"Not Bad, Just Not Great"

This game is one of those games that is not bad, just not great. Unfortunately, this game did not do well because the "T" rating scared off younger kids and the Disney label warned the older kids away. I was lucky enough to find this for $10, so I figured, why not?

This game pits you as Zeke who is looking for a job. Of course, you are tricked and have to rid a mansion of all its ghosts (or something like that-i skip cut scenes). Now for an in-depth look...

SOUND: 6.5/10

The sound is not bad, it just gets old after a while. The sound-effects are okay, but again could've been better. That seems like the theme for this game...okay but could've been better.

GRAPHICS: 6.5/10

Same exact thing as sound. The graphics seem a bit dull, and not well done, however it gets the job done. One complaint though...the Shriveled Souls look like a gray balloons...horrible...

GAMEPLAY: 5/10

Ah...Gameplay...where most games fail...Anyway this game can get a little repetitive after a while. Go to room. Solve puzzle. Turn on light. Go to room. Solve puzzle. Turn on light. Sound boring? You do it at least 50 times. Except for a few surprise battles with a guy called Atticus Thorn, you do the same thing over and over again. The puzzles can be fun sometimes, but other times they are just downright frustrating. Sometimes you will find yourself stuck in a room for a 30+ minutes trying to find out how to turn on one stupid light. Bottom line is this game can be good at times, but other times it is just plain boring.

RE-PLAYABILITY-3/10

I suppose if you want to replay it at a higher difficulty setting you could...but honestly, after you finish the game there is no real reason to replay it.

BUY OR RENT: After reading all of this, you still want to try it, I suggest renting it first. Then if you like it you could buy it. The game is probably pretty cheap these days ($20-$30). So if you really want it go ahead.

BOTTOM LINE:

I have to admit, this game can be fun sometimes, it's just that the fun moments are spread out over tons of frustrating puzzles. This was a good idea, just not well done. If you do want to try the haunted mansion genre, i would recommend Lugi's Mansion, a much better game than this.

OVERALL: 5/10 (not average)

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/05