Review: The Addams Family (Amiga)
I can remember seeing The Addams Family at the cinema in 1991 and I saw the sequel Addams Family Values two years later. Pity they didn’t make more with the same cast but the unfortunate death of Raul Julia (Gomez) in 1994 sadly put paid to that. Back in 1992 a game version of the first film appeared on the Amiga.
You play Gomez and have to search different sections of your mansion to locate and liberate your family members who are all being held by a myriad of bosses. Throughout this platform game you have some puzzles to solve, obstacles to avoid and enemies to either kill or bypass dependent on your approach. Your wife, Mortica, is the final family member to be rescued from the Judge so before that you’ll have to find Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Granny.
Very similar to a Mario platform game, Gomez kills enemies by jumping on their heads with some firing projectiles at you so timing is of the essence. You start outside the mansion and upon entering you’ll find a series of door connecting by stairways. Your family members are somewhere behind each door so you can search for them in whatever order you feel like. The central door contains Lurch playing his piano along with Thing. In the same room is another door currently blocked by a wall and only in freeing your relatives will this be removed giving you access to the final section of the game. Once you’ve saved a family member they will wait with Lurch by the piano.
The Addams Family is quite a tricky game relying on you to time jumps well and avoid some nasty obstacles on your journey. There is no save option either which is slightly annoying. Instead you are given passwords by your family members when they’ve been rescued. These are in effect save points, allowing you to resume the game with the corresponding family member already rescued. The game relies heavily on the Mario series but it is still enjoyable and I don’t recall Mario games on the Amiga so it was great to have a platform game like this.
The Addams Family is a fun but tricky platform adventure. It loosely ties into the film but some elements are pure randomness which seems apt with the family in general. This isn’t the best platform game I can recall from the Amiga days but it’s a solid enough effort though quite tricky in places. Having that famous theme tune included doesn’t do it any harm either.
Verdict: 4/5
About the Author:
I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.
David M. Brown – who has written 748 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.