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"A decent game hindered by an unpolished execution."

Changes are, you may have heard of the Addams Family. Starting out as a single panel comic in the late thirties, it would eventually form the basis of several television series and films. One such film was released in 1991 and led to a slew of games for practically all of the machines available at the time. Most if not all of them where published by Ocean, a studio well known for it's licensed titles. The version under scrutiny in this review is the one for the original Game Boy.

GRAPHICS
The visuals are decent but little more. Gomez himself is detailed well and can even change his appearance by collecting certain power-ups. Enemies tend to look a bit simple with the odd exception. Bosses are usually big and feature some good detailing.

The one most troubling aspect is animation. It isn't bad but the quality just varies too much. Take Gomez for example. He has a nice little animation when he swings a golf club or gets incinerated. On the other hand, Gomez doesn't possess any special animation for using the other weapons meaning that they just shoots them from his person. As an other example of the unevenness, one boss walks around swinging a mace above it's head while another one is basically nothing more than a still image that glides up and down.

The levels look nice enough with a good amount of variation and detailing. The Addams' mansion, where Gomez will spend a big part of the game, is rather hit and miss. It contains different backgrounds for the various floors yet at the same time these differences don't amount to all that much due to a very limited layout, which leads to a great deal of repetition.

SOUND
The soundtrack is actually quite good even if it isn't all that varied. The main Addams Family tune sounds good, a prerequisite if there ever was one, and it surprisingly isn't played that often. The remainder of the score sound very nice and is in tune with the Addams Family ambience. The sound effects are functional. As a side note, it would have been convenient if the developers had included an audio effect to indicate when Gomez or an enemy had been hit. Especially the boss fights would have benefited form this.

GAMEPLAY
The game's plot is very, very loosely based on that of the film. Not only has the family been evicted from their home, most of them have also disappeared. Family patriarch Gomez must scour the mansion and the accompanying lands for his missing relatives and retake his home by defeating the attorney who stole it from him.

The Addams Family is rather unsurprisingly a platformer. Gomez must explore the mansion and the surrounding area looking for levels in which to save his relatives. As such, the mansion basically acts as a kind of hub, albeit one where he is constantly harassed by his enemies. This can be quite annoying due to the building being relatively large while containing a lot of empty space. This means that Gomez will suffer a lot of damage while exploring even though the rewards are generally slim.

When he eventually finds one of these levels, Gomez must reach the end and defeat the boss to free the family member. There is some variation in environments, with one level being located in a graveyard and another in a beehive for example. What they all have in common is that they are rather short and don't feature the most inventive level design. The Addams Family mostly features by the numbers platforming. Completing these levels isn't quite as linear as one would expect them to be. Some can be done in any order which, when completed, leads to previously unreachable levels. Curiously, because not every level holds a kidnapped relative, not all have to be completed in order to finish the game

Gomez's primary weapon are his daggers. Curiously, he doesn't stab his enemies but rather throws the daggers at them. Their use is limited by a meter that depletes with every shot but this can be filled up again by collecting certain items. Completing levels provides Gomez with new weapons like a golf club, hot coals and icicles. Most of them also come with a meter. Enemies can furthermore be stunned when jumped upon by Gomez. This comes in handy when ammunition is low and he must resort to evasion. Finally, Gomez can pick up power-ups that change his appearance and abilities. He can become a werewolf for example, which enhances his jumps. Unfortunately, with the exception of the watermonster, these transformations don't really add all that much due to their limited use. A peculiar decision on the part of the developers is to make Gomez incapable of using his weapons for a few counts after being hit. This means that he can't dispatch the enemies that hit him, so when he isn't able to get away fast enough Gomez will suffer even more damage.

The controls are altogether serviceable but also sometimes a bit finicky. Gomez himself generally reacts sharp enough enabling him to run, jump and shoot quickly through the levels. Even so, there are moments when the controls occasionally seem to be a bit unresponsive.

The Addams Family is challenging but at the same time won't last very long. Gomez has to face a lot of enemies of which many constantly harass him. Bosses either take away large chunks of his life or kill him instantly in one blow. As noted earlier, Gomez can defend himself with a selection of weaponry but he is still quite vulnerable. There are also a few times when he can run out of ammunition when it is exceptionally inconvenient to do so, like during a certain boss battle. Placing an enemy right above the entrance of a staircase, resulting in Gomez instantly being hit when emerging from said staircase, can be considered both as bad design and just plain unfair.

The reason The Addams Family wont last long despite this challenge is due to the game's short length. The eight or so levels are short and the mansion, while being big, lacks content to discover. As mentioned before, not all of those levels are required to finish. Furthermore, once the player knows which levels can be skipped and where everything is located, which will be sooner rather than later, traversing the mansion also becomes far less time-consuming. It thus becomes possible after a short while to finish the game in about thirty minutes.

FINAL REMARKS
The Addams Family's presentation is generally quite nice. The visuals could do with a bit more animation but are rather decent while the soundtrack is quite good. Sound effect could have been more elaborate though.

By adding a hub and with it an element of exploration, the developer ensured that the game differentiated itself from the countless other platformers, licensed or not, that cluttered the shelves at the time. At it's core, the game's structure also isn't all that bad.

The Addams Family's main problem is a lack of polish. It all works but there are definitely some rough edges. A few examples being finicky controls, the way that Gomez can't use his weapons a few counts after being hit or how a particular boss fight can leave him in a no-win situation. Let's also not forget the lack of content in the mansion and the game's eventual short duration.

Still, The Addams Family can be fun for a short while despite the shortcomings because the idea behind the game is quite solid. So if the concept sounds appealing I would recommend seeking out one of the console versions, the one for the SNES for example. They are also not perfect but at least offer a far more polished and fuller experience.

OVERALL: a 5,0.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/10

Game Release: The Addams Family (US, January 1992)