RETROspective : Home Alone

1991Sega/Brian A.Rice IncSega Mega Drive If you ask most people to name which games terrified them when they were growing up, you€™d undoubtedly get a list of such horrific classics as Resident Evil, Dino Crisis or perhaps Michael Jackson€™s Moonwalker. None of these games had the ability to make me jump out of my skin as much as a single a Mega Drive (or Sega Genesis if you're reading this in the U.S) cartridge based on a family friendly film from 1990. For some reason, a video game based on Home Alone - the classic Christmas comedy starring Macaulay Culkin - had me on the edge of my seat and scared shitless. It might seem hard to believe, but Home Alone made for a surprisingly suspenseful video game, which was also completely unlike any other film-to-game conversion of the time. While so many movies were quickly slapped onto home consoles with a side scrolling platformer - often at odds with the film itself - Home Alone was an interesting and bold attempt to do something different. There€™s certainly elements of platforming, but at the heart of Home Alone is an emphasis on tactical gameplay in which planning is as important as the execution. In many ways, it was this tactical edge which made the game so frightening to the younger me - probably being shocked by a game which played so differently to what I was expecting. It€™s hardly surprising that the concepts of the game were originally developed for the NES by a then new company known as Bethesda - now famous for their complex sprawling RPG€™s like Skyrim and Fallout 3.

So why was it also a frightening experience ? Well if you€™ve seen Home Alone - and frankly if you haven€™t then you should go and watch it now - you€™ll know that the film showcases the exploits of a young Kevin McAlister, played by Macaulay Culkin. When he is accidentally left behind as his entire family takes a Christmas vacation to Paris, he finds himself as the title suggests, completely home alone. Sadly, for all the fun of scoffing unlimited ice cream and watching violent gangster movies (€œKeep the change you filthy animal!€) he eventually has to defend his home when it€™s targeted by two bumbling crooks, Harry and Marv. While in the movie, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern€™s goofball performances make Harry and Marv no more than a laughable comedy double act, in the video game Harry and Marv silently skulk around the game world without the player having a distinct idea where they are at any given time. You can be exploring without a care in the world, when suddenly an animated Joe Pesci will march into the room towards you with intent. It might not sound particularly frightening, but to an 5 year old playing the game, being caught and hung on a hook by a randomly appearing Joe Pesci was almost as frightening as the real Joe Pesci suddenly appearing in your living room. Aside from its ability to make you jump out of your skin by having Harry and Marv abruptly appearing out of thin air, Home Alone was - just like the movie itself - all about the elaborate traps. Before Harry and Marv turn up in the street in their blue van, the game gives you a couple of minutes to prepare the houses of your street with traps by sledding around from house to house. Entering each house would open up a blueprint, giving you the option to place various traps, including puddles of water, toy cars or even sadistically placing blowtorches in doorways. Traps were limited, meaning that you€™d need to think carefully about where placing each item would be the most effective in slowing down the crooks. Running out of traps would force Kevin to craft new weapons himself, by using items and objects left around the house. These weapons were actually surprisingly inventive, also requiring players to think about which items could potentially be combined. Combining an ice cream scoop with some coals and wire would give you a hot coal launcher which burnt the goons to a crisp, while other combinations resulted in weapons as crazy as a hot glue gun or a microwave emitter. The system was surprisingly intuitive, allowing gamers to experiment with items and slowly learn how certain objects could be used as the mechanism for a weapon - such as a scoop or a battery - while others would be suitable ammo - such as snowballs or pepper. After setting traps around houses and arming yourself with a variety of bizarre weapons, the aim was to cause Harry & Marv as much pain as possible, before they could finish looting each house. This was achieved by watching over a series of meters in the corner of the game screen, which measured the ratio of pain compared to how much loot the wet bandits had already taken from each house. Completing the game required Kevin stopping the goons from successfully looting the majority of houses in the street, and persistently causing them pain until the police - and Kevin's family - would arrive at the end of the game.

Home Alone stands out as one of the most unique movie tie-ins on the Mega Drive and was a breath of fresh air on a console which was awash with dull movie platformers. Sadly, the 1992 sequel - Home Alone 2: Lost In New York - would fall prey to the usual curse of the movie tie-in, eschewing the strategy and planning of the original for a straightforward and dull side scroller. It might not be considered a true retro classic, but Home Alone does deserve recognition for being one of the more unique and enjoyable film video game tie-ins - as well as one of the most suspenseful - of the 1990€™s. Why It€™s A Classic: Classic might be a bit too strong, but Home Alone was a unique and above average movie spin-off which was also had you on the edge of your seat. It's also worth noting that Home Alone had awesome music and pretty decent graphics for the time. Does It Still Hold Up ? : It€™s still a surprise to find a '90s video game based on a film which isn€™t a side-scrolling platformer - Home Alone is still definitely worth taking a look at for its tactical edge and unique gameplay. Availability: A surprisingly meaty £13.99 from Amazon Marketplace, or between £4 - £20 on Ebay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRLYOKxDgkw