''The Addams Family'' is a
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
based on the
1991 film of the same name and developed and published by
Ocean Software
Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and video game publisher, publishers of the 1980s and 1990s.
The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and wa ...
. It was released for home consoles such as the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
, computers such as the
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
, and handheld consoles like the
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
.
The ''
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
''-style
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
game has the player control
Gomez Addams
Gomez Addams is the patriarch of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for ''The New Yorker'' magazine in the 1940s, and subsequently portrayed on television, in film and on the stage.
Cartoons
In Charles Addams's ori ...
. His mission is to rescue other members of the Addams family from the clutches of Abigail Craven, who, alongside The Judge and the family attorney Tully Alford, is trying to seize the Addams' wealth. The player runs, jumps, and ducks throughout the mansion's many inside and outside areas, some hidden, and can freely roam the game as in
open-ended titles such as ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' (1986) and ''
Super Metroid
is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. It is the third installment in the ''Metroid'' series, following the events of the Game Boy ...
'' (1994). Levels consist of horror trope enemies like skulls, ghosts, monsters and others, and
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
es withhold a member of the Addams Family, making them necessary to defeat.
Power-up
In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...
s,
extra lives, and money are also collectable.
Ocean, a leader in the market of video game adaptations of film in the late 1980s, began development of the tie-in for ''The Addams Family'' film in April 1991, before studios switched from
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
to
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. It was originally planned to be a
puzzle video game
Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion.
H ...
released only on computer consoles. However, that changed when Ocean was called by the studio to develop a version for the SNES. The final result was that all versions, including the computer version, were platformers with the same storyline, setting and objective. The game was critically well-received for its graphics, sound, and music, but also was widely considered to be a derivative platformer of its time.
Gameplay and plot
''The Addams Family'' is a
side-scrolling action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
.
The story involves Abigail Craven scheming to obtain
The Addams Family
''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...
's secret wealth. To do this, she brainwashes
Uncle Fester
Uncle Fester is a member of the fictional Addams Family. He was played by Jackie Coogan in the original television series, by Christopher Lloyd in the two feature films, by Nick Kroll in the 2019 and 2021 animated features, by Fred Armisen in t ...
, who has just lost his memory, into being an ally, and is also aided by The Judge and the Addams' family attorney, Tully Alford, who takes control of the mansion.
Morticia Addams
Morticia Addams (née Frump) is a fictional character from the ''Addams Family'' multimedia franchise created by American Charles Addams in 1933. She plays the role of the family's reserved matriarch. Morticia Addams has been portrayed in severa ...
,
Pugsley Addams
Pugsley Pubert Addams is a member of the fictional Addams Family, created by American cartoonist Charles Addams.
Cartoons
Pugsley is depicted as a devious, young, brilliant boy in Charles Addams's original cartoons. He is often shown releasing ...
,
Wednesday Addams
Wednesday Addams is a fictional character from the Addams Family multimedia franchise created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. She is typically portrayed as a morbid and emotionally reserved child that is fascinated by the macabre, often i ...
, and
Granny go to the house to meet with Tully about the property, only to be kidnapped within it by Abigail. When
Gomez Addams
Gomez Addams is the patriarch of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for ''The New Yorker'' magazine in the 1940s, and subsequently portrayed on television, in film and on the stage.
Cartoons
In Charles Addams's ori ...
gets home, he finds the other family members gone. To save his family, Gomez runs, jumps, and squats his way throughout the large mansion invested with ghosts, mutants, monsters, bats and rabbits, as well as stage hazards like stars, swinging clock pendulums, and fire lakes.
Puzzle-solving is also involved in saving the Addams family members. For example, Wednesday is found in an ice-themed freezing area and it is up to the player to figure out how to thaw her out, and Granny is trapped in a stove that's turned off by a switch the player must find.
The Amstrad CPC game has many doors that can only be unlocked by keys hidden throughout the mansion.
In most versions, the underground chambers must be activated to save Morticia;
Lurch plays a tune in the Music Room that activates it, but only when Wednesday, Pugsley, Granny and Uncle Fester are rescued and meet up in the room. In the NES version, Gomez has to collect $1,000,000 to save Morticia.
The Judge is the game's final boss.
''The Addams Family'' is similar to
open-ended titles such as ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' (1986) and ''
Super Metroid
is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. It is the third installment in the ''Metroid'' series, following the events of the Game Boy ...
'' (1994), as the player has the freedom to maneuver both the indoor and outdoor areas of the mansion in any order.
The core of the game is in the mansion's Hall of Stairs, consisting of the front entrance and six doorways.
Rooms these doors lead to include the kitchen, the games room, and the portrait gallery, and each feature around 40–50 screens.
A boss, a huge bird, is located in the outside garden.
One of the doors near the front is invisible and leads to Pugsley's Den, which has
power-up
In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...
s, money, and five 1-UPs; it also has another secret area within it containing 27 lives.
Throughout the mansion, there are bonus areas holding extra lives and money, as well as unnoticeable spots in non-secret areas containing the same.
There are also boxes where
Thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
provides clues, such as how objects in a room work and where to go next.
Similar to ''Mario games'', Gomez kills enemies and bosses by stomping on them, and collects power-ups and coins.
Power-ups include a sword, a golf club that can shoot balls in a similar fashion to
fire flowers, the fezi-copter hat that makes Gomez fly, and shoes that increases his speed. All of these can be held from door-to-door except for the fezi-copter, which disintegrates by the time Gomez enters a door.
The Game Boy version additionally has four collectible potions, left around by Pugsley, that are needed to access certain areas. The Wolfman potion increases his speed, Frankie gives him invincibility that lasts for 10 hits with enemies, Sea Monster enables him to swim underwater, and Drac makes him fly. Also only in the Game Boy release, power-up items are limited in energy, meaning power vials must be collected to keep them in use.
In some versions, Gomez' maximum
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
is represented by heart containers, starting with two.
Up to three additional heart containers, as well extra lives, can be collected.
Collecting $25 fills one of the containers ($50 in the Amiga version), and $100 gives the player a 1-UP.
The player also has unlimited
continues, although is put back at the Hall of Stairs once all the lives are lost.
A
password
A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...
is earned after defeating a
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
, which also rewards the player with either one of the Addams family members or a heart container.
The NES, Game Boy, and CPC releases uses different representations of health. The NES version has a regular life bar, while the Game Boy and CPC version uses a system with a consistent amount of hearts.
In the CPC version, Gomez has to survive in a screen for 60 seconds after he finds an Addams.
Development
In the late 1980s, British developer
Ocean Software
Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and video game publisher, publishers of the 1980s and 1990s.
The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and wa ...
gained a reputation for being the leader, and go-to producer, of game tie-ins for computers and consoles, such as ''
RoboCop
''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...
'' (1988), ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' (1989), ''
Total Recall'' (1990), ''
RoboCop 3
''RoboCop 3'' is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Fred Dekker and written by Dekker and Frank Miller. It is the sequel to the 1990 film ''RoboCop 2'' and the third entry in the ''RoboCop'' franchise. It stars Robert Bur ...
'' (1991), and ''
Hudson Hawk
''Hudson Hawk'' is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. Bruce Willis stars in the title role and also co-wrote both the story and the theme song. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine To ...
'' (1991).
In April 1991, they started development on a tie-in for
an upcoming film based on the fictional cartoon family
The Addams Family
''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...
; this was before the project
switched studios from
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
to
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
The game was first announced by ''
ACE
An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...
'' magazine in June 1991.
Near the release of the movie, film industry journalist David J. Fox reported a widespread trend of video game tie-ins for major film projects. He attributed this to studios looking for other sources of income and promotional methods to make up for a rising decline in theater attendance.
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
, in 1990, reported customers spending $2.4 billion on video games, nearly half of the $5 billion spent on movie tickets the same year.
''The Addams Family''s business plan was different from most others in that the game was released a month after the film. Just one other project around the same time had a similar strategy,
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
's ''
Hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
'', its
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
published by
Sony Imagesoft
Sony Imagesoft Inc. was an American video game publisher that operated from 1989 to 1995 and was located in California. It was established in January 1989 in Los Angeles, California, as a subsidiary of the Japan-based CBS/Sony Group (CSG) and in ...
.
The team consisted of James Higgins as coder, Warren Lancashire for game design and graphics, Simon Butler for additional graphics, and Jonathan Dunn for music.
Ocean only had the script to work with throughout development. Because most of the story was dictated by character dialogue, it was tough to incorporate it into a video game; they ultimately chose to base the game on the film's last 20 minutes.
Described Higgins, it was natural that the game starring a gothic family would have
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
tropes such as skulls and ghosts as enemies; however, Butler's surreal sense led to the creation of enemies like the flying teacups and tricycle-riding frogs.
''The Addams Family'' was initially planned to be a
puzzle video game
Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion.
H ...
released only on computer systems, but within two weeks of development, Paramount called Ocean asking to create a port of the game on the SNES. After finishing the SNES version in November 1991, they went back to the code for the computer version and, with a console-game-influenced viewpoint, disliked it to the point of rejecting it. They found it had too little graphical colorfulness, too slow of a
frame rate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
and no
parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling is a technique in computer graphics where background images move past the camera more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D scene of distance. The technique grew out of the multiplane camera tec ...
.
Additionally, with a lack of "console-style" products released on systems like the Amiga, Ocean had wanted to be the first company to develop and release a 16-bit computer game that was a ''Mario''-esque platformer well before the game's development began.
Thus, they made the computer ports identical to those of the console releases, "arcadey" platformers with pickup items,
extra lives, level warps, secret areas, and bonuses.
Two other console-type platform games would be released on computers around the same time as ''The Addams Family'': ''
Fire and Ice'' and ''
James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod''.
Thus, reviews of 16-bit computer versions of ''The Addams Family'' constantly brought up those two titles.
Reception
The most common claim about ''The Addams Family'' was that it was good in terms of gameplay, graphics and sound, but offered nothing special or original to the platform genre. ''
Total!
''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 A ...
'' journalist Andy, reviewing the NES version, opined that even considering it was a typical platformer, it was disappointing for an Ocean game given the standard set by
their NES adaptation of ''Hook''.
Reviews of the Mega Drive port published in 1994, such as those from ''
Computer and Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' and ''
Hyper'', found it especially out-of-date given the amount of more innovative platformers already in existence, such as ''
James Pond 3
''James Pond 3: Operation Starfish'' (also spelled ''Operation Starfi5h'', after the fictional secret service F.I.5.H) is a 1993 video game for the Mega Drive/Genesis. The game was also released for the Amiga and Amiga CD32 platforms, the Super NE ...
'' (1993) and the
''Sonic'' games.
Ed Ricketts, in addition to viewing the game as "slick, bland, well-programmed, large, not too difficult", and a "decent effort", was bothered by its poor utilization of the Addams Family license, finding the sprites and special mannerisms of the Addams characters only bearing a slight resemblance.
Michael Foster disagreed that ''The Addams Family'' was a clone of other platform games, feeling it had "a lot of variety, and it's complex without being impossible".
Reviews also felt its level design had enough thrilling elements to keep the player's attention, such as funny enemy sprites, hidden areas, creative power-ups, and a constant barrage of foes.
Jonathan Davies, a journalist for ''
Super Play
''Super Play'' was a British Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) magazine which ran from 1 October 1992 to September 1996.
Overview
''Super Play'' covered in great detail the role-playing video game genre. Many of these games were ne ...
'', called it one of the best-looking and most imaginative SNES titles.
Other critics outside the lukewarm consensus included ''
Amiga Action
''Amiga Action'' was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Europress (later IDG Media) and ran for 89 full issues, from October 1989 to December 1996. After its closure, it was merged into sister pu ...
''s Brian Sharp who called ''The Addams Family'' one of the top three video game adaptations of films,
''
Amiga Computing
''Amiga Computing'' was a monthly computer magazine of a serious nature, published by Europress and IDG in both the UK and USA. A total of 117 issues came out. The games section was called Gamer, although later ''Amiga Action'' was incorporated i ...
''s Jonathan Maddock that called it one of the Amiga best platform games,
and a reviewer for ''
Joystick
A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...
'' that claimed it the best platformer on the
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
.
On the other end of the spectrum, ''
Mega
Mega or MEGA may refer to:
Science
* mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106
* Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation
* "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy
* Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Eart ...
'' magazine's Andy Dyer dismissed ''The Addams Family'' as a "complete non-event" with uninspiring graphics, repetitive level design, and enemies that irritate rather than tests the player.
Of frequent discussion was the high difficulty.
Rod Lawton of ''
Amstrad Action
''Amstrad Action'' was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console.
It was the first magazine published by Chris Anderson's Future Publishin ...
'' reported the CPC port being filled with brutal timing puzzles and constantly respawning enemies.
''
Aktueller Software Markt
''Aktueller Software Markt'' (literally ''Current Software Market''), commonly known by its acronym, ''ASM'', was a German multi-platform video game magazine that was published by Tronic-Verlag from 1986 until 1995. It was one of the first magazine ...
'' journalist Hans-Joachim Amann wrote that lives can run out very fast, to the point where it was still hard even if the player had more than ten lives.
