One of the many spontaneous acts of awesome that occurred at TIGJam 3 this past weekend was an impromptu tournament with Paul Hubans’ 2007 horror shooter MADHOUSE. In the wee hours of the third night, about a dozen or so hearty jammers signed up to sit next to each other in gory, one-on-one combat. Providing commentary was none other than Paul himself, who egged on the competitors and managed to crack up everyone who was watching (especially himself). It was definitely a memorable experience for us all, so I wanted to give the game a long-due mention on the front page.
In Versus Mode, the goal is to end the match with the most kills against your opponent. In the “vanilla” version of the game, you can select one of four characters, each with different attributes and special attacks. “Zero”, for example, has exceptional attack power but low health, and can turn invisible to sneak up on enemies. There are also six stages that have different themes, traps, and secrets.
MADHOUSE is rough around the edges and not particularly well-balanced, but has the kind of charm that I love to see in indie games… to the point where even the imbalances feel “right” at times (or at least really funny). There’s also quite a bit of unique detail in the characters, weapons, and environments, which keeps it feeling fresh match after match. I’ll be honest, though, the best way to play is the way we played it: with the Special Edition (unavailable for download as of writing), with Paul there giggling to himself, and on a projector with a bunch of other nerds watching and cheering. Still, even at home with just one other friend I think MADHOUSE has a lot of entertainment value in it. And the single-player Arcade Mode, which Paul admits having tacked-on, is not at all bad, either!
TIGdb: Entry for MADHOUSE