Duel : The Haunted House Strikes Back ! Review

Deep in the dark depths of Gloomy Woods is Duel:The Haunted House Strikes Back, a video game brought to life where you are pitted agaisnt a mad doctor's zombie army and the even more dangerous ghoulish fiends of Gloomy Wood.

Various assaults and murders have occured in the Alton area and they've been all linked to Dr Roodyn, a retired old surgeon in Glen Wood (nicknamed Gloomy Wood for it's macarbe history).



As you arrive at Dr Roodyn's residence you discover that Roodyn has been tampering with reanimation of dead organisms. Now Roodyn has vanished presumed dead as his experiments have run amok, leaving you trapped in house full of undead murder victims and ancient woodland spirits dying to get in.



You board five seated coffin cars armed with laser guns or "Ghoul Blasters" and you head into the house in a vain hope to escape. On the way you across giant spiders, homicidal stone busts, reanimated skeletons and all kinds of grusome goings on.

Duel is the perfect family ride as even though it has it's occasional scares it's more of kooky affair than spooky. Queues never get past the one hour mark as it has one of the best throughputs in the park and it's great for bringing out the trigger happy lunatic inside you.

As a major fan of decently themed rides, and Haunted Houses specifically, I had to ride Duel as soon as I saw it on the park map.

I made my way over to Gloomy Wood, and suddenly, there it was, looming before me. Design-wise, I think the ride is on a par with Trauma Towers at BPB and to a lesser extent, The Haunting at Drayton Manor. I stood in front of the zombie outside and waited for its head to judder in my direction, just for the cheap thrill it gave me, before wandering inside.

Immediately I felt the temperature drop a few degrees as I looked around at the collection of mundane and downright disturbing portraits, before moving on into the crooked passageway, which I have to say was only disorientating for a second, though I'd hate to have to queue there! The little holographic girl was confusing more than anything else, and the fire effect was somewhat spoiled by the very visible tv opposite it! Nevertheless, the eerie creaking house pulled it all off, and I made my way through the drawing room with the eyes of the portraits following me all the way.

Once sat in the actual ride, I looked at my gun, a little puzzled. They seemed a little out of place to me, but what the hey. The ride started and my gun activated. Straight away, tiny little LEDS blinked at me in every direction, somewhat distracting me from the horrors I was suposed to be facing. I thought I would be shooting undead ghouls, not little lights! A little disheartened, I forgot about the shooting for a while and concentrated on the scary aspect. I mad my way through the ride, and now that I wasnt concentrating on shooting I found it a lot more entertaining. The zombies with guns were a little weird, and unrealistic. Zombies eat brains, they don't fire harmless lasers from steel walkways at passersby. Hmph.

I realise with what I've written so far it sounds like I dislike the ride. Well, I'll tell you now after that initial ride, I went on 7 more times, I couldn't get enough. I don't know what it is about me and horror rides, but not even random LEDs, trigger happy zombies and a spinning tunnel without the spin can keep me away. I adore the ride and can't wait to ride it again on my visit on Friday! Ride.

Since the Haunted House has changed to Duel, i personnaly think it has improved dramitically. It was not scary before for me, but with the addition of the new laser guns you forget what is happening and i think that makes it more scary.

The ride is themed very well and the queue line inside is very good (I cannot comment on the outside as i have never queued that long )

Overall, the ride is a good, family ride in which it is a good laugh. It is also good to see who can get the highest score. I think the best touch is at the end of the ride before you get off you see your ride photo on the TV with the scores. Very nice touch. You should not queue long which makes it a good ride to go on.

3/5 for me

Duel from the front looks awesome. It looks scary and mysterious and the zombie in his coffin is a great plus. The que line is fantastic the slanted room, the doll house and the rocking horse are great.

The start of the ride is really atmospheric, as you don't know what to expect. In the ride it is great. The neon lights are everywhere making it a really goood challenge and the monsters and effects are great.

I reallly enjoy this ride and love going on it. I always compete for the highest score and think it is very fun.

I personnaly love this ride, the themeing is fantastic and im really good at getting a high score with my highest being - 76400. The theming on the indoor section of the queue is amazing and carries on throughout the whole ride. The outside hasnt changed much since the haunted house execpt for the zombie in the coffin who looks at guests as they walk by. The music for the ride is very catchy and gets stuck in your head for ages. This ride is one of my favourites in the whole park, even better than Rita I think. I give this ride a well deseved 10/10.

i really like duel, though im rubbish at it!
went to AT yesterday, didnt have to queue, because i was with my friend in a wheelchair. bit disappointed about that actually, i like looking at the hologram of the little girl and the cat
anyways, onto the ride
you sit in your little coffin cars and the ride starts
lots of zombies, and im sure i saw Death at one point, and i saw they kept the giant spider from HH
really fun ride, a great family one
8/10 for me

Me and my mates went on this three times in a row and we loved it ! Its even better when it breaks down though and your left stranded under a giant spiders set of jaws . But like I say, I love the soundtrack, the theme and the way how it isnt a 'scary' creepy, its more 'kooky' creepy in the sense that the monsters all have a certain cartoon element to them, therefore suitable for younger children, apart from some zombies.



