My Favorite Christmas Game of All Time
Deck the Halls, folks. After a long hiatus, mostly due to work and Thanksgiving, the Reset Button finally makes it's triumphant return to New Geek Protocol. I'm back, pumped, and ready to get some bloggin' done.
Buckle up. Strap in. Let's talk gaming.
When you think of Christmas, video games probably come to mind occasionally. Especially when you're giving gifts to friends or family. We all have someone who games in our lives, or at least I'd like to think we do. But one thing you don't really think about is Christmas-themed video games. Sure, there are a handful of them out there in the wild. But most of them aren't very good.
Today, I'm going to fill you in on my personal favorite all-time Christmas game. It's not a very GOOD game, so to speak, but I love it. Every year, I fire it up in hopes of conquering it, but never do. It's not an easy game, to tell you the truth. It has eluded me since childhood, with me always coming back in my adult years in hopes of besting Marv and Harry.
I haven't yet. But this might be my year. That's right. The game I love to play around Christmas is none other than HOME ALONE on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.
While the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo releases had better graphics, sound, gameplay, and controls, the NES version had a stupid charm I couldn't escape. The premise of this game is simple. As an 8-bit Kevin McCallister, you have 20 minutes to stop the Wet Bandits from robbing your house. Using a bunch of traps like Christmas ornaments, paint cans, Micro Machines, and the Tarantula, you booby trap your house in hopes of vanquishing those wacky bandits. If you manage to hold out for the 20 minutes, the police arrive and take Marv and Harry to the slammer. Fail and the Bandits win, looting your house for all it's worth and leaving Kevin's fate to your imagination.
Ohhhh noooooo...
Simple premise and simple gameplay, but dammit is it fun. The music is corny as all get out, but I love it. Your typical Nintendo music. A bunch of random sounds, but it just works for the theme of the game. The treehouse, main house, and basement all had different soundtracks, which was a nice touch.
Since Home Alone is one of the best Christmas movies ever made, I had such high hopes that the game would be one of the best Christmas games ever made. Long story short, it wasn't. But it holds a special place in my heart during the Yuletide season. I remember playing this as a kid and running out of traps to set, only to find myself hiding Kevin in the Christmas tree for 3 minutes while the moronic Bandits searched for me. Eventually, Kevin was discover and it was game over, but the thrill of hiding that long while they ran around the house was both epic and hilarious.
There are all sorts of tactics you can try to defeat the bandits. I repeatedly tried to set up shop in Kevin's treehouse, but for this to come close to working there needs to be a large stockpile of traps in close proximity to you. Note: it never once worked for me. What's worse is if you are venturing back to the house for more traps from the treehouse via the rope and run into Marv or Harry, it's curtains. Game over. Each attempt to fortify the treehouse, master bedroom, or basement failed miserably, with the Bandits torching my defenses and robbing the McCallisters blind. I sure hope Harry didn't bite off every one of Kevin's little fingers one at a time.
I like to think the Old Man with the Shovel saves him when I lose instead of Kevin being drowned his basement.
The McCallister House - In NES form
As time continues to tick away, Marv and Harry seem to gain an increase in speed, as they come out of nowhere like the Flash to stop you in your tracks. Nothing worse than being on a good run, working your way towards justice, only to walk into the living room right into one of the bandits. Whoops.
One of the cooler things about Home Alone on the NES is when you pause the game or are caught by the Bandits, a display appears showing trap locations, time remaining, and score. I'd find myself pausing the game every 25 seconds to see how much time remained. It never seemed to go fast enough. And there's nothing worse than seeing no traps available on the screen. You know you're living on borrowed time at that point.
One of the cooler things about Home Alone on the NES is when you pause the game or are caught by the Bandits, a display appears showing trap locations, time remaining, and score. I'd find myself pausing the game every 25 seconds to see how much time remained. It never seemed to go fast enough. And there's nothing worse than seeing no traps available on the screen. You know you're living on borrowed time at that point.
If you're looking for a fun little challenge this holiday and have an emulator, download Home Alone and see if you can do the impossible. Those Wet Bandits are some sticky bastards (see what I did there?). I just tried again this morning to best this game and was captured with less than 4 minutes left. Think I'm over-exaggerating? Check out the gameplay video below and judge it for yourself.
You guys give up or are you thirsty for more?
Do you have a favorite game to play during the holidays, with or without a Christmas theme? Let me know what it is and why.
Merry Christmas to all our readers. We appreciate you spending the past year with us and look forward to 2015.
Until next time...
Game On.
-ML
