Grabbed by the Ghoulies

**Captain Vegetable** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:14 PM

Official Site.

From the team that brought you the hugely popular Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel indeed! The teaser's music is a lick straight out of good ol' Grunty's mansion! Not that that's a bad thing. I always thought the music in the Banjo series was great.

This game looks very nice, in my ever so humble opinion.

The story involves nothing new, but that doesn't keep the game from looking extremely fun.

Dave Halverson, the ass, said in the most recent issue of Play (P.N.03) that it would appear the game would get boring after five minutes in, because all you do is "bash zombies over the head using both joysticks to control your character," and then a few pages later, gushes over Ape Escape 2...asshole. I'll not be reading Play after finding this horrible inconsistency.

Anyway, I know there are more Rare fans here than just myself, and am curious as to your opinions. Burg? Anyone?

**Jeremy** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:16 PM

I dug what I saw from an E3 vid of the game. It looks interesting, and the concept seems pretty unique as well.

**Johnny Nighttrain** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:17 PM

possibly the worse beat em up ever. very bad showing at E3. very very very slow paced too. and not satisfaction at all, very bad considering that's probably the most important thing in a beat em up.

**Captain Vegetable** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:18 PM

Originally posted by Lucas Barton
possibly the worse beat em up ever. very bad showing at E3. very very very slow paced too. and not satisfaction at all, very bad considering that's probably the most important thing in a beat em up.

I'm sorry to hear this. Tell me more if you care to.

**Frogacuda** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:25 PM

I really think this looks like potentially one of the most godawful games I've ever seen. Bad gameplay designs, horrible, wretched artwork, technically poor graphics, bad gameplay ideas. I see nothing even remotely indicitive of quality, or even mediocrity. I'm a pretty open minded guy, but if GbtG doesn't suck then I will be truly, truly shocked.

**Captain Vegetable** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:33 PM

Hm. I kind of like the artwork and graphics. It's simple and has character. What more do you need? The player's character, Cooper, needs much work, but the ghoulies, as it were, look fantastic.

**Johnny Nighttrain** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:50 PM

Originally posted by Captain Vegetable
I'm sorry to hear this. Tell me more if you care to.

well, here's the conclusion i came to. last time Rare made a good game was what? Goldeneye? ok then, since then, they've lost that team, and what im assuming was the rest of the little talent they had is now working at Zoonami. then to top it off, a lot of people left when they got bought by Microsoft. so im guessing the only people that are still at Rare now are the guys that weren't good enough to get jobs elsewere.

that's the only explanation i can come up with for Rare not making a decent game in over 5 years.

oh, with the exception of Conker. that game was pretty fun.

**Captain Vegetable** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:55 PM

But I like Rare games. I love Banjo-Tooie and tout it as Rare's most fun game. I just like it. Keeping that in mind, how do you think I might feel about GbtG?

And thanks for the info by the way. It is greatly appreciated.

**Johnny Nighttrain** · 12 Jul 2003, 10:56 PM

ok, i just checked out the site. check out the critics sections.

"Rare gets its chance to rock the 'Box with GbyG, which just screams spooky fun. Cooper is on a mission to rescue his girlfiend from the creepy crawlies of Ghoulhaven Hall, but soon enough it's clear there's more to this than meets the third eye." - Happy Puppy (preview)

"Graphically, the game has a very colorful and clean look. The cartoon style of the game lends itself well to its theme." - GameSpot (preview)

"Screenshots seen thus far on the 'Net do not do the game justice; the characters were beautifully modelled, while the lighting was excellent. After initially being let down by the early Microsoft screening, we were taken aback by how good the game looked." - CVG (preview)

"Grabbed by the Ghoulies strikes us a more of a curiously endearing side project that will gain a cult following, rather than a mass market smash." - Eurogamer (preview)

"The game looks very polished and potentially fun already. I doubt it'll go down as one of Rare's classics, but they could have gotten off to a worse start." - GameSpy (preview)

"The longer I played, the more I loved Ghoulies. Hock burgers at zombies, swing guitars, chairs, and even a pool table at the things that go bump in the night. I just couldn't get enough." - IGNXbox (preview)

Top Quote
"Even I can't argue with the idea of breaking a chair over a zombie's head." - GameSpy (preview)

so in conclusion, not one person said one good thing about the gameplay.