HorrorTober 2 - Ghosthunter (PS2)
For our second installment of HorrorTober, we jump to the PS2 to a little known game called Ghosthunter. I actually dipped into one of the gaming groups I'm a part of on Facebook for suggestions for games for this month, so I want to thank Jordan Davis for recommending this one! Let's check it out.
The controls for this game are really easy, and really fun. How do they stand up with the game itself though?
Your arsenal is supplied to you throughout the game. You begin with your standard police issue pistol, and later are given the rest of your weapons sequentially throughout the game, like a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and a pulse rifle to name a few. The cool thing is, while some guns use regular ammo, others use ghost energy for their power, which can be collected and replenished by dealing damage to and killing spirits.
The spirits are your one enemy throughout the entire game, but they come in many shapes and sizes. Most common are the blue spook spirits, but there are other forms such as howlers, redneck snipers (yes that is what they're actually called), revenants, and little girls in the swamp realm that let loose their stuffed teddy bears to try and kill you. Again, totally serious. Fighting your enemies comes down to two methods, either capturing them with your capture grenade, or just destroying them. Some spirits must be captured however, so no matter what you're dealing "death" damage to everything you come across, and in the instances where you need to capture them, just hurl your capture grenade at them and the job is done.
Your capture grenade is the most useful item you have. If you find yourself pinned down by multiple enemies, you can stick this to one of them and two things will pop up. The first is a health bar for the ghost it's attached to. This bar is green at the top and red at the bottom, and as you deal damage to them, this bar depletes and the capture grenade works it's magic. The other thing that pops up is a timer, which tells you how long you have to try and destroy the spirit before the capture grenade automatically returns to you. The amount of time that is shown on this when it's first stuck to a spirit is dependent on how much damage it's taken. So if you throw it at a fully healthy ghost, it stays for a short time, but the weaker they are the longer it stays.
While fighting the ghosts, you'll see two different colored orbs fall out of them, blue ones and red/orange ones. The blue ones are the source of your spirit power, this gives you ammo for your weapons that use spirit power, and also fills up Astral's bar so she can use her different abilities. Who's Astral? I'll get to her in a second. The other orbs that fall replenish Laz's health bar. Both colored orbs aren't strictly found by fighting spirits, as they can be found scattered through the levels as well.
Playing the game takes place through one of three modes, these are the ones I mentioned in the controls section. Explore mode is where you'll probably spend most of your time. Your weapons are holstered, Laz moves quickest in this mode, and you're able to interact with the world around you. Hunter mode is where you'll do all your fighting. You can still move in this mode, but it's a lot slower than explore mode, and it's the only way you can have your weapons drawn including the capture grenade. The last mode, First Person mode, is for when you want or need to take more precise shots. For me personally, this mode only saw use when I was using the sniper in the game. You're unable to move in this mode, so it leaves you wide open and defenseless to anything around you.
So, who's Astral? When Lazarus accidentally releases all the spirits from their prison, Astral is the one who essentially binds herself to Laz so she can assist him. At certain points in the levels, there are glowing symbols on the ground that you can use to summon Astral, after which you gain control of her spirit form. With her spirit, you can float around the levels, reaching things that you couldn't as Laz, and use her abilities to solve puzzles to open paths up for him. Her abilities come in spirit form. Certain enemies, when you kill them, you'll see a counter pop up that will say "1 out of X". After you've met the requirements, Astral gains the ability of that spirit, and they all offer different stuff. For instance the revenants let you interact with some physical objects, so this can be used to flip switches and pick objects up, and the howler ability lets you charm other ghosts into helping you get through an area by opening up any doors that are shut and blocking you.
Overall, this ones a pretty fun game from the moment you pop it in. But let's see if it's challenging at all.
The spirits bring a moderate challenge to the player. Each time you meet a new ghost-type, it's a matter of figuring out how to approach them. Do you rush in with your shotgun? Try and snipe them from farther away? Once you figure this out, you'd think it'd get easier, but it stays pretty level because soon enough you're facing multiples of them at the same time, and even a wave of them with tougher types. Then, once you get through that, you're meeting a new ghost friend. So it's not enough to rip your hair out, but it's not a cake-walk either.
Bosses are also a moderate challenge, but a tad bit easier than the spirits. They require the same approach, just deal enough damage to re-kill them, and since they're tougher these fights last longer. But in a couple of instances, you're not only dealing with the boss but other enemies attacking you as well. Dealing with all of that coming at you can definitely feel like a lot to handle, but it isn't too overwhelming.
Lastly, the puzzles are just above an easy challenge. They're all short and sweet, but can have some moments where you feel utterly lost. It can usually be chalked up to there being a hidden entrance in the ceiling or floor that's obscured unless you're right on top/underneath it. In this, your biggest enemy is the camera.
In the end, this game brings a decent challenge. You'll enjoy watching the story unfold and have your work cut out for you along the way. So let's see what was good and bad about this one before we get into my final verdict on Ghosthunter.
