Saturday, January 29, 2011

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective


Surprised? I'm not just gonna aim at the 3DS but also on great games for the regular Nintendo DS.
Ever heard of Phoenix Wright? That lawyer guy in a blue suit? First, those games are freaking awesome. You really care about the characters, the storylines are fantastic and you will cry at the end of part 3, Trials and Tribulations.
But hey. The creators of the Ace Attorney series made another game, similar to Phoenix Wright.
It's ...
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

And let me tell you: you have never played anything like this.
The story in a nutshell. You play as Sissel. Or rather as his spirit, because Sissel is dead. Why did he die? That's what you are supposed to find out in this game.
Sissel's spirit "wakes up" at a junkyard, looking at his own dead body. Not knowing what's going on around him, a young lady gets shot by a mysterious assassin. Sissel learns to use his so-called "ghost tricks" with which he can manipulate objects in his vicinity. For example, he can possess a ball to make it roll to another place so Sissel can reach objects farther away.
This is Lynne, Sissel's red-haired helper. And she's about to die. Too bad.

That alone is a pretty cool system but the real candy is his ability to connect to a dead body, talk to the spirit of the departed and go back in time to four minutes before their deaths. In these four minutes, Sissel can manipulate objects to prevent the person's death.

While in "ghost mode", time stands still and you can move freely between objects, try to interact with them and see the outcome. Some are downright hilarious.
As said, your main objective in Ghost Trick is to find out why Sissel had to die and who killed him. The characters and story are awesome (those dudes over at Capcom must be some bunch of story- and character whiz-kids) and the animation is ... wow. Yes. It's glorious 2D sprites! I have never seen such fluid and beautiful animation in a 2D game period.
I swear, if you are the least bit of a text-adventure lover or if you liked the Ace Attorney games, check this out. Hell, even if you are not a text-adventure lover, give Ghost Trick a chance. In case the end of the game makes your head explode or something, don't worry. As long as there is someone like Sissel, you don't have to fear death ever again. Unless he doesn't see you die. It's just tough luck, then.


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