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.
