Goosebumps HorrorLand
Subpar controls and repetitive game play mar spooky game.
Kids say
Based on 7 reviews
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this game is loosely based on the Horrorland series of Goosebumps books by RL Stine. The game features familiar monsters from the series including the Horrors who are the hired employees of Horrorland. Parents will need to consider their kids tolerance for scary things, because as the name implies, there are some frightening aspects of this game for younger children, especially on levels where the monsters creep toward the screen, showing their features in close detail.
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What’s It About?
GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND is a collection of minigames set in a spooky amusement park. The main mode of play is the story mode where your selected character receives a strange ticket to Horrorland, and with an onscreen friend, off you go. Working through each of the five zones of the park, you unlock various minigames each themed to one of the areas. As you complete and excel at games, you unlock new games and zones of the park, which can also be accessed from the main menu. Several of these games can be played by two players.
Is It Any Good?
Even though the game boasts 30 "thrilling" activities, it quickly becomes apparent that the number of the games is quite small. Many of the games are simply a redesign of the earlier games, with a new skin on them. And the controls are subpar. Some games require the nunchuk attachment, while others do not; if you leave the nunchuck attached however you will encounter some severely tangled wires due to how some games are played. Expect a lot of swapping of controllers. Even the activities that require somewhat simple movements can fail at some point due to poor detection of the moves.
As intermediate levels are unlocked it will become quite challenging for the target age group to perform at the skill level that enables unlocking of the final couple of themed areas. So expect some frustration to occur for some of the less patient gamer kids out there. However, fans of the series will get a kick out of seeing classic characters like Amaz-o make appearances along new characters like the Great Gargantua and Horrifico.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why scary games are fun to play. Do they ever become too scary?
Families can also talk about how to select video games.
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: Scholastic
- Release date: October 30, 2008
- Genre: Mini-games
- ESRB rating: E10+ for Animated Blood, Crude Humor, Mild Fantasy Violence
- Last updated: November 4, 2015
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