- Howler Stealth. As I mentioned earlier, different types of spirits require different methods of destroying them. I loved coming across the Howlers in this game. They're chunky and seem more afraid of you than you are of them, because if they go out to cover their path and they can see you, they scurry into hiding. You have to find things to hide behind so you don't scare them, and follow them through different areas until they get to their nest and then, while they're sleeping, move in for the kill.
- Camera Angle of Doom. The left-to-right action of the camera is perfect. However, the up-and-down isn't the greatest. There's some great spots in this game where there's just gore everywhere, including down in some small pits. Adjusting the camera to look down into these spots is near impossible unless you position yourself at a perpendicular stance, then look down and turn the camera to the left or right. It's also hindering when floating around as Astral in her segments of the game. You'd think being able to freefloat you could just do whatever you want with the camera, but it has it's limits that make some spots difficult to find.
For the horror aspect, Ghosthunter isn't really a scary game. None of the ghosts commit any sort of jump scares, but the subject matter is definitely horror inspired. So if you were hoping to get scared by this one you probably won't, but don't let that deter you away from it.
The Story
Detective Lazarus Jones is a rookie detective in Detroit who's brought out with his partner on a routine call to an abandoned high school. The school, years prior, had been the site of a mass murder when one of the professors murdered ten students. Lazarus and his partner, Anna, are called out for a report on strange sounds coming from the building, but she believes it to be bogus so they split up to clear the school faster and get it over with. In the basement, he finds a lab and begins poking around when he presses a button on a machine causing it to release some sort of gas that knocks him out. When he regains consciousness, he goes to find Anna, but when they meet up she is dragged away by what Lazarus soon finds out is a spirit. He returns to the lab where a sentient computer explains that Lazarus accidentally released a large number of spirits from the machine he had fiddled with, and in doing so, also gained the ability to see spirits with the naked eye. The computer also tells him that to rescue his partner he must find and talk to Professor Richmond, the alleged killer from the mass murder who is the creator of the Spectral Gateway that Lazarus must use to find and rescue his partner. Will he be able to return the spirits to their prison, rescue his partner, and will he also find out what really happened on the night of the mass murder?The Controls
For Ghosthunter, the controls are really quite simple. The joysticks control Laz's movement (left) and camera/aiming (right), L1 brings up a weapon wheel for you to select from your arsenal, R1 fires the weapon you have equipped, R2 throws your capture grenade, and L2 re-centers the camera behind Laz. X acts as your action button, while O, △, and □ activate Explore, Hunter, and First-Person Modes respectively, but I'll get more into those in the next section. Lastly, Up and Down on the D-Pad make Lazarus stand up and crouch, and Left and Right make him switch between normal hanging and shimmy hanging where applicable.The controls for this game are really easy, and really fun. How do they stand up with the game itself though?
The Gameplay
This one is a third-person action/horror shooter (yeah a bit of a mouthful for a genre). The story itself plays out pretty linear, but there are some tiny areas you can venture to off the path to find different items.Your arsenal is supplied to you throughout the game. You begin with your standard police issue pistol, and later are given the rest of your weapons sequentially throughout the game, like a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and a pulse rifle to name a few. The cool thing is, while some guns use regular ammo, others use ghost energy for their power, which can be collected and replenished by dealing damage to and killing spirits.
The spirits are your one enemy throughout the entire game, but they come in many shapes and sizes. Most common are the blue spook spirits, but there are other forms such as howlers, redneck snipers (yes that is what they're actually called), revenants, and little girls in the swamp realm that let loose their stuffed teddy bears to try and kill you. Again, totally serious. Fighting your enemies comes down to two methods, either capturing them with your capture grenade, or just destroying them. Some spirits must be captured however, so no matter what you're dealing "death" damage to everything you come across, and in the instances where you need to capture them, just hurl your capture grenade at them and the job is done.
Your capture grenade is the most useful item you have. If you find yourself pinned down by multiple enemies, you can stick this to one of them and two things will pop up. The first is a health bar for the ghost it's attached to. This bar is green at the top and red at the bottom, and as you deal damage to them, this bar depletes and the capture grenade works it's magic. The other thing that pops up is a timer, which tells you how long you have to try and destroy the spirit before the capture grenade automatically returns to you. The amount of time that is shown on this when it's first stuck to a spirit is dependent on how much damage it's taken. So if you throw it at a fully healthy ghost, it stays for a short time, but the weaker they are the longer it stays.
While fighting the ghosts, you'll see two different colored orbs fall out of them, blue ones and red/orange ones. The blue ones are the source of your spirit power, this gives you ammo for your weapons that use spirit power, and also fills up Astral's bar so she can use her different abilities. Who's Astral? I'll get to her in a second. The other orbs that fall replenish Laz's health bar. Both colored orbs aren't strictly found by fighting spirits, as they can be found scattered through the levels as well.
Playing the game takes place through one of three modes, these are the ones I mentioned in the controls section. Explore mode is where you'll probably spend most of your time. Your weapons are holstered, Laz moves quickest in this mode, and you're able to interact with the world around you. Hunter mode is where you'll do all your fighting. You can still move in this mode, but it's a lot slower than explore mode, and it's the only way you can have your weapons drawn including the capture grenade. The last mode, First Person mode, is for when you want or need to take more precise shots. For me personally, this mode only saw use when I was using the sniper in the game. You're unable to move in this mode, so it leaves you wide open and defenseless to anything around you.
