
Jason Voorhees. Mass Murderer. Neglected Camper. Lover of Sonic the Hedgehog.
SPLATTERHOUSE TRILOGY (’88-’93)
Available for: Sega Genesis, Wii, NES, TurboGrafx-16
Number of Players: 1

I can't even count how movies they are ripping off on this cover.





Night Slashers (1994)
Available For: Arcade (easily emulated on pc)
Number of Players: 2

Generic looking I know, but you get to karate kick zombies heads off.
Night Slashers is another game that, for some insane reason, never got a port to ANY home console system. That means the only place this existed was in the arcades (and on own computers thanks to emulators and roms). It’s a damn shame too, because during the Beat ‘Em Up explosion of the late 80’s into the early 90’s a game like Night Slashers would have been eaten up by the public. The story is of little significance, and come to think of it, I don’t even think there is one! The game stars a Van Helsing-ish suave dude in an orange business suit from the 1800’s, a feisty oriental-looking martial art femme-fatale, and an American guy wearing an American flag wife beater, has long blonde hair and a bandanna, and robot arms. Yup, no bullshit. Robot Arms. Their job is to just go from location to location, roundhouse kicking and karate chopping there way through every major type of horror movie bad guy there is. From zombies, to werewolves, to Ventriloquists with deadly dummies, to Frankenstein. The game is best enjoyed with two players due to a typically high arcade difficulty level that ramps up exponentially with every level passed. The music and graphics are all solid, with bright colors and some splendid animations and creature design. For anyone who liked games like Final Fight, Streets of Rage, and Double Dragon, and horror movies, this is a must. Rating:
DOOM TROOPERS (1995)
Available for: Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
Numbers of Players: 2

OOOOOOOO special edition bonus card you say?
Doom Troopers is a title that comes from a confusing history of board games, comics, TV shows, and toy lines. While I have seen the recent Mutant Chronicles movie, which is apparently based on the same collective Universe as this game is, I will talk only about the game here as if I know nothing of the other entities. Doom troopers is a side-scrolling shooter, similar in nature to Contra or Megaman. The main difference being, is it is drenched in pixel gore, and, for a 1995 game pushing to get the most from dying 16-bit technology, it sounds and looks surprisingly good. The jumpy and catchy soundtrack, the cheesey sounds effects when blood pours out of a neck wound, and the incredibly tinny and pathetic sound of gunfire will be sure to warm your retro heart. Combine that with some hellaciously unfair difficulty, a nice co-op mode allowing two players to go at it as a team, and some helpful cheats you can input to make the game beatable, and you have another decent addition to you Genesis or SNES (rom) library that you and a buddy can try to get through, but won’t. Rating:
Zombies ate my neighbors (1993)
Available for: Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
Number of Players: 2

A parody in game form and a true work of art.
Zombies ate my neighbors may be a wee bit too popular to be cosidered a true hidden gem, but everytime someones writes about this game, there’s someone out there who goes and tries it for the first time. Zombies is a top down view run and gun game, where you play as a punk kid using household items to rescue your neighbors and defeat legions of monsters all inspired by the horror films of the 50’s up to the 80’s. It’s equal part parody and tribute, as it celebrates and lampoons the genius and schlocky elements of the beloved genre. Tight controls, memorable soundtrack, and a good use of color helps this game elevate itself from often-recommended to a must play. Rating:
BLOOD (1997)
Available for: Most home computers (can be difficult to operate since it was originally written for DOS)
Numbers of Players: 1 (there are mods available for co-operative and competitive multiplayer that remains active to this day)

How can you say no to that!?!?
Blood is DOOM cranked to 11. It’s DOOM on crack, heroine, pcp, and meth, all while sitting inside the 9th level of hell. It’s campy, it’s chock full of horror movie and literature references, and to this day is still one of the most brutally violent games in public circulation. You can light a guy on fire with a flare gun. You can kick severed heads around like soccer balls. You can throw dynamite like an NFL quarterback, and stab people with a pitchfork. You also play as a dead guy who spouts off movie one liners as he kills things. It’s super great. Rating:
That’s all for now. If you enjoyed this short list and would like more suggestions, please leave a comment for us and I will scrounge up some more treasures for you. If your having trouble finding and playing any of these games, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll send ya some info on how you can get them working. Enjoy the chills boils and ghouls!!
blood is amazing!