Geist – Final Play

You had so much potential. Why did you have to throw it all away? Why couldn’t you focus and apply yourself just a bit more? You could have been a contender. Okay, that’s enough scolding. Overall, I had a pretty good time playing Geist, though after the sum of my experiences, it turned out to be a mediocre title and uncharacteristic of the typical Nintendo experience. At about the halfway point, I started to keep score of the game. I kept saying to myself that this was a good part or that part was the worst. As I progressed through to its conclusion, the dark forces and negative energy overwhelmed the good and though not a waste of time by any means, I was left wishing it was better.

The final sequence brought your guide Gigi back to tie up part of the back-story, and it served as a reminder of what this game could have been. Some of the best story and adventure sequences involved Gigi; however, she always had the right idea to disappear when the shooting started (which happened to be most of the second half of the game). If only Raimi (the main character) was that smart. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good FPS and was excited to have one to play on my cube, so I’m not trying to suggest this game should not have had shooting sequences. What I am saying is that I would have liked the shooting parts to be better: they needed more inspiration and polish. For example, the weapons were not that interesting. The only one that was cool was one where you could slow time allowing you to avoid grenades and pick your targets with greater care. Similarly, the shooting segments had an effect that pulled me away from the story and for a while the game lacked the ability to motivate.

I truly hope that Geist will be given a sequel. The possession mechanic and the way it could be used to weave in a story from the perspective of those you possess are well worth further exploration. Also, with an engine upgrade and improved FPS controls it could really take the play experience up a few notches to be a great title. After the TGS presentation, I kept imagining playing the game with the new pointer and “nunchuk” controller. It was pretty cool to imagine floating through the scenes, possessing an object like a trash can and with a flick of the wrist hurling it an enemy for a scare. I truly hope for Nintendo fans that titles like this don’t go the way of Eternal Darkness. Nintendo needs this kind of story-driven content, and they need a couple of exclusive FPS to appeal to the ever-expanding tastes of their gamers.

Multiplayer

The focus of my Progressive Review has been on Single player and though I have only played the multiplayer a few times with bots it would be a shame for me not to say something about it. The possession concept carries through to the multiplayer experience and does so really well. There are three multiplayer modes including Possession Death Match, Capture the Host, and Hunt. So far I have spent some time with the Possession Death Match which offers a unique twist on traditional FPS death matches. You start out as a ghost and then have the option of possessing various hosts that are scattered around the map. Each host has only one weapon (some have a secondary weapon as well) so if you want a rocket launcher instead of a shotgun you would need to leave your host and find the one with the item you want. During the course of the single player game you pick up various tokens to unlock features in the multiplayer. Somewhere along the line I was able to unlock a woman who uses her shower towel to whip enemies down. It’s a one hit does the trick weapon and pretty funny to watch. The bot AI was not noticeably sharp or dull. I played a Possession Death Match simply to run around and take out a few baddies and for this it was fun and I expect to continue to dive into these modes on occasion for those quick stress release play sessions that we all need once and a while. I will say that though I would not pick up the game for the multiplayer, it does add a lot of value to the package. The pros and cons of Geist’s multiplayer are the same as those with its single player. The control and engine is not up to FPS standards however its creative use of the possession mechanic creates fresh and interesting experiences.