|
"Nintendo's
flagship release for the GameCube was an effort to
appeal to multiple generations. In most venues it
succeeds; but in other veins it fails."
No Mario?
Since 1985 Luigi has played a secondary role to his more
notable brother, Mario. Heck, in the original Mario
Bros. , Luigi was limited to being "player
2" in a green outfit. After his cloning debut, the
thinner Italian brother was given special
characteristics to distinguish himself from his brother.
With the reputation of jumping high, Luigi was a
contender on every platform since; yet still his
notorious brother out shadowed him in gameplay and
recognition. Hey, you never saw Luigi on a cereal box
have you?
(showing my age now...shhh)
Luigi received an odd letter from his brother Mario, and
told Luigi to meet him at midnight at a mansion that he
just won. Not remembering entering any contests, Luigi
suits up and heads out. Upon arrival, the eerie mansion
is nothing more than a huge abandoned house that seeps
with creepiness. The flicker of candlelight's, the
whipping of a breeze; and Luigi is about to lose his
lunch.
After encountering what seems to be a supernatural
power, Luigi runs into a quirky Professor. Professor E.
Gadd is more of a mad scientist then a Professor but is
determined to eliminate the ghostly presence throughout
the mansion. After further research, the overpowering
ghosts have captured Mario and it is up to Luigi to save
his brother Mario.
Armed with only a high-tech-GameBoy and a super-powered
vacuum; Luigi puts aside his fears and trenches through
the gloomy ominous of the mansion.
Marioooooo.. ohhhh... Mariooooooo?
The premise behind Luigis Mansion is simple.
Those familiar with the 80's classic Ghost Busters ,
will feel right at home. Your goal is to eliminate the
threat of ghosts throughout each room within the
mansion.
Throughout the game you are given three objects. The
first is your trusty flashlight, which can stun ghosts.
The GameBoy Horror is a modified GameBoy that is
used to detect ghosts, and give you a map of the
mansion. Your final item is the Poltergust 3000 designed
by Prof. Gadd to suck up the ghosts.
Ghost catching is fairly straightforward and gameplay is
classic 3D adventure; a la Mario 64 . Somewhat
more linear than M64, the bread-and-butter of the game
is to suck up those naughty ghosts.
The left analog stick moves trusty Luigi around.
Pressure sensitive, Luigi can go from tiptoeing around
corners, to sprinting in hallways away from bomb-spuing
ghosts. The right analog stick controls the flashlight
and vacuum direction. While it does take a few minutes
to get used to the awkward style, it quickly becomes
second nature and easily mastered. If you are familiar
with console driven FPS (first person shooters)
this will come instinctively.
To open doors and examine items; including walls and
other inanimate objects use the trusty "A"
button (it's the BIG green one!). To pull up your
GameBoy Horror use the "X" button, and
pressing "Y" allows you to have a first person
perspective of the mansion. This is semi-useful to
identify items on walls and give you another
perspective. This is used more than you think, because
at times viewing certain items (especially on walls)
cannot be fully pictured unless you use this option. The
awkward little "Z" button is used to show the
inventory of our pal Luigi. Your right trigger button
("R") turns on the high-powered vacuum action
of the Poltergust 3000. To throw the sucker in reverse
use your left trigger button ("L").
I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts!
To capture these haunting haunts, requires use of your
flashlight and vacuum. Before you can snag a ghost it
must be stunned with your flashlight. Once stunned, hit
your right trigger button and hold on! Once caught in
the vortex of the Poltergust, pull back on your right
analog stick in the opposite direction of the ghost.
Each ghosts power meter is displayed, and once it gets
down to "zero" the ghost is yours and all is
well.
To throw a wrench into the simplicity, ghosts will toss
numerous things in your way and if you hit them the
ghost will go free. Not to worry though, the ghosts’
power will not increase and you don't really have to
start over. While "normal" ghosts are quite
easy, certain boss ghosts are more challenging and
stunning them takes patience and strategy.
