Resident Evil popularized the horror genre on home video game consoles. It’s easy to forget that developers had been trying to scare audiences for decades before it. The topic of this review is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Not the movie; rather we’re talking about the game based on it which was released for the Atari 2600 back in 1983.
This one has a few things working against it. First of all it’s a horror game released for a game console that could only display a few different pixels on-screen at once. Secondly this is a video game based on a movie license. Let’s put those facts aside and give this one a fair shake. Start your chainsaws because here we go!
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is based loosely on the concept of the movie. You play as the villain Leatherface as he runs around the ranch from the film slaying helpless victims with his chainsaw. The entire game takes place outdoors with the house in the background and you can move in all four directions on the playing field from a side view angle. The screen moves left and right, or rather, objects on screen scroll left and right to give a fake scrolling effect. It’s fairly effective.
Gameplay is arcade in nature where you’re basically playing just to score points. Leatherface is armed with his chainsaw and pressing the action button causes it to turn on. It stops when the button is released. As you walk either left or right victims will scroll on-screen at which point you give chase. Leatherface has the advantage in that he can run faster than them, but obstacles such as cow skulls, brush, and wheelchairs (of all things) will stop him in his path usually allowing the target to get away.
For each victim you ‘kill’ (your guess is as good as mine what the graphics are supposed to represent) you get a thousand points. Using your chainsaw, or getting stuck on the environment causes you to lose precious fuel for the saw and you only have two refills. Think of it as your life bar because that will make life much easier. When you’re all out of fuel one of the characters, I assume it’s Sally from the movie, runs on screen and kicks Leatherface which signals a game over.
Let’s start with the obvious problems. First of all the game just isn’t very fun to play. The developers really should have reconsidered having players control Leatherface. Escaping from him as one of the girls could have been fun, and allowed for actual tension. The fact that you come to a complete stop every time you touch a cow skull, wheelchair or sage brush is incredibly frustrating. The hit detection for these is awful and often even pixels away you’ll be trapped. Also, couldn’t they have thought of anything more inventive than random objects that appeared in the movie?
What’s also annoying is that the girl, rather than dodging and trying to escape, frequently warps to the other side of you when you get close. It just doesn’t make any sense, and makes the game that much more frustrating. The hit detection issues rear their ugly head again here and in moments when you clearly make contact with the chainsaw they simply escape. It’s just not that fun to play.
There’s just not enough to this game. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is very light on gameplay variables even by Atari 2600 standards. There’s almost no variety here. The same few obstacles constantly get in your way. Though the victims wear different colored clothing they are all functionally the same. This is a collector’s items and really that’s the only reason I can see anyone tracking it down for because it won’t hold your attention for long.
For a horror game the Texas Chainsaw Massacre lacks any scare value and atmosphere. Leatherface’s design is terrible. You wouldn’t be able to tell it’s him unless you already know what game you’re playing. The artists also failed to color the chainsaw a different color so it just looks like an extension of his body. The graphics are laughable at best even cutting this game some slack. There’s also very little audio of any kind with only the buzz of Leatherface’s chainsaw, the screams of girls as they appear on-screen, and a little jingle that plays whenever you finally get them. Maybe this one is better off without music though.
This was one of my holy grail games for the longest time. The film is one of my favorite horror movies. Just having the video game adaptation for it was a big win for me. I just wish it was more fun to play. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is actually a chore. There are so many different avenues the developers could have traveled and so much potential. Instead we’re stuck with this repetitive, boring, and bland game. If you must own it make sure it’s not because you want to play it. It’s a good showpiece but the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a badly flawed game that almost no one will enjoy. The angry video game nerd was right about this one.
