Ghosthunter

The face on the holographic projector recognized the traits immediately. This was one who had the “eyes” for the job. He may be a self-involved stud-wannabe rookie cop from Kalamazoo, Mich., and the member of the Detroit Police Department most likely to be the butt of the joke, but there was something special about this one.

Of course, being in a ghost-haunted high school, the site of grisly but unexplained deaths two years previously, may have helped. Something about the right place at the right time. Or maybe it is the right place at the wrong time …

Regardless, a spectral warrior from the past has awakened and kidnapped the partner of Det. Lazarus. The ghost offers her whatever her heart wishes in exchange for one thing – flesh. It is a ghastly spectral image, menacing, shifting in and out of time, and it needs to be put down.

But let’s step out of the game realm for just a moment and talk about the game.

There is little doubt that Namco has achieved a standard in three-dimensional characters and environments that is both consistent and delightfully eye pleasing. But for the pending PlayStation2 release of Ghosthunter (slated for a mid-August release), the company – in concert with the developers, SCEE Cambridge – has integrated a solid storyline, characters with personality, and a terrific musical score to set the tone of a shooter-fright title that will have gamers playing long into the night.

The game itself is built on a maze mapboard. There are several ways to get to a choke point, but eventually you must arrive there in order to advance the game. Minor puzzles stand in your way, and – of course – you will have to contend with ghosts and ghouls that come in a variety of menacing sizes and shapes.

The game begins with a cutscene that introduces two ethereal protagonists, and then flashes forward to the present. Two Detroit Police Officers arrive outside the abandoned high school to check out reports of mysterious goings-on. Apparently whatever was happening was enough to scare a demolition crew into vacating their job site.

To truly set up (and what would a good terror tale be without a little stupidity on the part of the central characters) the action, the partners split up. Lured by wailing voices, Lazarus heads into the basement where he discovers a machine with an ominous button, which (naturally – as in more stupidity) he pushes, and releases the ghosts of those murdered on the premises into the hallways and classrooms of the decrepit building.

He also wakes up the guardian (translate that to holographic computer-generated representation of the original ghost hunter), who sets about training him to hunt ghosts, whether he likes it or not. After all, when you are given two weapons and then a revenant shows up to try to ‘disarm’ you – not as in take away your weapons, but as in rip your arms off – you have little choice but to defend yourself with the best weaponry you can.

And thus the game’s intrigue and action begins.

The game itself has some amazing little additions that make for a unique experience. If the right portal is found, Lazarus can summon Astral from within him. Astral is a spirit (a ghost if you will) that can fly about turn switches and such. She is comely and a little skittish, but a valuable ally. Button taps will tuck her safely away inside the detective.

The controls have been kept simplistic, but are a little sluggish when it comes to targeting. Basically you are in free-run mode, and when you encounter spirits, you switch into hunting mode, enabling the right thumbstick as your targeting controller. This moves slowly, but the game does counter with proximity target locks so that you don’t have to be dead in the center of the target to use your weapon. The R2 button controls the lock-down device that gives the target a permanence in the “real world” and enables you to shoot it. If you lock it down, and tag it with the gun well enough, you will re-capture the ghost. The ghost’s energy powers the pulse weapon you use, so you have a self-perpetuating source of ammo.

While the game is graphically stellar, the musical score really shines and sets the mode – which for the most part is edge-of-your-seat, get-ready-for-the-monster-to-jump-out-at-you thrills and chills. The game uses solid voice acting to set up the characters’ personalities, and the music will give you all the clue you need that something is about to happen.

While Ghosthunter is somewhat linear in nature, the game still looks terrific and plays really well. The preview build provided showed off a title that has it all – challenge, looks, story and audio support. If you like shooter titles with a twist, mark Ghosthunter down as a title you want to see.