It’s somewhat ironic when you consider that the Nintendo 64 was a paradise as far as first-person shooters go, because the same simply can’t be said about Nintendo’s GameCube. Don’t get us wrong. Games like TimeSplitters 2 and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect are both excellent choices for the FPS crowd. But they’re not exclusive to the GameCube. Of course, there’s also Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, but while both games absolutely rock our world, we don’t quite consider them first-person shooters. That leaves GameCube owners with no exclusive traditional shooters.

In comparison to the Nintendo 64 – which was home to unforgettable masterpieces like GoldenEye and Perfect Dark – the GameCube can’t help but look pale in this regard.

In an attempt to fix the situation, Nintendo has teamed up with n-Space to create Geist, a paranormal first-person shooter that mixes shoot-em-up action with intelligent adventure and puzzle-solving themes. Prior to its release, the ghastly shooter has experienced turbulence in a number of different forms – from less-than-impressive demos to disappointing screenshot releases. Likewise, the developer has never been known for releasing triple-A titles in the past. One glance at its track record is enough to make anybody worry. After all, it’s responsible for games like Marry Kate & Ashley: Sweet Sixteen and Rugrats Studio Tour.

The good news is that Geist is definitely the company’s best game to date – even if that’s not saying much. It delivers a compelling adventure that innovates on a number of levels. The fresh, novel concepts behind its design are enough to impress anybody. But, even so, things are not all sunshine in the land of Geist. Some clunky controls and unpolished mechanics dampen the experience and don’t impress. That noted, it’s actually a surprisingly fun affair, and one that FPS fanatics shouldn’t miss.

Features

• An exclusive first-person shooter for the Nintendo GameCube
  
• Play as John Raimi in ghost form as he tries to escape from the evil Volks Corporation HQ
  
• Freshly designed single-player mode serves up 15-plus hours of intelligent gameplay
  
• Four-player split-screen multiplayer mode keeps the fun going with its three different modes
  
• 16x9 widescreen support
  
• Progressive scan support
  
• Dolby Pro Logic II support
  

A Ghost of A Tale
Perhaps the strongest façade of Geist is its storyline. n-Space has crafted a surprisingly compelling storyline that’s told through in-game cut-scenes much like any other first-person shooter. However, the plot itself is unusually strong for a first-person shooter. In other words, it isn’t cliché or terrible. In fact, it’s actually quite good.

You are John Raimi, a disease control agent that is sent to the Volks Corporation headquarters to investigate the shadowy corporation. During your investigation things go wrong. You and your men are captured, and you’re experimented with by the company. The experiments are nightmarish. They result in your spirit being ripped from your physical body, leaving you, as Raimi, to roam the dark, sinister halls of Volks Corporation, trying to uncover the truth and maybe even return to a normal way of life.



Geist

Initially, this script isn’t too compelling. The beginning of the game is rocky, to say the least, and that’s somewhat of a turn-off, which is a shame, because if you stick with Geist, you’ll see how enjoyable the story and game turns out. As time goes on, the story matures – kind of like a fine wine – and begins to taste a lot better. There are some disappointing truths to consider, though.

The in-game cut-scenes aren’t exactly the most impressive we’ve seen. They’re too Nintendo 64-ish, and they just don’t look as good as they could. The animation in them is jerky. The texturing is blah. More troublesome, the framerate is just as unpredictable as the storyline itself, which shouldn’t be the case. And while voice work is spread throughout the game, there are some in-game scenes where you must read all the dialogue with absolutely no voicing in the background. These segments sometimes give the game a feeling of being mute. One moment the game is fully voiced by very acceptable voice acting, but the next moment, it’s all text. The transition isn’t smooth, partly because there shouldn’t be a transition.

With that out of the way, let’s not forget that Geist’s storyline ultimately unfolds successfully. And by the time you’re a few hours into the game, you should be quite intrigued by it.



Geist

The same can be said about Geist itself, actually. Unfortunately, at first, it feels clunky and unpolished. Truth be told, by the end of the game, this is essentially still the case. However, the adventure is rewardingly fresh and exciting – so much, in fact, that forgetting about how imperfect the game is, isn’t all that hard. The amount of effort put into the game’s design – both on n-Space and Nintendo’s part – shows. This glowing truth is enough to win you over as you put more time into the game. The problem is that initially, putting more time into Geist doesn’t sound all that appetizing. For some, the attraction we have towards Geist simply won’t be there. But if you do stick with it, Geist will show you a good time. That’s the fact of the matter.