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"Ghost Squad"

12/13/07

So, I love shooting games, especially old arcade games like the "Virtua Cop" series by SEGA.  One of SEGA's more recent arcade games, "Ghost Squad", came out on the Wii a few weeks ago, so I decided to drop the $30 to add it to my collection, and it's quite a mixed bag.

The main thing you need to know about "Ghost Squad" is that you can play through the "entire" game in about 20 minutes.  That's right--start to finish, you can play this whole game faster than you can watch a DVD episode of "The Simpsons" (22 minutes).  For some people, that's a good thing; for others, you want a little more, and the replay value in "Ghost Squad" comes through various unlockables by playing through the game multiple times to earn Experience Points, which help you unlock different game modes, new weapons (you start with only an assault rifle but can access more than 20 different weapons eventually), and different branching routes to the three main levels.  There's probably 5-8 hours of play time here to unlock everything, which might be helpful should you decide to play through the 20-minute game again later.

The graphics in this game, though, look bad compared to anything else I have played on the Wii, and are crushed by even the worst games on my 360.  Clearly, no one has updated the 2003 code of this arcade release, and it shows, especially on your high-end TVs.  Also, the sounds isn't so great either.  But, as a party game or just a thing to do while your dinner is cooking in the oven, "Ghost Squad" is a nice quickie to add to your collection if you like shooting games.

Rating:  eBay

 

Feedback?  Comments?  Salma Hayek's digits?  justin@bellviewmovies.com

 

Bellview Rating System:

"Opening Weekend":  Buy this game right away, and don't ask me any questions as to why that's a good move.  A game experience that will almost guarantee repeated controller abuse, lots of ManScreaming and high resale value, you will assuredly play this bad boy for months on end. 

"$40":  Usually after games have been out for a while, they drop in price slightly, or can be bought for slightly cheaper in combination with other new games.  Usually, that's about $40.  You'll feel good getting the game for this price, since it isn't quite run-out-and-get-it-right-now good, but it has enough game in the box for a few weeks' worth of enjoyment.

"eBay":  This game is not too bad, but you'd be better off buying it used from either half.com or eBay.  You also might let a friend buy this game, let s/he beat it, and then try to buy it from them to make them feel better.  Yes, this does tend to feel like "Sloppy Seconds."

"Rental":  Like my cousin Ron, you should always rent games that you aren't sure about first, to make sure that your $50 is going towards something worthwhile.  For games in this category, this is the maximum amount of money ($5) and/or time (3-5 days) you'll need to either gain satisfaction from the game, or beat the game in its entirety.  Rental-rated games are also sometimes perfect for a weekend when you are going to be at home on your ass, with some time to kill.

"Dogshit":  Games like this should have never been released.  If you play this game for any reason, you will regret every second of the experience.  Further, if you can get this game for free, don't do it, because even for FREE, it will still be a negative experience for you!