Windows Phone Xbox Live Review: Ghostscape

Ghostscape Lead

Adventure games were once a thriving genre, filled with absolute classics from LucasArts, Sierra, and others. These days, they be in much smaller number, but they exercise go along coming thanks to TellTale games and the occasional indie developer. Ghostscape is a production of the latter. Originating every bit costless flash game on Kongregate, Microsoft eventually picked information technology upwards every bit a mobile Xbox Live championship. The evolution staff doubled from one to two people, and that brings us to this non-free version of Ghostscape. It retains a strong low budget indie vibe that will probable scare off mainstream players, merely adventure fans will want to give the game a look.

A scary setting

Ghostscape intro

Ghostscape takes identify entirely in and around a ii-story haunted firm. Players have on the function of a paranormal investigator who naturally wants to find out what's upwardly. A few lines of text relay the setup all-likewise-briefly before disappearing at the start of a new game, scarcely giving players time to read it. Later on, you'll get a better understanding of the house'southward history thanks to five diary pages belonging to a former resident, merely that's it every bit far as story goes. The game focuses more on temper than narrative.

First-person adventuring

The histrion's kickoff order of business is entering the house. You'll need to pick up a crowbar that some thoughtless litterbug left lying effectually on the porch, equip it, and break the boards off the front door. From in that location, the gameplay consists of exploring the various rooms of the business firm by tapping on hotspots, picking up whatever items yous find along the way, and solving a few puzzles. Oh, and the front door locks upon entering, so finding a style out becomes the overall goal.

While traveling from one dusty room to some other, you may need to do a scrap of ghostbusting. Ghostscape takes a cue from the Fatal Frame series, in which a photographic camera is used to defeat ghosts. In this championship, yous'll encounter creepy humanoid specters, chairs that slide effectually on their own, and floating orbs of light. Equipping the camera and tapping these phenomena eliminates them. The spooks can't hurt the role player, either; Ghostscape has no failure status. But one ghost must exist photographed in guild to win the game, with the rest contributing to various Achievements. Thankfully ane of the handy inventory screens tracks all such collectibles.

Equipment

Ghostscape

Equippable items are stored in their own separate screen. On elevation of the few I've already mentioned, you'll find a ladder and a bunch of keys. Yous'll never need to figure out what door a cardinal unlocks, as their names always tell you. Convenient, only information technology cuts down on the challenge a smidge. The actual equipment pick interface is slow and cumbersome. The developer has expressed interest in revamping information technology - an unusually cool thing for a mobile Xbox Alive developer to practise (if it comes to laissez passer).

Them Puzzles

Ghostscape Title

Rather than relying on the genre's often obscure logic puzzles, Ghostscape's ecology interaction usually boils downwardly to using the crowbar in the right spot. The game even tells you lot where to use the ladder – a flake too much manus holding. Several combination locks require a flake more thought from the histrion, though y'all can always look upward the solutions in a guide since they don't modify.

The Windows Telephone version of Ghostscape also features a handful of unique puzzles, some of which take advantage of the mobile hardware. The best is a maze in which players tilt the phone to role an eye to its destination. Near the terminate of the game, you lot'll need to adjust the pieces of three disturbing pictures into their proper places. It works similar a sliding puzzle, except thankfully whatsoever piece tin be swapped effectually regardless of location. The tertiary picture would be rather tough to do without help, merely that's what guides are for.

The simply puzzle I really disliked is the lock-picking minigame in the shed. Players have to tilt their phones in social club to rotate an arrow to a specific point and then hold information technology there until the lock opens… three times. It works a bit like the cryptographic sequencer minigame in Batman: Arkham Asylum. The problem is you have to hold the phone way too nonetheless in order to keep the needle from moving; I literally had to agree my jiff. Reducing the sensitivity past 20% or and so would pull the minigame support to fun territory instead of Annoying State.

Portable scares

Ghostscape

Ghostscape'southward audiovisuals are its best characteristic. Psionic packed each room of the house with enough of details, and they often characteristic animations like flickering lights, etc. In real life, you lot definitely wouldn't desire to get into this house at night! The ghosts themselves appear suitably transparent, though you likely won't look at them long before eliminating them with the camera. Speaking of which, I wish the pictures taken could be viewed in an album later.

Audio-wise, Ghostscape plays an eerie melody at the title screen but doesn't use music during gameplay. Instead, creeks and other sound effects create an air of unease.

Creative Writing 101

While adventure games traditionally offer much more fleshed-out stories, I have no issue with Ghostscape's simple tale. The actual writing, though, leaves much to exist desired. Every speck of the narrative text is merely riddled with punctuation errors and run-on sentences.

Some might defend the diary's punctuation woes by saying that real people make mistakes in their own private writings. Regardless of whether the diary pages read like an actual person/adult female'due south thoughts (they do not), the pages shoulder the responsibility of conveying the story. In a Stephen King book, a poorly educated character's thoughts might be relayed in a childish and difficult to read fashion, simply they would only exist a pocket-sized function in a much larger and more than coherent tale. Ghostscape's story resides only in those diary pages, and their depression quality dulls the game's message. These mechanical errors even extend to the Ghostscape website, indicating that Psionic Games seriously needs a good proofreader.

Achievements

Ghostscape has numerous collectible based Achievements for finding all of the ghosts, chairs, orbs, diary pages, relics, messages, and paintings. A few of these were a bit glitchy at launch, only Psionic thankfully wasted no time in correcting things with a patch. The just challenging Achievement is for completing the game in under 20 minutes. Nobody volition go it on a first playthrough, but it's easy on a subsequent run since the collectibles are mostly skippable. Using a guide, anyone should exist able to get the full 200 GamerScore in less than two hours. Not cheating would probably add an hour of playtime or and so.

Overall Impression

Adventure games may not be super common anymore, just that'south what makes a title like Ghostscape stand out. It's a fun little game that's light on challenge and heavy on temper. And considering how cheery mobile games tend to exist, we could probably use that dark temper. Even so, the game'southward brevity must be considered when deciding on a purchase. I personally don't mind brusque games as long as the price is correct. In Ghostscape'south case, the super piece of cake Achievements and the promise of gratis ringtones in a future title update certainly add some value. If you've been looking for something different, requite information technology a endeavour.

Ghostscape costs $2.99 and there is a gratuitous trial. Pick it up hither on the Marketplace… if y'all cartel.

QR: Ghostscape

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