by:	August 14, 2004

When Microsoft bought Rareware from Nintendo people were imagining that the first title they would release would be as stellar as Bungie's Halo, perhaps even a new Perfect Dark title. What we got was a game geared towards a younger crowd that no one really expected in the first place.

Taking on the role of Cooper, a kid on a mission to rescue his girlfriend, who has been "grabbed by the ghoulies." Venture through haunted and ominous Ghoulhaven Hall and battle it out with a variety of monsters, while trying to escape the many tricks, traps, and shocks along the way. The story is told through a very good presentation that you could expect in a Rare game, using a frame by frame comic book style setup. This method of story telling is interesting but it really doesn't add anything to the game. If anything trying to make the story of the game, which is just as ?involving? as any platformer game which has you go to point A to point B was an excuse for Rareware to do the cut scenes like this.

Grabbed by the Ghoulies is presented just as well as any Rareware game, and it is evidence that they have not lowered their production quality. The sad part about the game is it seems more like something they had to get out of their system then something they hoped to be successful. I am going to come outright and say that Grabbed by the Ghoulies is not fun at all, and not meaning this as an insult to Rareware but the truth, it put me to sleep on several occasions. Grabbed by the Ghoulies like Sneakers another Microsoft published children's game follows the structure that a children's game was be so easy that there is no challenge or gratification at all in the game. You have sketchy controls that have you whacking at skeletons, ghouls, TV sets, etc using the right thumbstick and controlling with the left. You know you have fouled up a game already when you have to just move by using the two analogs, left, and right triggers. It doesn’t make sense to make this part difficult but not the actual gameplay, which is so simplified I couldn't imagine any child finding it exciting. When I was a child I got my excitement from counting numbers on PBS and stomping Goombas on Mario not being put to sleep by the media trying to get my attention. What was Rareware thinking when they made this game? Why not make boring ordinary household items be weapons on the game? That will be great fun for everyone!?

Admittedly it is a great idea that nearly everything in the mansion you explore is breakable, useable, or collectable. This game is chock full of useless collectables that open up modes that you probably wouldn't take the time to play anyways! Eventually, you will get to use a torch to light mummies on fire, waterguns, rakes, and many other 'super' weapons that you can't find lying around any normal place. There are certain parts in the game similar to Sega's Shenmue Quick Time Events. You will randomly go into a first-person perspective when going down a corridor and be prompted to push a series of button when something scares you.

The visuals are definitely styled very well, sharp, and a different take on cel-shading graphics. They couldn't of been used in a more boring way however. There was nothing done to the characters to make them look more exciting but to the games credit, it is the best part about the whole experience. The sound in the game is what you expect for the kind of game it is, very much like those tapes you get during Halloween with all the spooky sound effects and music, with a little Scooby-Doo thrown in.

In the end Grabbed by the Ghoulies isn't the kid adventure it could be. The game has some neat easter eggs and references to Killer Instinct, Xbox, Conker, and Banjo to fans but other then that Rare fans won't be missing anything. The sick part about Grabbed by the Ghoulies is the marketing, often marketed as "From the Creators of Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country"?, and Rare has proved before you can make tons of great games without a few duds along the way.