After crashing 5 times on bootup (ahem) and some interesting phone tag this weekend to try and find an automated service that would accept the title of the game into its database, and one reboot later, it loaded. First thoguhts: Ghostbusters meets Dungeon Keeper.
In the game you are - similiar to Dungeon Keeper - a supernatural entity tasked with furthering the cause of evil. Unlike DK, instead of having a dungeon you are assigned to build, you're assigned one of 7 different haunting spots in this quaint little innocent out of the way town that noone cares about and exists soley to terrorize. Now, this is where it gets tricky.
One of the main elements in GM that you need to succede at the better part of half of the missions (and damn near ALL of the bonus aspects) are mortals - and you have no direct controll over them and you have to use your contingent of ghosts, wraiths, gremlins, elementals and more to influence their behavior. In theory, this is a great idea. In reality, the mortals are some of the dumbest pieces of trash I've ever seen. Even the smart ones are total f'ing idiots. Even worse, to unlock some of the specials - and some of the mission objectives themselves - you have to simply wait for the game to tell one of the mortals to do somthing, and half the time it won't tell them to do it. Great example is one episode where you need to free a spirit by having one of the mortals flush a toilet - but 2 times out of 3 none of them will need to answer the call of nature.
The game itself has a few other script related bugs. Some of the scenariors are just flat out psychopathic in their execution - don't be afraid to use a guide at gamefaqs.com for pointers. Other things that annoy me include when you pick your ghostly team for a mission. You wouldn't think this would be such a big deal, but depending on the ghost in question, it can only be bound to a certain "fetter" (fetter: where you can bind your ghost at... all the description you're given). Fetters are random objects throughout the map, and there are different ones. Example: someone's bed may be an "Emotional" and "Violence" fetter, or a teacup can have a "Murder" fetter, while a potten fern counts as a "Earth" fetter. There are also certain ghosts that can only be used outside of a building, or inside one. Once you bind a ghost to a fetter, it can only work in the room where the fetter itself is (Outdoor fetters can only be bound to sections f the outdoors.. like a clump of lawn, or a walkway). The reason I saw this is a big deal is because *you have no idea what fetters are in the stage, aside from inside and Outside*. You have no idea how annoying it is to select your team of say, fire and earth based forces.. only to find there's only one spot for fire and 2 for earth.. but there's about 15 violence ones scattered around.
Did I mention the game is short? 14 missions, that's it.
Those are the bad things, but not the only things. Aside from that, the game is quirky, the music is fun, and the parodies are out of this world. Ghostbreakers (dressed in the attire of a certain team of a 1990's sequel) will do their best to take your ghosts out of the running, while mediums and priests will do their best to do the same. A certain remote cabin in the woods servers as a focal point for a Blair Wisp Project, and some Deadfellas will add a 1930's punch to your daily chores. While their at it, a Poultrygiest with a desire to get revenge on the mysterious mortal known only as "the Colenel" will assist you with bouts of gushing blood and chicken tenders. Some of the ghostly powers are wonderful aswell - Fire based spirits can add whole new levels of terror by setting mortals on fire - or forcing a rain of fire all over the outside of your haunt.
If I could do it over again, I would probably wait and buy it when it joins the bargain bin at 10$'s. But, if you buy it between now and december, you can get yourself a 4$ shipping and handling but otherwise free copy of Ghostbusters on DVD.. if you haven't yet.
