CarnEvil

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CarnEvil is a rail shooter arcade game using a light gun. Released by Midway Games on October 31, 1998, Carnevil is noted for its graphic content and strong lifelike violence. CarnEvil was inspired by the 1962 movie Carnival of Souls. It is the most successful light gun style game produced by Midway Games.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Gameplay 3 Environments 4 Characters 5 Poems 6 External links

[edit] Plot

The game starts off with the player taking the form of an unnamed character aboard a carnival ride known as Spooky Sam's Ghost Tour; in the game there is a legend that if you put a golden token into the grave of a man named Ludwig Von Tokkentakker, an undead Carnival will appear. This is exactly what the main character does when he finds out that the legend is true. The carnival that appears is made up of all sorts of monsters that, by the end of the game, are all killed by the main character. The main character kills them with a gun from the Shooting Gallery Booth. The game continues for four levels until it ends. The bosses are all in the form of some carnival attractions as well some European archetypes.

[edit] Gameplay

The players shoot targets on the screen while progressing through four amusement park-themed horror environments while avoiding civilians. Shooting civilians earns a life penalty, but does not garner any long-term consequences or changes to the game. Power-ups such as extra health, a machine gun, and a flame thrower are among other possible rewards for shooting non-civilians.

[edit] Environments

• Rickety Town - A traditional carnival setting focusing on familiar sights such as roller coasters, a ferris wheel, bumper cars, and a food court. There is also a Christmas themed "Slay Ride" and ice skating rink which encompasses the end of the stage and boss fight.

• Haunted House - A Victorian-style mansion filled with zombies, ghosts, spiders, bats and other Halloween favorites.

• Freak Show - Boardwalk style exhibition of the bizarre and astounding featuring a host of deformed opponents. A dungeon and torture chamber, as well as a macabre assembly line of sorts, make this stage particularly disturbing.

• Ludwig von Tokkentakker's Big Top - Immense circus tent swarming with undead clowns, mimes, and circus animals. Ascending the big top allows you to reach Ludwig von Tokkentakker's zeppelin where the final battle takes place.

[edit] Characters

• Tinsels - Twisted little elves in Rickety Town; attack by throwing presents and stabbing with sharpened candy canes.

• Carnie - The CarnEvil mascot, a sort of evil Barney the dinosaur.

• Smilin' Bob - An overly cheerful gas station attendant whose grin never wavers even after half his head is blown away; attacks by swinging a gas can or punching.

• Skeleteens - The food court employees who throw items and jump over the counter to attack.

• Krampus the Anti-Claus - Monstrous Santa Claus with reindeer antlers, claws, and ice skates. He glides around the skating rink and uses his claws and a sack full of toys and coals.

• Rotten Robbie - Zombies that have overrun the Haunted House; can throw knives, body parts, or other objects.

• Hambone - Jason-inspired maniac and sub-boss in the Haunted House stage. He wears a hockey mask and bib overalls while sporting a chaingun arm. After being defeated once, he later returns (as Hambone: The Revenge) and sporting a cannon that launches explosive skulls. The mask can be shot off.

• Evil Marie - Parody of Marie Antoinette and boss of the Haunted House stage appearing as a ghoulish lady in fine dress and powdered wig. She sports an axe and comically oversized breasts. She loses clothing as she takes damage until ending in a corset and stockings before being impaled on her gravestone.

• FlapJack - The upper bodies of two acrobats sewn together at the waist, seen in the Freak Show.

• NikNak - "Spider monkeys" created by cross-breeding those two animals; very fast and agile.

• Tort and Rodz - The badly mutilated inmates of the House of Horrors.

• Eyeclops - Cockney speaking sub-boss of the Freak Show. Appears as a two-headed ogre donning light armor, sword, and shield. He sports one eye on each head, three on his chest, and several others on his arms and legs. These are obviously his weak point.

• Junior - Gigantic infant sewn together from parts unknown and brought to life by lightning. He is fought inside a gigantic playpen where he attempts to crush the players. Ultimately he is forced back into his crib where he is electrocuted. Arcade workers also have the choice to replace Junior with a giant teddy bear named Deaddy, which has the same fighting tactics.

• Umlaut - The Jester of Tokkentakker that appears on his grave; Umlaut appears to you before you enter each area. Umlaut makes his final appearance as a subboss in the big top.

• Ludwig von Tokkentakker - The master of the CarnEvil and all of its horrors. Appearing as an eccentric gentleman in fine clothing he commands from his zeppelin, staffed by a skeleton crew. He sports a musket as well as a vanishing act leading the player on a chase throughout his ship. He also directs a fireworks display before being knocked into his own ship's engines.

[edit] Poems

The following poem appears at the start of the game:

When the moon is full and the trees are bare-

Walk through the Cemetery if you dare.

Where skeletons rot and corpses fester-

Locate the tomb with the skull of a Jester.

Feed him a token all shiny and new-

It is then that CarnEvil will return for YOU!

Umlaut's poem before Rickety Town:

What goes up must come down.

Now you're headed for Rickety Town.

Ride all the rides, have some fun,

Then eat your heart out on a sesame seed bun!

Before the Haunted House:

Welcome to the Haunted House.

Meet a ghoul who lost her head.

If you'd like to stay and join us,

You're always welcome--alive or dead!

Before the Freak Show:

It's the Freak Show, the Freak Show,

See the strange and bizarre.

We'd love for you to join us.

We think you could be the star!

Before the Big Top:

You've made it to our main attraction,

The three-ring circus in the Big Top tent.

We hope our clowns will entertain you

Before making you the main event!

[edit] External links

• CarnEvil at the Killer List of Videogames
• Arcade History: CarnEvil
• Official site of Midway Games (Does not actually have any information on CarnEvil, it is only the company website.)