Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is the sequel to the original Home Alone video game. Both games are loosely based on movies bearing their respective titles. Manley and Associates developed this instalment, which was released by Capstone in the early eighties, following the movie. It is an arcade style of action game starring the adorable Kevin McCallister, who once again loses his family.
In this instalment in the Home Alone series, Kevin becomes separated from his family in the airport, and accidentally boards a plane heading for New York City.
Instead of becoming panicked, the resourceful boy checks himself into a hotel and begins to have fun with the idea. As fate would have it, the two criminals from Kevin’s previous adventure have determined his whereabouts and have followed him to the hotel to exact revenge for his deeds in the previous movie/game when he was left home while the family took vacation.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York features four levels of platform game action. In each of the levels, Kevin must avoid Harry and Marv (the crooks from the first instalment) and lure other criminals near enough to be waylaid by the boy’s wits. Kevin totes a huge arsenal of “weapons” that can be used against the criminals he encounters. He has a variety
of interesting attacks, including a somersault and a slide attack.
The levels of the game are well rendered locations that were found in the actual movie. Kevin begins in the posh hotel, where the fact that he has used his father’s stolen credit card to check in becomes apparent. He then must escape from the hotel. There are many obstacles, such as the concierge, luggage bags, the room service workers and so forth. The mini boss in the level is the detective that is trying to capture Kevin. The hotel’s head chef will be the final boss at the end of the stage. After escaping from the hotel, Kevin will find himself in Central Park and will have to avoid thugs, punks, rats, bats and dogs. The boss at the end of the stage is an old lady who is trying to feed hordes of pigeons. Not knowing what to try next, Kevin seeks out his uncle who lives in the city. He finds the home with some difficulty and realizes that it is in very bad shape. Upon entering the house, Kevin will have to dodge plaster falling from the ceiling, and rats that have all but overrun the place. To make matters worse, Marv and Harry have followed him to the run down shack, and serve as bosses on the level. Naturally, Kevin escapes from these two baddies in the house, and they proceed to chase him through the streets of New York City. This is the final stage of the game and features action similar to the others.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a fun little game that features some great comedy from the movie, due to its full license. It only has four levels, which is somewhat disappointing, but they are large and well-rendered with plenty of action. This is a great download and comes highly recommended.
