Splatterhouse is a game released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2010. It is a series reboot of the 1988 beat'em up arcade game Splatterhouse, although it contains the previous original games as unlockables (except Wanpaku Graffiti). According to some game promotions, the game is set in 2012.
Story[]
Rick Taylor and his lady friend, Jennifer Willis, go to the West Mansion, home of the insane Dr. Henry West to do a report on him for the Miskatonic University newspaper. Minutes after they enter, everything goes horribly wrong. Dr. West shows up, kidnaps Jen, and has his creatures fatally wound Rick, leaving him for dead. Rick, laying in a puddle of his own blood is soon offered the power to survive and save Jen by a demonic mask known as the Terror Mask.
Phase One: Satan's Masque[]
Once Rick dons the mask, his body is transformed into a hulking version of himself and is attacked by horde of Ghasts, and yet again is transformed into a monster like form of himself. After fighting off the horde he transforms back and begins his journey through the West Mansion to rescue Jen from Dr. West.
Rick fights his way through the halls and living rooms of the West Mansion, fighting hordes of monster's Dr. West created, and chasing down Dr. West and Jenny. Meanwhile, Jenn is taken to a room, and while being harassed by Dr. West, she reaches for a knife and stabs him right in the temple, but he laughs and pulls it out causing Jenny to freak out. Rick soon finds himself in the Mansion's dungeon where he fights off a small group of creatures and then a Teratoid as a boss. After killing it, he continues on.
Phase Two: The Doll that Bled[]
Rick continues his chase for Jennifer and Dr. West within the West Mansion. This time, Rick travels through bedrooms and a giant kitchen. He continuously fights off hordes and runs throughout the mansion until he reaches a bedroom with a creepy looking doll in it, he soon finds out it's no ordinary doll. The doll grows tentacles and builds a giant Golem body for itself.
Rick starts his fight off with the Golem where they fight until the floor breaks due to the Poltergeist's weight. After falling to another floor, they continue their fight until yet another floor breaks, causing them to fall into the gore filled bottom of the West Mansion. The Golem tries to crush Rick under its foot, only to be stopped by the Terror Mask, who transforms Rick into his monstrous form yet again. In the form, Rick destroys the Golem, and tears off the doll's head. A doorway with glowing white light opens, and Rick goes through.
Rick then reaches a room where Dr. West and Jen are. Rick tries to explain to Jenny about his transformation, only to be interrupted by Dr. West. Dr. West seems to fully recognize Rick as who he is, and warns Rick of following him and Jenny. Though they seem to be cornered, Dr. West and Jenny fall through a portal and Rick follows.
Phase Three: In the Shadow of the Abyss[]
Rick and the Terror Mask are teleported to what appears to be a junk yard. As usual, Rick fights his way through, but as he continues on, he gets to an abandoned and war-torn city. Jumping from one collapsing building to another, Rick meets up with an Aegis, and kills it.
After killing it, he jumps off the building and upon seeing the head of the Statue of Liberty laying on a street, he realizes he isn't just in some abandoned city, but New York City. Rick learns he was teleported thirteen months into an alternate future where he failed to save Jennifer, allowing Dr. West to sacrifice her and let the Corrupted enter the universe and kill off humanity. Rick continues on inside the mouth of the Statue of Liberty.
Phase Four: The Meat Factory[]
Rick goes into a slaughterhouse where the meat comes from the remains of humans. Fighting their way through the slaughterhouse, the Mask notes that it and Rick are being watched. After slaying several creatures and fallen prey to the slaughterhouse's traps, Rick comes face to face to the chainsaw wielding Biggy Man. Rick fights the monster using a shotgun, only to fall into another trap which sends him to a lower area. He catches a glimpse of Dr. West and Jenny, who are teleported again, before the fight with the Biggy Man resumes. Fighting fire with fire, Rick kills the Biggy Man with one of its own chainsaw arms. While gutting the Biggy Man, the Terror Mask references Jennifer's promise with Rick, "I want us to be together until the end of the world." It then says that the apocalypse is coming, and it's time for him to make good of his promise. A portal opens, and Rick and the Terror Mask go through it, reaching another point in time.
