[h1]Rough but alright action Halloween-themed score-attack game[/h1]
There are currently three [i]Hooligan Vasja[/i] games on Steam: This one, the original, and the [i]Christmas[/i] version. [i]Halloween[/i] version was originally a DLC of the original but it is basically its asset flip, with slight variation on the bosses. [i]Christmas[/i] version does change the gameplay in various ways.
At the core, all are very similar: Vasja is a kid who runs up the rain gutter of houses to wreck their windows and inhabitants with shot projectiles, like a slingshot (he's essentially a [i]Bart Simpson[/i] clone). After a certain score, a huge creepy boss appears and needs to be shot down to complete the level.
There are 5 levels, each of which introduces new enemies that only differ in appearance and damage their projectiles do - otherwise, each enemy works similarly, throwing a single object down the building at Vasja. Vasja has to both dodge these objects (to avoid getting damage) and the obstacles on his way, as hitting them even once is an insta-death. Some power-ups, like infinite fast ammo and kill-all rockets help on the way.
[h1]Only mouse controls[/h1]
Controls are the same as in the original game.
Vasja is controlled with mouse, and mouse only. Cursor and mouse is used to shoot the slingshot and also control, on which side of the gutter he's running up. Keep in mind that there are no gamepad or other control options available. As such, in my opinion these controls work just fine.
It takes a bit to get used to everything that's happening on the screen. Switching sides of the gutter is instantaneous but learning to dodge both the projectiles and the obstacles takes some time. After a while it becomes quite intuitive, although sometimes there are unavoidable attacks.
[h1]Technically dated[/h1]
For a game from 2016, it is perhaps surprising that [i]Hooligan Vasja: Halloween[/i] runs only in window or in low resolution in fullscreen. In fullscreen mode, there are input-less regions in the sidebars, in a widescreen monitor anyway.
I played in fullscreen because I'd imagine that clicking outside the window could spell death, it is fast-paced enough for that to happen.
At least the appropriately creepy music and sound can be muted from within game, and adjusted separately.
[h1]Halloween time[/h1]
There's very little changes, other than graphics, from the original [i]Hooligan Vasja[/i] in this Halloween version. Grandmas, cooks, and clowns are replaced with witches, vampires, and skeletons, but gameplay-wise the only change is with the boss fights: instead of three hit locations, they typically have just two. And they shoot candy.
As I had already completed the first game, [i]Halloween[/i] version was a breeze, although I still had to try a few runs to beat the final boss. It took only about 90 minutes to beat this version (because of the practice with the first game), after finishing the first one.
Is it worth it? I would say barely if you also enjoyed the first game. To be fair, you'd probably buy all three in the Steam bundle anyway, as it's cheap enough. If it cost anything more, I'd give it a straight pass.
[url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/9997062/]~Twistorian Curator~[/url]