Your Poltergust is not limited in just sucking up
baddies. Certain ghosts throughout the mansion are
called "elementals" and can be defined by
their color. These elementals enable to shoot a
projectile of fire, water or ice. Once captured use your
left trigger button to shoot an elemental blast. This
method is not only beneficial to harm ghosts; but also
can be used to solve puzzles and trigger items.
The real trick, again, is to be efficient using both
analog sticks in combination with the right trigger
button. Once you have the system nailed, you will be on
your way to ghost-busting bliss.
Aside from catching ghosts, each room is distinctly
unique offering challenging puzzles that can range from
blowing out all of the candles; to finding secret
compartments. Catering to both young and old, the
puzzles are somewhat complex at times; but still do-able
for the younger gamer.
The GameCube demo disk.
What the game really boils down to is to show the world
the capabilities of the GameCube. Most realize the
storyline is fairly weak, and the game is dismally
short. As a flagship release, Nintendo gambled on using
the popularity of Mario, and converting it into a visual
and audio feast for the critiques.
The attention to detail is simply amazing. Few games, if
any, can be compared to the matriculate detail given in Luigis
Mansion . Probably the easiest recognizable feat is
the lighting effects. The light from your flashlight
accurate depicts shadows and movements. Not only are the
lighting effects accurate but they are also incredibly
realistic. As you move Luigi around dust will scuff from
the floor and tiny specs of dirt will drift in the light
of your flashlight. Candles flicker as their shadows are
physically believable.
One thing I love about the GC is the use of fog effects.
The fog effects within the mansion are jaw dropping.
Luigis breath will crystallize and fade, and dust will
accurately move when expected. Probably even more
impressive than the lighting and fog effects is the
actual physics of the game.
I didn't expect to be floored by physics from a 3D
adventure game. I expect great physics from racing
games, but not a platformer! I was amazed to see
how my environment reacted to the Poltergust. Flames
would stretch, cloth would be pulled, and dust would
race toward my vacuum. The closer you got to an object,
the more realistic it became. A prime example of the use
is a throw that was laying over what seemed to be a
chair. Pointing your vacuum at it a distance away it
would lightly flutter. The closer you got to it, the
more it jumped until it unwrapped and was suck into the
vacuum.
While the graphics are amazing, it isn't perfect. Many
rooms and backgrounds were low-detailed and drab. The
pixelation on certain items were apparently overlooked;
simply because so much muscle went into the physics of
the game. It didn't detract from the game ever, and the
good far outweighed the bad by all means.
The audio nearly as impressive. The background music,
although unchanging, was catchy and fit the spookiness
the mansion gave. Sound effects were comical and
cartoonish, yet the detail was unmatched by any other of
the released titles.
What impressed me about the audio, was the voice acting
by Luigi. His voice would change as the situation would
change. From a stuttering scared Italian, to a confident
ghost buster. And who can't love how he calls for his
brother Mario by pressing "trusty Big Green
button"? The only questionable play in Luigis
Mansion was the voice of Professor Gadd. Speaking to
us in a garbled language what seemed to be a mix of
Japanese and Pig Latin; Gadd sounded like a monkey in a
blender. Aside from that, the audio was impeccable and
truly outstanding.
That was fun, let's do it again!
I had a ton of playing this game once. Clocking in at
under 10 hours of gameplay from start to finish; this is
an incredibly short game... and short lived. I'm
all for games that are a romp to play, and is classic
"renter" material. But, for their flagship
release; I question the integrity of Nintendo.
Nowhere near the vastness of other Mario-type games, Luigis
Mansion was formed for one reason, and one reason
alone... show off the systems potential. If adding
various mansions and/or levels; or even solving
additional puzzles this could have doubled the game play
could have been a title worth remembering.
The game will give you 8+ hours of fun, but doesn't
warrant a full-dollar purchase. This is classic
rent-bait and easily beaten within five days. The
younger gamer will get even more game time out of it,
and although the youngin's might not appreciate the
complexity of the graphics; they will however have a
ball playing it 'till the wee hours of the night. For
parents considering a game for the GC, this is a must
have for your tike.
|
