GameCube

Geist

Ego-Shooter gehören seit Jahren zu den beliebtesten Spielgenres. Dementsprechend viele Neuerscheinungen buhlen jedes Jahr um die Gunst der Massen. Vielfach sind die Endprodukte Schnellschüsse, die mit althergebrachten Formeln die Kasse füllen sollen. Geist versucht nicht nur ein "deutsches Wort" international bekannt zu machen, sondern auch einen innovativen Zugang zu einem festgefahrenen Genre zu finden.

Geist is finally an exclusive game for the gamecube, one where we don't even get to see Mario for once! The story starts when you as John Raimi are being called to France to dismantle the Volk Corporation who are doing strange scientific experiments that cannot bear to see the daylight. During your heroic attempt to discover what has been going on you suddenly become victim of these gruesome tests yourself! Result: your ghost is sucked out of your body and you become an invisible force. Thanks to some luck you succeed in escaping and only thing remains: to successfully complete your original mission and in the meantime get as much revenge as possible.

Fun, original and edgy, Geist is an action-packed ghost story that attempts go well beyond the usual shoot-um-up fare. It’s a rare blend of bullet-fueled action and puzzle-solving that involves spiritual possessions of souls and objects. Sure it’s not perfect and the shooting elements can be a bit awkward, but this is still a fun game with a lot to offer gamers looking for a mature title overflowing with originality.

Hat man Geist durchgespielt, so stellt man eines fest: Da hätte man wesentlich mehr draus machen können. Die Geisterpassagen bieten genügend Abwechslung, um den Spieler gut zu unterhalten - trotz der großen Linearität. Die Balleranteile von Geist sind in vielerlei Hinsicht in die Hose gegangen. Was die Technik betrifft, staunt man über hübsche Umgebungen und ärgert sich über teilweise schlechte Texturen und eine instabile Bildwiederholungsrate.

Geist ist sehr unterhaltsam, lässt aber auch viel Potential ungenutzt. Das Prinzip ist erfrischend und funktioniert richtig gut, wenn man sich nicht daran stört, dass der Titel sehr linear ist und die Geister-Spielereien streng vorgegeben sind. Leider nagen die knapp durchschnittlichen Baller-Sequenzen und die durchwachsene Technik an der Wertung.

By now, the first-person shooter is probably the single-most-played-out style of gaming around. So many games have pushed this style of gaming to the limits, and so many more have fallen short of the mark, that it's difficult for any such game to stand out anymore. Geist at least serves as an important reminder that an original game design and a first-person perspective aren't mutually exclusive. The shooter portions of Geist aren't all that special, but there's a lot more to this game than meets the eye.

Call us cynics, but we can't help but feel that developers too often take the paint by numbers approach to videogame design. As a result, genres sometimes become saturated with formulaic clones of the same basic idea. Ask yourself, how many games have aspired to be the next Grand Theft Auto? Probably more than you can count on two hands. Unfortunately, one of today's most overpopulated genres is the first-person shooter, and again many of these games are so similar in theme and design that it can be difficult to tell them apart. Which is why some software houses have done whatever they can to ensure that their so-called "FPS" stands out from the pack.

Overall, I liked Geist. The story coupled with some truly unique game play elements easily pushed me to the very end despite some rather frustrating moments. The controls were rough in spots, the graphics left a bit to be desired in key areas, but in the end it didn’t matter: I was wholly entertained by the roughly 12 hour story mode. If you are looking for something new to play, and you have a Gamecube collecting dust underneath your TV, go ahead and give it a shot: I think you just might enjoy it...

So intelligent das Konzept, so enttäuschend die Umsetzung: Ich will gar nicht über die altbackene Grafik und die dezent ungenaue Steuerung meckern - das könnte ich ja noch verschmerzen. Vielmehr nerven mich die vielen Einschränkungen im Spielverlauf, denn die versprochene 'Geistige Freiheit' ist eine Mogelpackung. Der Verlauf einer Mission: durch die wenigen in Besitz nehmbaren Gegenstände und Personen linear vorgegeben. Die Ballerabschnitte: dank dummer Gegner keine Herausforderung. Nur selten blitzt das Potenzial des Ego-Abenteuers auf, zum Beispiel wenn Ihr die Szenarien als Ratte oder Motorrad aus ungewohnter Perspektive erkundet. Leider setzen unüberwindbare, nicht immer nachvollziehbare Levelgrenzen dem Forscherdrang schnell ein Ende.