So, who's Astral? When Lazarus accidentally releases all the spirits from their prison, Astral is the one who essentially binds herself to Laz so she can assist him. At certain points in the levels, there are glowing symbols on the ground that you can use to summon Astral, after which you gain control of her spirit form. With her spirit, you can float around the levels, reaching things that you couldn't as Laz, and use her abilities to solve puzzles to open paths up for him. Her abilities come in spirit form. Certain enemies, when you kill them, you'll see a counter pop up that will say "1 out of X". After you've met the requirements, Astral gains the ability of that spirit, and they all offer different stuff. For instance the revenants let you interact with some physical objects, so this can be used to flip switches and pick objects up, and the howler ability lets you charm other ghosts into helping you get through an area by opening up any doors that are shut and blocking you.
Overall, this ones a pretty fun game from the moment you pop it in. But let's see if it's challenging at all.
The Challenge (or lack thereof?)
Ghosthunter has a few areas that might bring some difficulty to the table, from the spirits, to the bosses and the puzzles.The spirits bring a moderate challenge to the player. Each time you meet a new ghost-type, it's a matter of figuring out how to approach them. Do you rush in with your shotgun? Try and snipe them from farther away? Once you figure this out, you'd think it'd get easier, but it stays pretty level because soon enough you're facing multiples of them at the same time, and even a wave of them with tougher types. Then, once you get through that, you're meeting a new ghost friend. So it's not enough to rip your hair out, but it's not a cake-walk either.
Bosses are also a moderate challenge, but a tad bit easier than the spirits. They require the same approach, just deal enough damage to re-kill them, and since they're tougher these fights last longer. But in a couple of instances, you're not only dealing with the boss but other enemies attacking you as well. Dealing with all of that coming at you can definitely feel like a lot to handle, but it isn't too overwhelming.
Lastly, the puzzles are just above an easy challenge. They're all short and sweet, but can have some moments where you feel utterly lost. It can usually be chalked up to there being a hidden entrance in the ceiling or floor that's obscured unless you're right on top/underneath it. In this, your biggest enemy is the camera.
In the end, this game brings a decent challenge. You'll enjoy watching the story unfold and have your work cut out for you along the way. So let's see what was good and bad about this one before we get into my final verdict on Ghosthunter.
PROS
- Amazing Story And Cast. The story for this one is really well done. New cop, makes a mistake, has to fix it, except the mistake involves being able to see dead people now. My favorite part is that Laz doesn't have the stereotypical reaction to this situation that occurs in a lot of other supernatural games/shows/movies/books. A lot of characters, when they cross that bridge, are hesitant at first but then open themselves up to it. When Laz finds all this out, he all but calls bullshit on the situation, and the only reason he gears up is to save his partner. Yes, he eventually accepts what is happening but not as fast or in the same manner as other characters in his position have. The best part about Laz? You might recognize his voice, because he's Pinky from Pinky and the Brain, but he's also the original voice of Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. They even give Laz a bit of Raph's attitude and wit.- Howler Stealth. As I mentioned earlier, different types of spirits require different methods of destroying them. I loved coming across the Howlers in this game. They're chunky and seem more afraid of you than you are of them, because if they go out to cover their path and they can see you, they scurry into hiding. You have to find things to hide behind so you don't scare them, and follow them through different areas until they get to their nest and then, while they're sleeping, move in for the kill.
CONS
- Too Much Combat Similarity. While it's a lot of fun, it's a lot of the same as well. No matter what ghost you're fighting, you're just dealing enough damage to it to destroy or capture it. There isn't a whole lot of differences, or ghosts that can only take damage in one spot, and it's kind of upsetting. It doesn't take away from the game a whole lot, but me personally, I enjoy enemies with various ways of destroying them. This just makes it feel like a generic third-person shooter at points.- Camera Angle of Doom. The left-to-right action of the camera is perfect. However, the up-and-down isn't the greatest. There's some great spots in this game where there's just gore everywhere, including down in some small pits. Adjusting the camera to look down into these spots is near impossible unless you position yourself at a perpendicular stance, then look down and turn the camera to the left or right. It's also hindering when floating around as Astral in her segments of the game. You'd think being able to freefloat you could just do whatever you want with the camera, but it has it's limits that make some spots difficult to find.
Final Verdict / Horror Level
This one can only be found on PS2, and it's around $20, but it is definitely worth every penny. The story pulls you in, Laz keeps you laughing, and despite it being repetitive, the combat is pretty fun. Having this one recommended to me, I went in completely unbiased and didn't do any research about it, and I was definitely pleased with the result. This one definitely deserves a spot in your collection.For the horror aspect, Ghosthunter isn't really a scary game. None of the ghosts commit any sort of jump scares, but the subject matter is definitely horror inspired. So if you were hoping to get scared by this one you probably won't, but don't let that deter you away from it.