^we done bad score wise on this picture as we posed throughout the whole ride unsure of when the photo is actualy taken so we hardly got to shoot anything .
Note how my friend Jason (the guy on the back row with no gun about to strangle the girl in front) has no gun on him and yet my boastfull 'friend' Johnny has two guns and still has a lower score than him! (Im the one in white sitting next to Jason about to join the ghosts on Duel )

I quite liked duel and i think that the theming is brilliant, the outside and the inside of the ride is great. I wandered towards the ride, passing gravestones on the way. I could here some spooky music in the distance. I turned round and saw a great creepy house lurking above me. I think the house looks looks great and the zombie gave me a shock when it turned its head directly towards me. I wandered through the door into the entrance hall, with weird creepy paintings staring at me. I think the other room is great. I enjoyed the holograms of the girl in the dollshouse and the fireplace and the slanted floor, and i have to admit i was disappointed i wasn't cueing for longer. I then moved in to the station. I like how the cars look, with the candles and books on them. Before i new i was sitting in one. The car moved forward and i was surrounded by tiny led lights. I don't think they should have the lights that you are supposed to shoot on the walls, just on the monsters like lots of people have been saying in there reviews. I think the monsters looked good. I like the demon things that fly over your head and the giant spiders. I think they should have an aim on the guns, because most of the time your firing in random directions. Anyway in conclusion i think its a pretty good ride.

In 1 word - Great! ... Even before they added the guns and such , it was great... Great theming , Long ride , Sorta Scary/Jumpy ... but now with the guns you can get those ghosts back for scaring the hell out of you lool... Also a good little money bet with your friends to see who can get the highest score wins like a £5 or something lool

You enter the residence of the missing Dr. Roodyn, and immediately you can tell there is trouble afoot in the household. You walk caustiously through the hallway, on a strange crooked floor, passing eerie objects, Until eventually you approach your veichle. A five person Coffin. However, the nature of your transport is the least of your worries, as now....its time to DUEL! You look around as the coffin begins to move, and you enter the house itself, and all around you are numerous blinking lights. Then the true horrors begin, as undead beings pull out their guns....


as you can tell, i'm very enthusiastic about this ride, although i may be overdoing it a bit . I think this ride is perfect for families, as most of it is more of a kooky spooky than a true scary ride. Its a treat to anyone who likes well themed, fun, interactive rides. However, if you are interested, i advise you have a proper look around as you ride. Some of the details are fantastic.

Unfortunately, some of the ride is undermaintained, such as hands from the zombies have gone missing. Normally, it wouldn't really be out of place, but i spotted one zombie that was unarmed, meaning the missing hand probably carried a gun.

Overall, i give the ride a 8/10. A brilliant ride for families that you just can't get bored of! Its a good length, a prefect mix of scary and funny, and the queues are never very long. What have you got to lose?

Duel: The Haunted House - Strikes Back!
As you approach the Gloomy Wood area the smell of the trees surrounding Duel give the effect of an isolated wood with a forbidden house you shouldn't enter. As you get nearer to the House itself the first thing that will catch your attention is the animatronic dummy coming out of a tomb weilding a gun!

If you are unlucky/lucky enough to have to go around the full queue line around the wood area you will spot some rather amusing tombstones on your way round an entering what is like a 'mini-tower ruin' as you get closer to the house. However you might catch Duel at the time of day where you can just walk straight up to the house.

As you enter the house the musty smell makes your hairs stand on end as you walk around the entrance hall of deathly paintings, faulty chandeliers and a dusty moose! You continue round the house and into a slightly tilted room (Watch your step) - Keep a look out for the holographic doll, a tilted rocking horse and a hand in a jar! While you go around this room several TV screens brief you of the history of the house and the mission instructions (Dr Nicholas Roodyn is Missing - He was a genetic surgeon.. - Shoot as many green targets as possible/Yellow Targets are worth more)

You enter the loading bay in which contains quite weird looking coffin cars which seat 3 in the front and 2 in the back. The safety bars lower by ghost power and you start you journey around spider liars, a man with a switch, a revolving room and death in a garden! You go around and as you reach the end you will find your on-ride photo is taken and you exit the cars to the gift shop where you are able to view your scores and by a photo if you so wish.

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Review
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Many people absolutly hate Duel and say it's terrible compared to the haunted house, whereas more or less of the FX are the same but the interactivity has made the house lose it's 'scaryness'. However Duel is great for families (even though it looks intimidating). Once your kids have been on once they cant wait to go around again and with a very fast throughput and not long queues, you could go around 5-6 times and still want to re-ride.

Pros
+ Good Throughput
+ Good for Families
+ Interactivity
+ Short Queues
+ Excellent Re-ride factor
+ One of the better themed attractions
+ Quite a long ride (7 mins approx)
+ Great Music Soundtrack

Cons
- Some animatronics needs oiling and general maintenance
- Ride reliability could be better
- Too addictive!
- Some score counters don't work - Needs being kept in working order.

