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Geist
for the GameCube has been long anticipated by many (including
myself) and getting the chance to play it at this year's Electronic
Entertainment Expo (E3) was one of the highlights. Although they
only let us play the multi-player rather than the main game
(grrr…) it gave us all a good taste of what to expect before it
(hopefully) hits our shores by the end of the year.
The
title is primarily is a First-Person-Shooter, where you play a
geist. You can possess bodies which have a number of different
weapons, so although there didn’t appear to be any weapons you
could pick up there were a few to choose from if you swapped
bodies. The main problem with doing that is, in the multi-player at
least, it left the host body vulnerable to attack for two seconds
after you left it leaving your opponent with an easy kill, which
scuppers any ideas you have about just leaving your host body when
you get low on health.
The
controls are extremely intuitive; in the way seemingly only
Nintendo knows how, and it was so easy to pick up it makes me
wonder how some companies get it so wrong. You use the main
analogue-stick to move and strafe and the smaller C-stick for
looking around you. Couple this with using the R trigger to shoot
and the A button for possessing a body (which you don’t use as
much) and you have a set of great, if common controls – but
it’s the spot-on analogue calibration that sets this title apart.
The
effects when you possess a body are interesting, on your screen you
go bright red for a short time which very clearly indicates you
have entered a body so there is no confusion whether you are in
solid form or not. When it comes to finding your opponent you can
see very clearly small particles of light circling them so there is
no hiding by standing still and pretending to just be an inanimate
body.
This
was a highly enjoyable game at E3 and judging from what was
playable should provide a good gaming experience for anyone with a
little purple (or black, or platinum) box under their TV.
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