Uninvited

Uninvited

Commodore 64 - USA - 1st edition.

Developer ICOM Simulations Publisher ICOM Simulations Published 1986-??-?? Platforms Amiga, Apple IIgs, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh Classic, NES, Windows 3 Genres Adventure, Graphic adventure, Passive puzzle, Puzzle, Themes Horror, Mystery Series MacVenture Distribution Commercial

Uninvited is a graphic adventure puzzle video game with a horror theme created by ICOM Simulations and first released on Macintosh in 1986, and then ported to a bunch of different platforms including the NES by Kemco on 1989-09-29. This was the second game in the MacVenture series, and the second to use the MacVenture engine.

Personal

Own?	Yes. NES USA port. Partial box and cartridge.
Won?	Yes. NES port.
Finished	2010-03-14.

I bought Uninvited because it appeared to be the same type of game as one of my favorites, Shadowgate. I got it as a used rental cartridge from Kroger along with Shadowgate and Déjà Vu. I got really far into the game when I first played it, but got bored of it and gave up. In 2010, I decided to try and beat it properly, and did.

Review

6	5	6	7	2

Best Version: NES

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The game's artwork is pretty good in most of the ports.
• The interface is nicely intuitive.
• The NES soundtrack, by Hiroyuki Masuno, is quite nice.
• Several ports lets you print a certificate upon completing the game.

Bad

• For a horror game, it's not very scary.
• The maze in the back yard is a bit dull.
• Aside from the NES, all of the ports lack music.

Ugly

• The red skull that drives you crazy and slowly kills you every couple dozen moves is very obnoxious. Only years later did I learn that starts when you pick up the ruby, and can be avoided all together if you just leave the item where is lies. I wish the game would indicate this in some way.

Media

Box Art

• 

  This box art was used for the Mac, Amiga, Apple II GS, Atari ST, and DOS. It's a pretty nice creepy looking house and gives you a good idea about what kind of game you're going to play. The layout is awfully boring, but I think this is my favorite cover art.

• 

  The Japanese Famicom box art continues with the haunted house motif. The lightning looks kind of lame, but the entrance of the house looks like a giant spiked-tooth maw. Unfortunately, there is a giant red box around the title.

• 

  This North American NES box art makes it clear that this game is going to feature creepy skeletons dressed in drag.

• 

  This box art was used exclusively for the Windows 3 port. While it features the haunted house with lightning in the background. I think the skeleton in the window actually hurts the overall experience, as it is unable to live up to what people can imagine. Also, while the typeface is good, why does the lettering use an Easter color palette?

Documentation

• 

  Manual - Macintosh Classic - USA.

• 

  Manual - NES - USA.

• 

  Manual - Famicom - Japan.

• 

  Quick Reference Card - Apple IIgs - USA

• 

  Strategy guide - Quest for Clues II.

• 

  Strategy guide - Keys to Solving Computer Adventure Games: Book II.

There is also an official hint guide for the NES port, but I haven't been able to find it.

Graphics

• 

  Room graphics.

Font.

Videos

Longplay - Amiga.

Longplay - Apple IIgs.

Longplay - Commodore 64.

Longplay - NES.

Longplay - Windows 3.

Ways to die - Macintosh color.

Play Online

Amiga, Commodore 64, Famicom, Macintosh Classic, MS-DOS, NES, Windows 3

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The original games doesn't have any women (minus the skeleton). The NES port at least adds one, but it's a damsel in distress.
Bechdel test?	Fail	No women talk except in the NES port.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	Every human appears white. The NES port adds a Japanese NPC.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	Uninvited
Japanese	悪魔の招待状	Akuma no Shotaijo	The Devil's Invitation

Links