Jason Voorhees is one of the most, if not THE most popular icon in the history of the horror genre. Cashing in on his success and recognition, the stores were flooded with shirts, hoodies, models, masks and an abundance of other merchandise. It was only a matter of time before it was cursed with the pain that would befall the majority of beloved 80s IP – the dreaded video game tie-in. Like the rest of the game based catalog of the time, not only did it suck, it sucked on every level.
Friday The 13th is a side-scrolling horror game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The goal is to survive, defeat Jason and save your friends. That all sounds simple enough, but poor controls and navigation makes what could have been a solid title about as appealing as finding Mrs. Voorhees’ head in your fridge. You have a map, an indicator and a goal – you would think that would make things easier, but they somehow didn’t even get that right! The map will tell you that your goal is to the left; then you go in that direction, only to then open your map and it shows that you are traversing right. HOW DO YOU SCREW THAT UP!? If you can find your way, you are armed with weapons about as effective as using a slingshot full of cotton. You fight zombies, wolves, Mrs Voorhees’ head, and the big man himself Jason. When you go into a cabin, you navigate in a nauseating sliding motion. When you find Jason, you are now locked in close quarters combat. You can dodge, but given the responsiveness of the controls, it’s like dodging a bullet after it’s already lodged in your arm. You are also supposed to light fires in all the cabins, but there is no indication to show if you have already lit one in a specific cabin already – which leads to needless and annoying back-tracking, making the game twice as long as it needs to be.
This is a mess that would make one of Jason’s murder scenes look spotlessly clean. Terrible navigation, awful controls, confusing objectives and a poorly implemented map are game design at its most incompetent. A side-scrolling horror themed game seems like it could have been a given, seeing how Castlevania managed to knock it out of the park less than a year later. This is a game I would only recommend to hardcore fans of the series who want to play/collect every tie-in. Otherwise avoid this trash like you would the campground itself.
Belongs at the bottom of the lake,
Fil
Verdict: 3/10