Ghosthunter

"If you liked Evil Dead you'll love Ghost Hunter!"

A pretty good game, one which I would gave a higher rating to but it was just too short. I wonder about these companies, the tend to make a well rounded game with good graphics and such, but just cut it short as length goes.


GRAPHICS
Very good. The graphics are crisp and clean. The character models are nicely detailed, and the CG animations are sharp.

SOUND & MUSIC
Good for both. The music keeps the pace with the game, and changes when you are fighting an enemy. The sounds are good too, from the weapon sounds to water effects, to creature sounds, all are well done.

PLAYABILITY & CONTENT
Good->Fair. Plainly stated, the game was just too short. The storyline was good and had the basis of an original idea. The game reminded me of a movie called Evil Dead with Bruce Campell. The game was a campy/horror type, with plenty of ghosts and slapstick humor. You and your partner Steele visit an old school that was the place of brutal murders, as you explore the school the main character (you) Lazarus Jones, inadvertently releases a swarm of ghosts trapped in a machine (just like in Ghost Busters). This is where the game begins. Your partner is kidnapped by the lead ghost and you travel through portals in search of her. There really isn't a large variety of ghosts, but enough to be sufficient. They probably could have done more as far as variety of enemies go. Each level has a boss character that you must defeat.

The boss battles aren't very hard and you shouldn't have much trouble with them. As you capture ghosts, they are stored in the containment unit from the beginning of the game, you then can view them and a description of what they are. Unfortunately, after you beat the first level, they automatically plunge you into the other levels without the ability to view the machine anymore.

You have a spectral partner who possesses you allowing you to see the ghosts, Lazarus calls her Astral, Kate is her real name. At times during the game, you can summon Astral to help you past certain spots, she flies around and has various abilities that she gains as the game progresses.

There aren't many weapons which was a bit disappointing, and the only secondary weapon you carry is the Ghost Grenade, which is what you use to trap the ghosts. You first have to damage the ghosts with other weapons, then you throw the Ghost Grenade at them to trap them. Some weapons run off standard ammo like shotgun shells, others use spectral energy for ammo.

There isn't much as far as environment interaction goes, there isn't much to shoot or destroy, only a few things. Also there is no free jumping, which means only at certain hotspots you can actually jump. You also cannot move around in first person view which gets rather annoying when you're in the middle of a fight. You have to stop and switch to first person, look around, then exit out to avoid attacks that part needed some work. I never understood why they just have to make a game where you can't move around in first person.

Another thing was the saving features, even though the option to save is always available, it will always load you at the last checkpoint you passed. So when you save, make sure it's right after you cross a checkpoint.

As mentioned, the game is just way too short. You can probably beat the game in a days time there aren't many levels. You are better off just waiting for a bit for the price to drop, but even then it might not be worth the money. Overall, all things considered, Ghost Hunter is a game worth playing.

CONTROLS
Presets or mapped.

SAVING FEATURES
Checkpoints only.

THE GOOD
Cool concept.
Graphics and CG animations.
Good humor.

THE BAD
Few weapons.
Too short.
Not much environment interaction.

THE UGLY
Nothing notable.

OVERALL RATING 7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/24/04