Phase Five: The Corpse That Wouldn't Die[]
Rick is transported to an underground cave with Aztec markings on the walls. He assumes that they're in southern Mexico, but the Terror Mask reveals that they're back in the present-day West Mansion, and that Dr. West dug out these tunnels under the mansion. It also reveals that many people died in construction of the tunnels, yet their bodies will not rest. The walls shake violently, indicating there's something big ahead. Rick comes across the chainsaw that he used to kill the Biggy Man, and uses it to fight against the undead horde in the catacombs.
After fighting through hordes of monsters and destroying an eyeball guardian, Rick finds the source of the commotion: a giant worm monster. Rick fights the worm, and it retreats deeper into the caves. The worm's retreat causes the floor to break, sending Rick even further underground.
Phase Six: Beast with a Human Heart[]
Phase Seven: Scream Park[]
Phase Eight: Reflections In Blood[]
Phase Nine: The Ruined Heart[]
Phase Ten: The Wicker Bride[]
Phase Eleven: Blood Eclipse[]
Phase Twelve: The Devil Made Flesh[]
Paradox Theory[]
Through dialogue by the Terror Mask, it's hinted that it was worn before Rick Taylor. One theory is that it can serve as a direct prequel to the first game due to the game's open ending; having a possessed Jennifer would explain how she's still on the brink of the living by the events of Splatterhouse 2. Another theory suggests that Splatterhouse (2010) is a distant sequel to the arcade games with a different Rick and Jennifer. Another theory suggests that the events of Splatterhouse (2010) are in a constant loop.
This theory is explained through time-travel paradoxes. In Phase Nine, Rick kills Leonora West, resulting in Dr. West spending two centuries to bring Leonora back by contacting the Corrupted. Eventually, he learns that by sacrificing Jenny and selling the world to the Corrupted, Leonora can be brought back. When Jenny went to the West Mansion, Rick came with her for "protection". This led to Rick being mortally wounded by one of West's monsters, and Rick putting on the Terror Mask. Eventually, Rick came to the 18th Century and killed Leonora West, resulting in the paradox.
Also because of conversations between Rick and the Terror Mask, the plot of the game and Dr. West's Journal, Splatterhouse (2010) appears to have a looped story. At the beginning of the game, Rick and the Mask make a deal that he can only remove the Mask after he saves Jenny. During Phase Three, the Mask states that it and Rick were in New York City, thirteen months after Rick had failed to save Jenny and the Corrupted have conquered the world. At the end of Splatterhouse (2010) Jenny was possessed by a green squid-like spirit, meaning that the Mask's deal isn't over, which could result in the apocalyptic world ruled by the Corrupted. It's also possible that Rick had died after Jenny was possessed, and the Terror Mask was enslaved by the Corrupted again. After several years, the Mask would escape to a timeless island where it's worshipped. Dr. West would take it back to the West Mansion to research it, leading to the beginning of Splatterhouse (2010) several years later.
Trivia[]
- This is the only game where Dr. West is actually seen in-game.
- The game was originally supposed to be released in October 2010, but was pushed back. This would seem reasonable, as several popular video game sequels came out that month.
- The unlockable Splatterhouse 3 was slightly revised from its cartridge release - in addition to correcting some of the stiltedness of the original script, the digitized actors were replaced with alternate illustrations likely due to issues re-licensing their likeness. The other games are unedited - the original Splatterhouse is the Japanese Arcade release, and Splatterhouse 2 is the North American release.
See Also[]
Games | ||
---|---|---|
The Original Series |
Splatterhouse • Splatterhouse 2 • Splatterhouse 3 | |
The Spin-off |
Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti | |
The Remake |
Splatterhouse (2010) | |
Unreleased |
Splatterhouse (2009) | |
Related |
Alien Abduction (movie) • Family Tennis Advance • Kid Chameleon (Video Game) • Kid Dracula (Video Game) • Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil • My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult (band) • Namco X Capcom • Point Blank 3: Arcade • Smash Court Tennis 2 • Soul Calibur V • Splatterhouse! (band) • Splatterhouse (handheld) • Tales of Destiny II • Technic Beat • The Complete Sounds of Katamari • The Koffin Kats (band) • Tekken: Dark Resurrection |