 minutes, the cops show up and save your skin. If you get caught, you get a terrible drawing of Buzz’s girlfriend! Woof.
Graphics: 2.5
The house and characters really don’t look too bad.
Sound: 2.0
The music and sounds are alright. At least it’s not the same song on a loop and it changes in different areas of the house.
Gameplay: 2.0
Run around, pick up traps, try not to get caught.
Difficulty: 2.0
If the controls were better, I would say this is fair. The controls aren’t precise, though.
Fun Factor: 1.5
I think you can have some fun with it, but not a lot.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Home Alone earns a C. While the movie is a classic and one that I watch yearly, the game is not something I pick up very often.