Addams Family

~ THE ADDAMS FAMILY ~

ICOM Simulations / NEC

CD-ROM

1991

I didn't like the "classic" Addams Family television show, nor did I enjoy the "hit" movie NEC intended to cash in on here, so as you might imagine, I wasn't exactly dying to play this game. Still, I was a bit--and I really do mean a bit--interested in it because of the unusual direction the project ended up taking. Umbrella-wielding Tully Alford is hardly a dream hero, but as I fully expected to play as the "good-guy" Addamses, the unlikely protagonist was a pleasant surprise. And since some of my favorite games are ambitious side-scrolling adventures that shun the idea of level-by-level progression, I'm always interested in giving new ones a try. Indeed, exploring the hallways (and dungeons and caverns and torture chambers) of the Addamses' mansion can be quite enjoyable, as you never know what sorts of freaks you'll run into.

Some of those areas look better than others, but the graphics hold up pretty well aside from a few botched sprites and bland side-rooms, and the designers clearly tried to inject as much variety as they could into what's essentially a single-structure adventure.

As you make your way through that structure, you'll inevitably run into the Addamses themselves. Some of these showdowns are quite cool: young Wednesday tries to smash you with an enchanted NES, while Gomez goes the sword-fighting route.

Just as there's variety in the location designs and boss fights, there's variety in how you make your way around. A ferry is your ticket to a duel with Uncle Fester, while the Addams family locomotive can help you reach treasures resting on high-up platforms.

Sadly, not much use was made of the Turbo CD's capabilities aside from inclusion of the Addams Family theme song and some digitized images.

And there's more to find fault with here than that. Sure, it's fun to peek around the crazy old mansion, but it would've been nice if there were some cool puzzles to solve along the way; about all we get along those lines are spots that require us to choose the right door or pull the right cord. And speaking of "the right door"... open the wrong one and you might find yourself hurled back to a point much earlier in the adventure, which is irritating (to say the least). Still, if you can live with some frustrating times, you might find this game to be a nice little surprise, as I did.