You have a very fair perspective on this (holy shit though, I think you were the one guy backing me up that Jericho was a good game, so I love you!) -- but I want to tackle a few things here.
First, I'm not so sure that a game that prides itself on nostalgia and over-the-top violence (because, lets face it, you'd have to be *more* than over-the-top to slap it on the back of the box, and this game definitely is that) can be anything but self-referential and perhaps self-mocking to fit in these days.
The Mask changes it, and the character design somewhat; I think over-exaggeration is a great way to phrase it, because -- at least in my opinion -- I find very little that is, say, overly-cartoonish about the game. It has its moments, sure, but overall this a bloody disgusting game, with many nightmarish images throughout, and the combat and scenery can't be appreciated without stepping through the game and seeing closely all the 'nice touch' moments.
I think the game looks at the original Splatterhouse as a pivotal core component -- there's so many homages, and so much almost reverent adherence to the original game, that I think it's hard to say that it looked at too much Splatterhouse 2 and 3 (because, really, who would?). That said, the game is an amalgam of those experiences and a new experience which I think core Splatter-fans will appreciate. Here's a game that, in my opinion, actually makes good on the promise to please fans of all 3 original games.
And hell, even if you hate the game, you get the original games for simply playing through it. That alone is something I would pay 20 dollars for on XBLA.
Still, I don't want to say "buy this, Mar!" I will say, absolutely, that videos -- quicklooks -- don't give you an insight as to how deep the game or battle system can be, if only you work hard to understand how to take advantage of it. I, even without finishing the game yet, feel I've gotten my 60 dollars worth.