Reviews noted the game's large amount of areas to traverse and master, praising how they contributed to the challenge level and lastability. ''
Amiga Computing
''Amiga Computing'' was a monthly computer magazine of a serious nature, published by Europress and IDG in both the UK and USA. A total of 117 issues came out. The games section was called Gamer, although later ''Amiga Action'' was incorporated i ...
''s Jonathan Maddock suspected it was larger than any other Amiga title.
Both Andy and ''
Nintendo Life
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...
'' journalist Jamie O'Neill wrote that figuring out which actions to take, such as the right order of areas to traverse, was a major key to success.
O'Neill that the freedom in moving around the very large mansion fools the player into thinking progress is being made.
Opined Rob of ''
Mean Machines
''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom.
Origins
In the late 1980s '' Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers l ...
'' wrote that "there are always new rooms, passages and puzzles to solve, and the password systems ensures that your efforts are pursued".
Davies, however, felt the open-ended-ness robbed ''The Addams Family'' of being similar to ''Mario'' in terms of addictiveness; whereas the player would feel increasingly satisfied by beating more and more levels, that same sense of progress would not be in a title where the player can go wherever he likes.
While some reviewers found the controls responsive and easy to use, others were critical of how slippery Gomez was, and also criticized the
collision detection
Collision detection is the computational problem of detecting the intersection (Euclidean geometry), intersection of two or more objects. Collision detection is a classic issue of computational geometry and has applications in various computing ...
for being imperfect and too harsh on the player. Ricketts, covering the Atari ST port, was ticked off by the "fire" button being for jumping, reasoning it went against players' instinct.
Sharp called the graphics "humorous and a joy to watch on screen".
A common positive was the game's background, specifically their amount of detail, color, and the diversity of backgrounds.
Sharp and O'Neill noted the smooth
parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling is a technique in computer graphics where background images move past the camera more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D scene of distance. The technique grew out of the multiplane camera tec ...
.
''Computer and Video Games'' writer Garth Sumpter highlighted the pictures of the Family in the hallway and the use of beer-rugs and armour suits as hazards.
The sprites were also spotlighted for their animation and cute style. Reviewers appreciated the game's upbeat music, such as O'Neill who also highlighted the bass parts in the SNES version.
Maddock was surprised by how uncannily the Amiga executed the Addams Family theme,
but the Amiga version's rejection of backgrounds in the SNES version, which the Amiga didn't have the speed to handle parallax scrolling, garnered a mixed response.
''
Amiga Format
''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ''ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format t ...
''s Neil West felt it detached the game of atmosphere, while it was easier to see sprites without the backdrops for Maddock.
Reviews of the game on 8-bit consoles were less favorable, common complaints being the lack of gameplay depth, challenge, and average visuals and audio.
''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' journalist The Spam Weasal claimed the NES version had some of the worst music for the console, arguing it was just the theme playing over and over again.
Lar of ''Aktueller Software Markt'' was bored by the Game Boy game, describing the experience as endlessly hopping on platforms. He also condemned the lack of effort put in the backgrounds, the useless weapons, and the limited available health.
''
Total!
''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 A ...
'' magazine's Andy found the Game Boy version inferior to the NES release. He felt there was legitimate challenge in both 8-bit ports in that the player has to be cautious of where to go and what actions to take, especially the Game Boy version for its small amount of fuel for the power-ups and their requirement for defeating bosses.
However, he thought the Game Boy port was "a little too empty" to engage gamers, describing it as wandering around a big location for a long time, and reported rescuing three Addams family members and collecting half of the required items in a single playthrough.
He also disliked the Game Boy version's imprecise shooting and "fairly awful" music, and called the NES rendition of the theme "naff" and "warbly".
''
ACE
An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...
''s Gary White, although more positive towards the Game Boy port, reported an overwhelming amount of enemies being thrown at the player the instant the game began, making it difficult for novice players to adjust themselves to it. He was also annoyed by Gomez' "strangely restrained" jumps and the overabundance of platforms.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Addams Family, The
1992 video games
The Addams Family video games
Video games based on adaptations
Amiga games
Amstrad CPC games
Atari ST games
Commodore 64 games
Game Boy games
Game Gear games
Nintendo Entertainment System games
Master System games
Ocean Software games
Platform games
Sega Genesis games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
ZX Spectrum games
Video games based on films
Video games scored by Barry Leitch
Video games scored by Mark Cooksey
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Single-player video games