If there’s one company that believed in the Panasonic 3DO it was Electronic Arts. They released a plethora of different games for it across a variety of different genres. They were invested, and it paid off because they could later port these titles to newer more powerful platforms. Escape From Monster Manor was not one of these games. It’s doomed to exist only on the 3DO, and that’s why it has largely been forgotten. This was one of the early first person shooter games released for console, and it certainly shows. With Halloween rapidly approaching I decided to dive in (hey, I just love the subject material). Keep reading to find out our verdict on Escape From Monster Manor.
Given that this is a 3DO game it should go without saying that it features a cheesy FMV intro. In this case we’re given some background information on a magical talisman that existed generations ago. It protected everyone from the forces of evil, but it was soon broken and divided into various factions. In modern times the owner of a large mansion has successfully collected the pieces of said talisman, and it has caused all sources of evil to gather to destroy it. You enter the place to re-assemble the thing and push back the dark forces. The story is told through a dramatic narration with very basic computer generated graphics. It’s good cheesy fun, but mostly an excuse to have a first person shooter feature various monsters for you to fight against.
As I mentioned earlier this is a first person shooter. Given that it’s from the early 90s you’re safe to assume that it’s pretty basic. You can’t aim your shot up or down. In this respect the game feels a little two dimensional. Don’t get me wrong; the environments are 3D, but you’d barely know it because you can only shoot directly in front of your character. Controls are very limited in that you can only move forward, backwards, and turn left/right. You can strafe using the shoulder buttons, and you’ll need to if you plan on actually completing Escape From Monster Manor.
At its core the game is a Doom clone. Most first person shooters from this era were, and so I won’t hold that against this one. You wander 3D environments collecting keys to unlock doors. There are a limited number of these keys in every level, and some rooms lead to dead ends. This means that if you know the stages well enough you don’t even need to gather all the keys. What’s annoying about this is that you’ll sometimes get stuck backtracking. If you miss a key, and need it, you’ll have to retrace your steps to find the missing item. Because of this I just can’t get down with this gameplay premise. I’d prefer Escape From Monster Manor to be more open and instead rely simply on reaching the end of the level. You have to not only reach the end but also find the talisman piece.
Okay so it’s basic. Is it fun? Well, yes and no. You have only one weapon through the game which is a bummer. It’s an electric gun, I mean, it shoots short range bursts at enemies. The range is pretty limited so you have to get up close and personal with enemies which is fine. I would have preferred a better selection. If you complete the first few stages you’ve seen basically everything this game has to offer. There aren’t boss fights or anything like that. You have an assortment of enemies to clear in any stage, and their patterns aren’t that much different. They move endlessly toward you, and you have to shoot them. Escape From Monster Manor certainly isn’t refreshing in this regard.
There are a few scattered power-ups to mix things up. You have energy balls (which refresh your ammunition) and health as well. These are pretty liberally scattered in every level so you don’t really have to worry, and in the worst case scenarios you can go back to collect them. The biggest curveball that Escape From Monster Manor throws your way is the enemies that take more than one hit to kill. Normally these are just pallette swaps unfortunately. Despite using the large storage medium your foes are pretty limited and in just the first few minutes you’ve seen just about all of them. That’s okay given how old the game is, but by the end I was wishing for more than gyrating ghosts and skulls.
Escape From Monster Manor is a pretty decent looking game by 3DO standards. The environments are completely 3D but with limited textures. Everything looks blocky and pixelated to be honest. Objects such as doors and pickups are pretty easy to make out which is nice, but for the most part the stages look very similar. Enemies are pre-rendered which is a nice effect, but they feature very limited frames of animation. This leads to them looking like they’re shaking, but with the lack of technology comes a very obvious cost in fidelity. The soundtrack fares a little better with oddly spooky ambient music during gameplay. It fits the whole haunted house theme very well, and sets an eerie mood. The voice overs during the introductory sequence are laughable but surprisingly enjoyable.
Escape From Monster Manor is mildly enjoyable. The labyrinthine level design is a bit of a put off, and your objective being to collect keys certainly doesn’t help. What works in the game’s favor is that there’s a very spooky quality here that few others manage to pull off. There aren’t jump scares exactly, but I was definitely overwhelmed at times with what was waiting around the corner. What adds greatly to the atmosphere is the various horror themed, well, let’s call them ‘decorations’ here in the stages. You’ll see things like rocking chairs and levitating objects. Escape From Monster Manor is perfectly playable which is more than you can say for the vast majority of first person shooters from this era. It is also mildly frightening which makes it the perfect pick to play in the Halloween season.
