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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
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Developer(s)
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Wizard Games
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Publisher(s)
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Wizard Games
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Platform(s)
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Genre(s)
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Horror Action
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Mode(s)
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Single player
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Distribution
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Cartridge
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a 1983 game for the Atari 2600, made by Wizard Video Games. It was based on the 1974 film of the same name.
About the game[]
One of the unique aspects of TCM is that it may very well be the first game where you play the murderer; in this case Leatherface, a brain damaged psychotic serial killer that wears a mask made of human flesh and enjoys grinding teenagers into a bloody pile of goo with a chainsaw.
As the 2600 could only feature the most limited of graphics, Leatherface here is a tanned face blob-like creature with a 'T'-shaped chainsaw that sticks out of his chest, and is the same color as his clothes. The victims are interlopers who have unknowingly wandered on your property. Looking like innocent little girls, you must chase the youngsters around your obstacle ladened homestead. When you catch up to them it's time to press the fire button and let your chainsaw do its business. The victims then look like they became inverted and quickly disappear without even a spot of blood.
Although chasing children around and grinding them into hamburger sounds easy, the game does pose a few challenges. The chainsaw runs on fuel, so you only have a limited amount of time before you run out of gas and then it's game over. Not only does the fuel constantly diminish, but your yard is covered in snags such as cow skulls, barbed wire, fences and wheelchairs (a tribute to the movie victim Franklin). If you get stuck on any of these items you have to chainsaw your way though, which wastes fuel and shortens your life.
TCM is an endless game, or at least one that ends at your inevitable defeat via an empty gas tank. Unlike in the films where Leatherface is an unstoppable killing-machine even with his bare hands, here he is helpless without power to his chainsaw. The screen goes black and one of the innocent little girls you were chasing sneaks up behind you and kicks you from behind.
2007 AVGN episode[]
The episode first aired on Gametrailers on October 9, 2007 and was later released on YouTube on October 8, 2008. This was the first part of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre review. This episode guest starts Mike Matei as Leatherface and Chop Top, and Steven J. Klaszky (credited as Jimmie Jim Slugg) as a hillbilly. Originally, the acoustic of this theme song was played for the second time (as seen on the Rocky episode).
For the transcript, See Transcript of AVGN episode Texas Chainsaw Massacre.