Splatterhouse 3 (Sega Genesis)

The Splatterhouse series is one of the most interesting series out there. You just didn't see many games with this level of brutality outside Mortal Combat in the 90's. Splatterhouse 3, released on the Sega Genesis in 1993 is a horror beat 'em up. Compared to Splatterhouse 1 and 2, it is a more traditional beat 'em up game, allows for free movement, unlike the auto scrolling nature of the first two. Yet this game still finds a way to be unique, separating it from the streets of rage and final fights of it's days.

The thing that really sets this game apart are the design of the levels. Each level has multiple rooms and you are allowed to move freely between them. The boss is marked on your map and you have to navigate throughout each level to find them. It gives the game a feeling of exploration that the first two games really lacked since the levels went by automatically.

Another badass aspect is that Splatterhouse 3 is still as brutal as ever. I'm seriously amazed that Sega was able to put this game out on their console at the time. It definitely goes beyond anything you would see on Super Nintendo. Dead rotting corpses and bloody demonic monsters roaming around make for a great visual treat that any horror fan will enjoy. The visual aesthetic was outstanding and Now Production did a marvelous job. But while this is one of the highlights, there is something big that really brings the game down:
Each level has a time limit. Depending on if you beat the level within the time limit, it affects the storyline. It's really annoying because you are barely given enough time to reach the boss, let alone defeat it. Why add big maps if you are not going to allow the player to explore? Because of that super tight time limit I ended up getting the worst ending lol

The other thing that sucked was the lack of weapons. In Splatterhouse 1 and 2, there were tons of weapons to find and use, but in this game, you find like 2 and that's it. One last thing I think I should address is the level design. The overall design of the stages took a huge hit, as the stages were now much larger, and you saw many of the same rooms repeated over and over.

Overall I did enjoy this game, though despite what most people will say, I don't think it's better then 1 and 2. The overall combat was revamped, but things like the time limit and the lack of weapons really hurts the game for me

Pros
+ Nice Big Levels with room for Exploration
+ Gore and Blood everywhere!

Cons
-  Tight Time limit makes you feel rushed.
-  Lack of Weapons