First Encounter:

Ghoulie Good Fun

Ah, Cooper, you poor sodden fool. As the game starts, you’re already in big trouble with your bubblegum-haired girlfriend. First, you drag her out on a miserable hike, and now it’s started to rain. She wants to dry off in the creepy mansion up ahead. You’d rather walk those last five miles to the village of … Neede-in-the-Nuts? (Oh, right … did we mention this was a Rare title?) And to top it all off, Baron Von Ghoul has decided to teach you both a lesson. Your girlfriend, already steamed, is now a prisoner in the Baron’s mansion.

Let’s face it. You’ve had better dates.

“I told you this was a bad idea … ”

So begins Grabbed by the Ghoulies™, a mad romp through Ghoulhaven Hall in search of your kidnapped girlfriend. Exploring the house top to bottom, you’ll face everything from ninja imps, to pool-playing skeletons, to a near-sighted medusa—all with the aid of Ghoulhaven’s helpful butler, Crivens.

To cross each room of the Hall, you need to complete its particular challenge. Sometimes this is just a matter of sneaking through or finding the key. Other times, you need to defeat a certain number of foes in a certain timeframe or avoid frightening traps set up to slow your progress (and send Cooper’s shorts to the cleaners). Crivens will clue you in on what needs to be done, but getting through is entirely up to you.

The controls in Grabbed by the Ghoulies are straightforward. Use the left thumbstick to direct your movement, and the right thumbstick to direct your attacks. Cooper launches these attacks against any foe within reach, and he’s apparently been watching plenty of backyard wresting—the lad can throw a flying elbow with the best of them. At times, you’ll also use a king-sized water gun, tanked to the brim with holy water, to hose down the mansion’s undead. Of course, it takes a bit of work to master shooting the gun and swing punches at the same time. More than once, the Grim Reaper appeared before I could complete a room’s challenge and dropped me straight to oblivion.

“This holy water outta do the trick.”

This game really keeps the fun factor in mind. Combat is easy to pick up and offers a good amount of strategic puzzle-solving. You’ll need to avoid the slide of the haunted chairs, for instance, and the electric current of the haunted television. (There’s also a haunted door in the cellar and who-knows-what in the bathroom—things definitely can’t be too good in there).

And, the real fun comes from smashing through the contents of Ghoulhaven Hall. Just about every stick of furniture can be thrown around with gleeful abandon. In an environment this destructible, it’s hard to show restraint—kick apart a chair, and you’re likely to smash through the windows behind. Hurl wine bottles in the cellar or plates of hamburgers in the dining room. And, who doesn’t want to swing an anchor or mounted swordfish against the lighthouse’s resident hunchback? Clearly, the big crybaby had it coming. Another star quality comes with the game’s comic-book-styled cut scenes. If only comics were more like this, with the action beautifully highlighted and crossing from panel to panel. For once, cut scenes that are a pleasure to watch!

Gotta love the cool comic book style.

Grabbed by the Ghoulies plays out like you’re starring in some great haunted house cartoon. Every detail is spot on, from the musical score to the triple-takes introducing each monster. Adding to the fun are a mansion full of objects to vent every ounce of aggression, plenty of turns to keep the story line going—plus all the quirky art style and humor you’d expect in another Rare treat.

By Isaac Bein