Geist

"Competition of Possession"

Introduction

Geist is a newly made First-Person Shooter made in 2005. Basically, you're a 35-year-old government agent called John Raimi (your friends usually call you "Raimi") in search to help your friend out of a Volks Corporation. He also works in the government agency called CR-2 who study strictly on biological and chemical agents.

Soon after, the mission goes completely wrong when an experiment breaks loose. Your character soon becomes a ghost. As a ghost you have the ability to possess through many different features such as humans, animals, and even objects. But that's not all, there are a whole lot of different quests you must complete to become a perfectionist of Geist.

Gameplay

Geist is an extremely fun game to play. Throughout the game you'll be in possession of many different hosts and objects. Some of these hosts include soldiers whom wield powerful guns, and even a dog with a strong bark. There's a trick though, you must scare a host if you want to possess them. Some of these "scares" could be done by traumatizing them using possess-able objects while others could be done by using more fearful hosts to use their abilities on the weaker hosts.

The game's difficulty is average. There could be some difficult moments in the game which include puzzles and terrible checkpoints. The game could also have its simple moments in bosses, enemies and hosts' special abilities. You progress through nine levels and each have their own unique settings and characters. Some of the hosts you get into usually lead an important role throughout the game, whilst others are just back-ups to help the important ones.

The game has two styles of controls from which you could switch to. These controls are "Shade" and "Wraith". The only differences between both controls are the function of the Control Stick and C Stick. You'll have to see which one you feel more comfortable with when progressing through the game, so there aren't any "terrible controls" in Geist. You'll just have to master either of the styles to progress through the game.

Gameplay Rating: 10/10

Story

You are John Raimi, a CR-2 agent focusing his studies completely on biological and chemical threats. Your college friend, Thomas Bryson, joined the CR-2 as well, and went on an undercover mission as a Volks scientist to study the Volks employees and find evidence of their illegal activities. After downloading some virus data from the Volks compound, you make your escape. Halfway through the adventure, some Volks officers interrupt and fire their arms at you. You shoot your way through, fight a strange boss, and make your way toward the CR-2 chopper.

Something weird happens to one of the CR-2 grunts and he started shooting his teammates, Commander Juliao, and even you... John Raimi. This is when you become a ghost and have the abilities to possess hosts and objects. You meet a green ghost named Gigi along your adventures and she helps you out of a Volks simulation before you get brainwashed. Your adventures carry on from that moment, now THAT is good gaming!

Story Rating: 10/10

Graphics/Sounds

This is where the score decreases a tiny bit. The graphics and sounds were amazing, but not entirely perfect. Just like any GameCube game, the graphics and sound lacks. But this game's graphics and sound have improved from any other GameCube game. The graphics are all right, the scenario have been properly detailed with necessary objects that complete the setting. The brightness and sound options are entirely up to your demand, the lighting and textures are amazingly beautiful. But I feel that it could be a little better with the graphics. There aren't a lot of variety of background song choices.

Most of the hosts have either a white, yellow, or red aura around them to tell whether they can be possessed or not. They probably should have had made the aura a bit more thinner because the aura that frames the body is too thick, sticks out a little too much, and even passes through objects such as tables, chairs and even walls. That isn't much of a major problem, more of a minor problem though but it still is scored high for the good music (although not too many) and great graphics!

Graphics/Sounds Rating: 9/10

Play Time/ Replayability

The game isn't that long neither is it too short. I was able to pass through it in a day using my friend's file when he was playing. The first level is really short, and there are only nine levels throughout the game. The first level is supposed to be a tutorial though, so I guess it's alright. But as I said before, the game isn't too short either. Some of these levels are extremely long and took me hours to complete because not only are they levels, but they also have stages in each one.

And for sure, once you have completed the game, you will SURELY want to play again. Maybe there were some more items to examine for your Text Log, maybe you skipped a few Host Collectibles and Ghost Collectibles that you might want to collect. Remember, these Host Collectibles are important for Multiplayer. So if you skipped some, the only way to get it is to replay this awesome game; enjoy it as well.

Play Time/ Replayability Score: 9/10

Final Recommendations

If you are looking for a good FPS game that might puzzle you throughout times and will give a good scare, then Geist is the #1 choice for all those GameCube players who want to follow exactly those guidelines. If you are just looking for an FPS where you could shoot anything you want, then try another game.

If you partially like the game after reading my review, go check out another review. Read that one over and see if there are some stuff that you liked that I didn't mention here. If you still aren't sure, then try renting the game and play it. If you didn't like the game after renting it, don't buy it. If you enjoyed the game while playing it, totally buy it. All I have to say is play the game up until Level 4 (my favorite level). The game starts to become amazing from that level and you could truly make up your mind then.


OVERALL RATING: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/08

Game Release: Geist (US, 08/15/05)