spook bear

Ever since Satoru Iwata has taken helm of Nintendo, the company’s direction has changed radically. Completely new consoles have been launched, new gameplay mechanics have been devised and new intellectual properties have been created. Geist is a beacon amidst this more diverse portfolio that sums up a new Nintendo. Taking a stale genre like the FPS and mixing it up to create a hybrid of styles is part of this fresh, globally aware initiative.

Being a phantom

In Raimi’s phantom form, you’ll have to find a tangible host once in a while as you can only survive without possessing a host for a limited time. As a phantom you’ll be given the ability to float, although gravity does affect you, so you cannot fly. As with living beings you’ll not be able to pass through thick, solid walls, but chained fences have small cracks so you can slip through them, which is the only exception. So don’t get too excited with the prospect of a second stab at life, as you won’t even be as powerful as Casper.

n-Space, the developers of Geist, throw you in at the deep end from the start. You’re John Raimi, the game's protagonist, a specialist in Biological and Chemical threats. Sent to the south of France by CR-2, an elite counter-terrorism group, your task is to meet up with your best friend Thomas - an investigator examining the wrong doings of the Volks Corporation. It all goes horribly wrong for our hero Raimi, who is then captured, and awakens to find himself separated from his body. Now the game really starts to heat up.

Assuming Raimi’s phantom form, you’ll uncover a deep plot to take over the world, via the use of converted ghosts trained to possess and assassinate important government officials. This intertwining story revolves around Alexander Volks whose interest in the dark arts and a tragic event in his life turn him into an extremist, hell bent on world domination. As a phantom, Raimi’s must acclimatise to his new abilities quickly, and stop Alexander’s plans to take over the world.

Video A - 6.3MB

Geist’s strengths are in its exploration elements, which subtly turn it towards a first person adventure. Wandering around the scenery and interacting with the world is a really enjoyable experience, that makes you appreciate the detailed level design of this title. The developers have taken a lot of time putting in lots of little gems to discover around the game world which make you grin - wander around the locker rooms and find... Samus’ helmet, or check one of the lab’s computer screens to witness a blue screen of death. Scouring around the world (much like Metroid Prime) is a big part of Geist. If you don’t explore, then accomplishing many of the puzzles becomes the monotonous act of approaching each item in turn, until you find something to possess, which would really sour your Geist experience. As a reward for your time and effort, and your sight seeing aptitude, you’ll be compensated with ghost and host collectibles which unlock heaps of multiplayer content.

Multiplayer

n-Space has created three energetic multiplayer modes; possession deathmatch, capture the host and hunt. Possession mode sees you take control of a host and kill anything that moves, in the capture the host mode you’ll score points through possessing as many bodies as possible and finally hunt mode sees you as a human host trying to track and kill as many ghosts as possible. The multiplayer modes can house as many as 8 players, four of which would have to be bots though, as there’s no LAN support for this title.

Graphically Geist certainly packs a punch, whilst as a phantom Raimi will see the world enhanced by stunning bloom lighting that looks absolutely splendid. Move closer to an object or piece of terrain and you’ll see stunningly detailed textures, which emphasises the need to explore the well-designed Volks site. On top of that, creatively killing enemies will uncover great rag doll physics to play with.

Video B - 6.8MB

A major ingredient of Geist's charm is the possession elements, which turns what could have been an average FPS into something far more memorable. In Raimi’s phantom form, you can control many non-living objects; the only snag is that you’ve got to scare vertebrates before being able to possess them. You’ll need to take control of other beings to complete certain tasks or puzzles, such as negotiating a locked door using a retina scan, or poisoning a crew of marines.

Almost all of the possession puzzles are not only entertaining to watch unfold but are ingenious in their design, which further compounds Geist as a hybrid of genres. At first the puzzles are quite basic, such as possessing a paint can and making it explode to scare a Volks employee. As you progress through the Volks site, the little explorer in you will have to investigate each area to unlock a chain of events, which will scare the character you need possess. One memorable chain will take you from burning a meal in an oven, blowing the smell at the chief, and for dessert throwing plates at the poor guy in a cheesy 80’s horror movie style.

Video C - 4.5MB

Boss Encounters

A tight release schedule it seems has come at a price, as grappling with the bosses in Geist can range from superb to down right mediocre. Some bosses like Cord take Geist’s original concepts and run wild with them; scuffling with Cord requires quick reactions to possess misfired grenades and detonate them next to him, presenting a devilish method for beating a boss. Whereas many other bosses become a tedious affair due to unoriginal shooting elements. If only all the bosses in Geist used unique gameplay elements to defeat your foe, it would have created a far more memorable experience, as opposed to what feels like unoriginal tacked on bosses at the end of various levels.

It’s a shame that n-Space, for whatever reasons, toward the final levels of Geist found it necessary to shoehorn in copious amounts of shooting, which not only disrupts the flow of the game, but really highlights elements that n-Space should have polished before releasing the game. Shooting in Geist is a laughable affair due to the appalling targeting system, which is really made apparent in the training / assassination level toward the end of the game. You can kill an enemy the second your crosshair turns red regardless of whether you’re actually aiming at a doorframe. It makes any atmosphere that the level tries to portray redundant, as you’re too busy wondering how you’ve just killed that enemy without even looking at him. Furthermore during intense battles the frame rate drops significantly which adds another layer of difficulty to the already handicapped targeting system.

Whilst we’re on the subject of shooting, n-Space really failed to add worthwhile strategy elements due to two primary complaints. The first is that there is literally unlimited ammo when you possess a character with a gun. You can walk the entire length of the level spraying hundreds of rounds into thin air. So there’s no chance of a Halo type scenario with great weapons balance and the need to harvest ammo for deadly sequences.

ghostly intrusion

The second reason why shooting strategy should have been bettered is the lack of a worthy foe; the A.I. in Geist isn’t really anything special, and in many cases the enemy makes such basic schoolboy errors you will realise that the A.I. needs significant polish. During some corridor sequences you can stand directly in front of an enemy who will not shoot at you - perhaps you’re not in range, but it seems ridiculous you can stand in a large room and not be seen. Should you become locked in fierce combat, forced to hide behind crates, then instead of ducking back an NPC will often just stand there making himself a giant target.

Despite these faults, gamers looking for something fresh to rekindle their love for a stagnant FPS genre should still look into Geist. Whilst not being a Halo-beater in many aspects, specifically the combat limitations and graphical shortcomings, what it does deliver far out-weighs the negative aspects. By turning a genre on its head via a compelling yet somewhat linear story (much like Eternal Darkness), delivering unique gameplay mechanics, and creating a rewarding multiplayer mode, gamers should recognise what n-Space and Nintendo have achieved in Geist by providing them with another unit sold.