Splatterhouse has become famous for being one of the first video games to start the controversy regarding overly violent video games. Now by today's standards Splatterhouse is fairly tame when compared to modern games like Grand Theft Auto and Bully, but back in 1990, there were actually those who were concerned about the violent content found in Splatterhouse. Putting aside all of the "violence" talk, Splatterhouse isn't just senseless violence with no substance. The game is actually a great action side-scroller that manages to offer up a pretty serious challenge and a good amount of fun to go along with it's spooky theme. Splatterhouse for the Turbografx-16 was based on the Namco arcade game of the same name, and while the game has been toned down for the home release, there's still enough horror and violence left to go around.

Splatterhouse is fairly standard as far as side-scrollers go, as you spend most of the game traveling through the various areas of the mansion. Along the way you'll have to take on the many evil creatures that are coming after you. You can rely on your two standard attacks, the punch and kick, or you can even pick up assorted weaponry you'll find lying around to use against the enemies. A few of these weapons include a two-by-four, a wrench, and even a shotgun. While the kicks and punches will work on most occasions, you'll want the heavier artillery when it comes time to take on the game's many bosses you'll encounter at the end of each level. As an added bonus, there is also some platforming elements strung throughout the game to liven things up a little, but for the most part, you'll spend the majority of your time hacking away at undead creautures who are hell-bent (sorry, I couldn't resist) on inflicting bodily harm to you. The game has a balanced difficulty with the game starting off easy and gradually getting more difficult. In fact, the later levels in the game are quite tough and will challenge even the most seasoned gamer.

While not as visually detailed as its arcade counter-part, Splatterhouse on the Turbografx-16 is certainly no slouch either. Most of the areas make great use of the Turbografx-16's large color palette and the gore splatters quite well, even in this home console release. It's really the backgrounds that have lost a little detail, but the main character and enemy sprites still look every bit as sharp as the ones found in the arcade version of the game. The bosses are probably the highpoint of the game, visually, and all animate quite well considering the game is running on a slightly less powerful home console. All in all Splatterhouse is a solid title visually and those who haven't played the arcade game won't know the difference anyway.

By now, most people who've experienced any of the Turbografx-16 games knows that the system is quite capable of producing some top notch video game audio and Splatterhouse is certainly no exception. The music is very moody and spooky and manages to stand up quite well even against the arcade version of the game. Even the sound effects are extremely impressive, and when coupled with the game's haunting musical score, form one of the more impressive audio experiences of any of the Turbografx-16 Hucard titles. You'll definitely want to crank up the sound for this one.

If you like a good horror title or just appreciate a solid side-scroller, you're going to enjoy Splatterhouse. It's not rocket science and it's pretty standard as far as action titles go, but the spooky theme and haunting visuals provide a great setting for some arcade-style spook splattering. Splatterhouse is a great release for the Virtual Console and will give a lot of gamers that missed the title the first time around a chance to finally experience one of the more original and entertaining titles the Turbografx-16 has to offer. Easy enough for anyone to pick up and play, but challenging enough in later levels to give even veteran gamers a serious run for their money. Splatterhouse is easily one of the ten best Turbografx-16 games of all time and a great addition to anyone's Virtual Console game collection.