Last month, “Hotel Transylvania” hit the shelves in the video game format for Nintendo DS and 3DS. The game play is reminiscent of the Castlevania game series, where the player is the daughter of Dracula – Mavis. Running around the hotel for monsters in red high tops and striped leggings, Mavis has to overcome an array of villains including skeletons, suits of armor, and zombies. All of the memorable characters make appearances throughout the game but without the voice talents that are so entertaining in the film.
Instead, the dialogue is in regular Nintendo style with text boxes – which instruct Mavis on what she has to do next. Whether it is getting keys to the visitors of the hotel or otherwise, Mavis has to run through the giant castle Hotel Transylvania to accomplish these tasks. It does what all great pocket-size console video games do – it challenges our patience and persistence while being entertaining enough to keep playing.
Fans of the film ages ten and up will enjoy the Nintendo video game in all its simplicity, where Jonathan (the only human in the hotel) needs to be saved from the terrors within including being turned into human soup de jour by Quasimodo. With the numerous vampiric advantages at Mavis’s disposal, the game is all the wicked fun that the Nintendo DS and 3DS can provide.
Meanwhile, “Hotel Transylvania” is enjoying the number two spot in the box office – having made $76.7 million in its first two weeks.