While Geist would take a back seat to bigger name titles released in November, let me remind you that it's August and the Cube hasn't really seen any decent FPS for quite awhile. Certainly Geist isn't perfect as I suggested, but it is entertaining and will at least require 8-10 hours on first run through. Toss in the multiplayer hjinks and you've got a game you can play with your buds (or alone) till the big blockbusters start rolling in, in a month or so. Thanks to some new mechanics tossed into an old (and some would say dying) genre, Geist delivers a FPS experence that you've never had before and that definitely counts for something.

There's plenty to enjoy and explore in Geist, but that fidgety FPS gameplay is going to dampen the spirits of any regular combat gamer. Still, it's great to encounter an adventure game that tries to offer something different. You could at least give Geist a ghost of a chance.

Loin d'être le grand FPS Gamecube que nombre de personnes attendaient, Geist n'en est pas moins un titre honnête, utilisant à son avantage une certaine originalité et un schéma de progression plus qu'intéressant. Le changement d'identité reste une excellente idée, aboutissant à des modifications de gameplay réjouissantes et à un renouvellement régulier. Toutefois, à cause d'une qualité graphique moyenne, et d'un déséquilibre global, Geist ne parvient pas à monter sur les hautes marches du FPS console, mettant de côté sa nature profonde. Cruelle errance.

Despite a few memorable sequences, the occasional good puzzle, and some barely adequate multiplayer modes, Geist fails in most respects. The game certainly doesn’t live up to the promise of its premise, and at the same time can’t manage to deliver even basic first-person action in a competent manner. I expect more from a Nintendo-published title, and so should you.

That leaves Geist as another title that comes close, yet fails to grasp the player with an innovative concept. The initial moments and training make the possession process entertaining. Later uses only show it for how limiting it is, and it's almost as if the training never stops.

Rather in-keeping with the dispiriting end to the GameCube's truncated lifespan, Geist arrives with little fanfare, and does little to suggest it will do any better over here than it has done so far in the States. The most telling thing is that it's unlikely to be admired that greatly by even the most partisan Nintendophile - something that effectively seals its fate from day one. As much as n-Space tries to do things a little differently, and as fun as it is to walk around in bodies that don't belong to you, too much of the game plays it by the same old rules. Much of the time, Geist just feels plain unremarkable, and although it's good enough for a weekend rental, you’d feel robbed of body and soul if you'd shelled out full price for it.

Overall, Geist isn't a great title, but it is pretty good. If you're looking for something a little different than the standard FPS fare, Geist is definitely worth taking a look at. Hopefully, the game will do well enough to warrant a sequel, giving the developers a second chance to polish things up and make Geist a real contender in the future.

Although to be frank, other reasons make Geist a hard sell. It certainly has something going for it with the unique possession mechanic and clever puzzles, but the linear gameplay, mediocre delivery and short story makes it a house more cursed than haunted.

Geist is a different type of FPS that doesn’t really utilize the gung-ho run and gun approach to completing missions. Instead, it uses more stealth and manipulation to achieve goals and only a moderate level of firefights. Although it seems to have had potential, it lost that somewhere in development. With normal graphics, background music that tends to be forgotten, and low replay-ability, Geist is better off on the store shelves than in your Gamecube, at least until it hits the bargain bins.

Plus qu’une simple déception, ce nouveau FPS GameCube avait longtemps été présenté comme un hit, mais c’est le ratage total. Il arrive évidemment qu’on prenne parfois du plaisir à jouer, mais ces instants sont beaucoup trop rares. A moins que le jeu prenne possession de votre corps, évitez d’aller acheter cette erreur.