Casper

"No way is this as bad as people make Out"

Now, when I was wandering down the Mansion Hallway taking the stai.... scratch that, start again. When I was wandering around in the attic looking for a bunch of Old PS2 games, I happened to come along a box of Old Playstation games. And top of the box, was Casper. Now, I had a nostalgia trip up in that attic of mine, as I remembered the amount of hours I logged into this game. It was perhaps, the most fun I have ever had for the Playstation 1. Even funne than Spyro. Now, I have Aspergers Syndrome, so I may be biased in favor of Puzzle Games, but there is no denying that this was a decent game. Oh, and to those who caught me going off on a tangent, I started to play the game once I found it again.

Graphics: 8/10 - For a Playstation Game, if people can remember back before the PS3, 360, Wii's etc, the graphics were amazing. The entire Whipstaff Manor, the setting of the game, was 3D and was very detailed. For example, on the trees outside, you could see the individual leaves, or at least, I could see the leaves. Another example, Fatso, your rather obese spectral uncle, the first time you meet him, or rather, the second time (in the first time, he bolts to the kitchen), he is eating food, and his body moves perfectly to reflect that. Hands taking food, then going up to his Mouth. The only downside to Fatso is the food does not pass straight through him.

Sound: 6/10 - very basic, a generic soundtrack, much as I love this game, the soundtrack does not reflect the quality of the game, I mean, the game is based on the movie, but they don't even use any of the movie tracks. And another thing, there is only so much times you can hear creaking, or Casper saying "Ow!" before it just gets downright annoying.

Story: 8/10 - Not a doubt in my mind about this. Let me lay it out straight for you guys, you are a ghost, known as Casper McFadden. You meet a fleshbag, or a human, called Kat Harvey, and you fall in love, or at least, it is hinted that you fall in love. See, there's only one problem. You are a ghost, so you can't kiss her. SO that is the premise of the game, you go about trying to achieve your dad, J.L McFadden's (I don't believe it is mentioned in the game but is mentioned in the movie), greatest invention, The Lazarus, a machine that can bring ghosts back to life. Now, where this game differs from the movie is that The Ghostly Trio destroy the Lazarus, which is the premise of the game.

Gameplay - 9/10 - So, you go about the house looking for the pieces. Along the way, you have a couple of boss fights, against The Ghostly Trio, Stretch - The Leader of the Gang, he is the tallest and the thinnest, not to mention the meanest, Fatso - The obese ghost I mentioned before, as you can surmise, he has a bit of a belly, and also, there are hints that he may not be straight, as he loves to dress up in women's clothing. And lastly, Stinky - No prizes for guessing what he is like, his idea of fun is breathing on people. And at the end, you have to fight Carrigan. Now, in your basic form, there is no way you can achieve this, so you get powerups. But you do not however, receive these in the traditional manner, no, you have to assemble portraits to get these powerups. These portraits come in chunks of 4, scattered about the mansion, and there are many portraits. Taking the time to find the portraits is worth it, as the powerups are amusing, such as Hammerhead Casper, or Mega Casper.

In all, I would recommend buying this game if you find it cheap. I really enjoyed it, and must be off to actually start playing it. Overall - 7/10

Plusses + = Easy to Pick up Gameplay, Fun Storyline
Minuses - = Music

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/24/07