Overall definatly one of my favourite rides at the towers and I always have a few goes each time I visit. (Im always the highest scorer!)

9/10 from me as a family point of view![/b]

TBH i preferred the ride when it was HH. Then you could appreciate the ride more instead of concentrate on only the shooting because you want to get a better score than the person next to you. I find some of the flashing lights a bit too much and it normally hurts my head. I don't think its a very good family ride as small children would become very scared by some of the effects.

Even though i'm sounding negative it's a ride that I always go on because like the flume its one of the must do rides.

okay, when i was little, every time i went to alton towers, i would shout "i wanna go on haunted house!!!" so we would make our way there.

As soon as we got into the queue and walked through the woods, i started to feel uncomfortable. The eerie music kept flowing to my brain. When we made it into the house, i definitely didn't like it. The pictures in the hallway freaked me out, and the music inside was scary as hell. the slanted hallway always made me want to leave. i didn't mind the little girl in the dolls house, that wasn't scary, but when the pictures started to stare at me, it was too much. I'd tug on my mums hand and whisper "i wanna go out now!"

I never made it onto the ride, out of the 3 times i went on, so i was never able to see the house as it was without the blasters. of course, when i went and it had been updated, i didn't mind it at all. it was creepy, yes, and there were some jumpy moments, yes, but all in all, it was a spectacular ride that didn't frighten me. The guns reminded me, that i was in control, and i shouldn't be worried.

I love duel, every time i visit Alton Towers, i go on it, and in 2 weeks, im gonna go on again!!

5/5

Duel is one of my favourite rides at The Towers. The haunted hose looks fantastic, The queue line is great (Even if it does make me feel a bit disorientated) with the rocking horse e.t.c.

I also find the announcements in the station funny 'DO NOT TOUCH YOUR BLASTER UNTIL THE SAFETY BAR IS DOWN' made me laugh for some reason.

The ride has great effects, The animatronics (or whatever they're) called look brilliant. The ride is also a brilliant lengh, Unlike it's rival, Golden Nuggets Wild West Shootout over at Drayton Manor which goes in a flash.

The soundtrack is fantastic, and it adds to the atmosphere when you're on the ride. I've got it on my phone, Don't care if I'm sad to be honest. I have it on my head for the rest of the day.

I rate Duel 10/10 - It is the perfect family ride, And is just such great fun which is why I love it so much.

Duel, whist really fun and very re-rideable, still has it's issues which need sorting out.

Firstly, the internal queue has improved this year with the reintroduction of the creepy music and the eerie window glow returning, however the Dolls House music and the instruction videos clash, ruining the eerie atmosphere created when the music was played on the Original Haunted House.

Moving into the station, the station interior looks great and is definitely Altons best themed station area, even if the atmosphere is ruined slightly by the constant stream of announcements. As the ride starts, after passing under the scary grid of spikes which is now properly lit, you realise the huge flicker of LED's that illuminate the room like a Christmas Tree, and not in a good way. All the LED's on the walls is stupid as it's suposed to be the monsters you shoot, not the harmless walls but oh well!

As you meet your first foe, the screaming bust, the irritating strobes unfortunately illuminate the workings of the effect, ruining the impact. Secondly we encounter the two Demons in the Dining room which have been given a slightly more Ultraviolet appearance since the Haunted House Days, and are very tempremental as I haven't seen them work in either 2007 or 2008.

As we progress through the ride, it is evident how the LED's ruin the atmosphere, and also the effect of the Rotating Tunnel is ruined by the hideaous splitting head which has been wrongly moved to the wall at the ebd of the tunnel. As we reach the area formerly occupied in the Haunted House by the Giant, we see a selection of poorly animated Zombies come at us from various windows.

The next part of the ride is very simiar to the Original HH, obviously minus the Skeleton corridoor scene and with the addition of millions of LED's around the garden and walls. Now we reach the turning point of the ride, the Zombie Cellar created during the Duel refurb. Here we see various Zombies pop up from barrels like a posh game of Whack a Mole, and also Zombies on gantries sitting static with flashing laser guns. This is a shame as the original HH ending was fantastic, with effects like the Dragon at the end in the Gargoyles mouth, the Zombie retheme is definitely an offence to Wardleys great work, but in all the ride is fun enough and does the job.

Following on from the discussion of the soundtrack, i do also love the soundtrack as it is upbeat and fits the whole theme of the guns in a Ghostbusters esque way. unfortunately however it isn't a patch on the original terrifying Haunted House score.

In conclusion, Duel is a great, fun, well themed ride which is let down by a few weak scenes, most notably the Zombie cellar. my only major issue is the fact all the LED's and strobes ruin the dark, eerie atmosphere and reveal the workings of the effects, however overall, I love the ride and hope we can see even more improvements in the future like we have in 2008!