Halloween Review (Atari 2600, 1983)

Halloween for the Atari 2600 is a very interesting game. It’s a film to game license that hasn’t since been used, and it’s one of the earliest horror video games ever released. It, along with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, are two of the most rare and sought after titles for Atari’s early platform. Today I’m here to take a look at Michael Myers’ foray in the world of video games. Halloween may be better than Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but not by much.

As this is a second generation video game there’s not really any story to speak of. If you’ve seen the movie you can fill in the blanks pretty easily. You’re playing as Laurie Strode who is being pursued by the murderous Michael Myers. Naturally you control Laurie and must track down and rescue various children within the house that serves as the play field. Halloween at least manages to capture some of the atmosphere of the movie on which it is based.

As I mentioned you play as Laurie Strode and manipulate her character on-screen. The game is played from a semi-side view wherein you can move up, down, left and right. The character model however is always viewed from the side. It’s a memory restriction I imagine, but because it’s the Atari 2600 I’m going to cut it some slack.

So you’re Laurie Strode, rescuing kids, so what is the big deal right? Well Michael Myers is in hot pursuit. You’ll wander the halls of an unusually large home with two stories shown on each screen, and no scrolling. When you reach the edge of the screen you move on to the next. That’s something fans of the platform are used to. The interesting aspect of this game is the fact that Myers, just like in the movies, will appear almost at random.

This means you’ll be wandering through a room and BAM. Suddenly you’ll hear the trademark Halloween theme by John Carpenter (it’s a surprisingly faithful rendition given the limited hardware) and Michael Myers will walk in from off-screen. He moves slower than your character, but is in a constant motion for slashing his knife. If you’re touched by him then you lose a life (indicated by jack-o-lanterns at the top of the screen) when he apparently cuts off your head.

Michael Myers will also target the children you’re guiding. This can be very frustrating. The children move only left or right, and in tandem with your character. Should Michael Myers get them they will die but you won’t lose a life. Thankfully the game doesn’t end when a child dies.

This game is arcade in nature. This means you’re basically playing for a high score. The stages are virtually identical with only a faster and more oppressive Myers to do battle with. You advance to the next level in two ways. This is done in two ways. Either by rescuing five children or by defeating Michael Myers twice. Now just how do you beat the endless shadow? You’ll find a knife power-up which allows you to actually attack.

Unfortunately the game is just too repetitive. There’s a lot of potential in the concept but every stage is laid out very much the same. The developers managed to capture the magic of the film, but this only carries it for ten minutes tops. By that point you’re going to get tired of doing the same thing over and over again with just a faster enemy. The gameplay just doesn’t offer enough diversity to hold anyone’s interest for more than just a few minutes.

The graphics are pretty archaic even by Atari 2600 standards. Yes, Laurie sort of resembles a human being, as does Michael, but you could change the name here and you’d have no idea this was a licensed title. The rooms have different colors, and some even flicker to black to simulate power outtages, but the game looks too simple. There’s also barely a soundtrack at all here. You’ll hear random blips and bleeps, but the only real showcase is a surprisingly faithful rendition of the Halloween theme.