Grabbed by the Ghoulies Review

When it was announced that Rave was going to develop games for the Xbox, Nintendo fans were furious. Rare was the crown jewel in the Nintendo crown. Xbox users have a treat just in time for Halloween courtesy of Rare and Microsoft.

Now I bet you can't find that at Toys R Us.

Open wide!

Grabbed by the Ghoulies (GBTG) opens in comic book style as our Hero (Cooper) and his girlfriend (Amber) are trudging through a spooky forest at night. Clouds are gathering and the scene moves from one panel to another, it is clear that a real corker of a storm is about to let loose. As Cooper struggles to make sense of the map, Amber is clearly worn out from having to carry all of their supplies in a huge backpack (Ahh, Cooper! You gentleman! Who said Chivalry was dead?). Just in time, they spy a huge old Victorian style mansion. Complete with wrought iron fence and glaring gargoyles. When the owner of the mansion overhears Copper claiming that people who stay in such places are in danger of becoming prey for creeps or worse, Baron Von Ghoul decides its time the young Cooper is taught some manners. Two Ghoulies grab Amber and pull her into the house before Cooper has a chance to react. Cooper must venture into the mansion to save his girlfriend while avoiding scares and getting the tar beat out of him by the Ghoulies. It reminds me of Resident Evil if it were done by Fisher Price. Alternatively, you could call it My First Silent Hill.

The game begins with Cooper meeting Butler Crivens in the Main Hall where he gives you a brief tutorial on combat. Cooper must rely on his kicks and punches to dispatch wave after wave of Ghoulies. He can also make use of furniture, potted plants, broomsticks or just about anything else not bolted down in GhoulHaven Hall. Missile weapons can be improvised out of stacks of bottles, clay pots, and piles of hamburgers (?). Your first goal is to find and free Amber. You must explore the house in a room-by-room search. Upon entering each room, the door you entered through slams shut and is promptly barred by thorny roots that grow in front of it. As you move further into the room, the obvious exit slams shut and a question mark suddenly appears on the door signifying some criteria must be met before the door reopens. Usually, the trick to opening the door and escaping, is either dispatching the Ghoulies or finding a key hidden somewhere inside the items scattered around the room.

While it is a simple concept, Rare adds a bit of variety in each room by putting restrictions on combat. Icons appear in the upper left hand side of the screen and let you know what you have to do, such as: in one room you may only use weapons to lay out enemies, in another room you are forced to limit the carnage to only a specific type of Ghoulie or in another room you must get rid of everyone in a limited amount of time. As you get further into the game, GBTG begins mixing things up on you by adding several room rules icons at once (Such as killing all enemies in a certain amount of time using only weapons). Things get quite frantic but it only increases the fun. Violate any of the rules for a specific room and you will find your self running from The Reaper (If he touches you, poor Cooper faints instantly). As you move further into the mansion, you soon find that Amber is not the first person that has been snatched by the Baron. Scattered throughout the many rooms are bound and gagged prisoners that can only be freed by a key held by Baron Von Ghoul.

Come finish your breakfast, sonny!

Food fight! Yaaaay!

Even though the overall style is like a comic book, everything is rendered in 3D and most everything in each room can be destroyed or hurled at Ghoulies. The environment is scary but in a fun sort of way. Like the Haunted mansion at Disneyland, things are creepy but designed more to entertain you than scare you silly. Even the Ghoulies that are out to get you are silly. Skeletons, imps and zombies are standard fare but you will also encounter vampire chickens, haunted T.V.'s and enchanted chairs. Movement is controlled by the left thumb stick while combat is controlled by the right. Moving the thumb stick to the left causes Cooper to attack left, moving the thumb stick back causes you to strike behind you. It's simple to learn and allows you to battle large groups of Ghoulies but some that have played it have complained of lag (I did not notice this). The triggers allow you to rotate the cameras around Cooper, while the buttons let you pick up or drop items. In all controls are well done.

As you bash and kick your way from room to room, the staff of Ghoul Haven Hall appear from time to time to help you out. Ma Soupwell, the cook, leaves cans of soup around the mansion that act as power-ups. The butler, Crivens, gives you advice on how best to defeat the Ghoulies and helps you navigate around the many rooms in the mansion. Groundskeeper Fiddlesworth and housekeeper Babs Buffbrass will help you with weapons and directions to objectives.

Grabbed by The Ghoulies looks like a kids game at first glance, but thanks to all the extras Rare packs into their games, it's fun for anyone. The humor of the game comes though in every aspect of it. Many of the sound effects sound like they are done by a single person but this does not detract from the overall experience as I still laugh out loud when some of the effects start playing. I noticed a reference to Pulp Fiction at one point and in one of the many rooms, I saw a bound and gagged Harry Potter. (Oh man, that's precious! - 2Lions) For replay value, you may look for books hidden in each room that will unlock challenge levels. Complete the challenge level in time, and they in turn unlock extra features in the game.

Give yourself a treat this Halloween and grab Grabbed by The Ghoulies. Its level design, easy to learn combat system, humor and challenges posed by the icons that show up in each room make you want to play just one more room that will keep you up way too late. That, my friends, is the true mark of a fun game.