May 15th, 2011
By General Smacktard

Genre: First Person Shooter
Systems: GameCube
Developer: n-Space
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Late 2011

This game has been in development for over a year now, and after a short disappearance from production, it is back this year for another trial run. At first, you are sent with a squad to inspect reportedly ghastly projects going on inside the Volks Corporation. However, when the mission ends up going terribly wrong, you find yourself no longer as a disease control agent, but a specter free of your body. As a Poltergeist ghost, you can possess anything from a soldier to a pile of dog food. You can even tamper with electronics to help you remain undetected. You are known as a Spectral Operative, and you and a team of ghostly companions must make your way to the center of a compound to abduct some powerful life form’s body.

If you are looking for a shooter game, this is not the idea behind Geist. It is more of a puzzle-solving game, but with action, adventure, and guns. It is really quite a revolutionary idea, and in my opinion could go either way. However, I am leaning towards the “good” side, based on reviews I’ve read and the unique plot of the game. You’ll have to use quite a bit of stealth if you plan on making it through the game, because you aren’t as invisible as you may think. Your body is deep inside the compound, and there is sure to be a large amount of security watching over the complex. Also, do not underestimate small creatures or pieces of technology; sometimes you need a mouse to go places a human cannot, and you might need to possess a camera to make sure you aren’t running into trouble.

There will also be a multiplayer mode incorporated in the game, which sounds to me like it could be very interesting. Nintendo has teamed up with Florida-based developer n-Space to produce this innovative new game. Peter MacDougall, Executive vice president of sales and marketing, said this about Geist: "This collaboration with n-Space is another step we're taking to expand our global development resources as we continue to make games that appeal to all gaming audiences."

Geist Fact Sheet
An unseen supernatural power prowls the hallways, laboratories and chambers of a shadowy corporate compound, terrorizing living beings wherever it lurks. That unseen power is YOU! Prepare for a hauntingly innovative first-person adventure with a supernatural twist!

Haunt and horrify humans and animals as a ghost, possess their physical bodies and assume their identities! Possess a dog and scamper around the compound, bypassing security. Possess a guard and use his own assault rifle against your enemies! Inhabit a camera or computer and use the technology to your benefit. Exploit the unique abilities and equipment of your victims to access and explore new areas of the compound, solve puzzles and unravel your own ghostly fate!

Inventive multiplayer modes combine fierce first-person combat with unique character possession game play.

Game Storyline:
You are John Raimi, a disease-control agent with the federal government, on loan to an elite counterterrorism unit. Your team is sent to investigate the shadowy Volks Corporation. When the operation goes horribly wrong, you are captured and subjected to a ghastly experiment that rips your spirit from your physical body. You now roam the halls of the Volks Corporation compound as a spectral phantom, using your powers to scare and possess any human or animal that crosses your path.

If you're going to have any hope of finding your own body, you must employ your hair-raising power of possession to control humans, animals and objects, using the unique abilities of each to explore the compound, solve puzzles and strike at your enemies. Along the way, you must discover the secret of the Volks Corporation to unravel the mystery of your condition and find a way to recover your human form.

How to progress through the game:
As a powerful specter, you can deviously manipulate objects in the environment to scare humans and animals. Once you have struck terror in the heart of your prey, you can possess and control their physical bodies and use them to accomplish your objectives. Possess more than a dozen unique character types, and use their unique skills, equipment and even memories to complete your goals. Possession targets range from heavily-armed soldiers to dogs and mice that can reach out-of-the-way areas. Different characters react to the world from different perspectives: As an engineer, you may have access to restricted areas and computers, while as a mouse you may find yourself inexplicitly drawn to mouse traps baited with cheese.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features:
As a ghost, you are invisible to humans and move so fast that everything around you appears in slow motion. While in this phantom form, you can effortlessly pass through chain-link fences or through small cracks in walls. Most importantly, you can possess everyday objects like lights, computers and fire extinguishers and manipulate them to terrify nearby humans or animals. Once a living creature has been frightened, you can possess and control its body. As you play, you'll need to face challenges from two unique angles -as a lurking spirit and as a possessed human or animal.