GENRE
	Adventure
	DEVELOPER
	Nintendo
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONNECTIVITY
	no
	BUY NOW AT

Nintendo is the acknowledged leader in video game innovation; Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's chief pioneer. No clearer is this manifest than in the typical flagship that accompanies a Nintendo console launch: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 redefined games as we knew them, and set the pace for the generation to come. Maybe we've always taken this excellence for granted. We expected such a headliner for Nintendo's GameCube debut. But games must be judged on what they are, not on what they are not. Enter Luigi's Mansion.

Luigi, eternal second fiddle, has won a contest he didn't even enter. The prize -- a mansion. Mario went ahead of the Great Green One to check it out... and never came back. With the help of Professor E. Gadd and his Poltergust 3000 ghost vacuum, it's Luigi's job to find Mario and bring him home.

visuals

Luigi's Mansion is, in some ways, a noteworthy tech demo for the GameCube's visual capabilities. Barely a single polygon is traceable on Luigi's well-modeled frame. Nicely animated ghosts stalk Luigi in beautiful transparency. Misty condensation swirls as it is swept into the vacuum. The much lauded lighting effects are unparalleled: nearly every object casts a shadow in real time; dust drifts through the beam of Luigi's flashlight; swinging chandeliers and lightning flashes cast realistic illumination. The cloth effects are also impressive: curtains and tablecloths flutter in the wind, and yield to Luigi's vacuum cleaner, more realistically than any curtains or tablecloths we've seen before.

The problem is -- they're still just curtains and tablecloths. Through the Game Boy Horror, Luigi can survey each room in first person. Unfortunately, when viewed up close, textures are disappointingly blurry. There is a tiny -- admittedly, tiny, and rare -- trace of flicker when too many ghosts and lighting effects bear down on the GameCube simultaneously. No two rooms look alike; but then, no room really stands out. The haunted mansion may be one of the most cohesive and complete game worlds ever built, but it's still just a mansion, without any particularly interesting components.

Luigi's Mansion looks good. In fact, after a couple hours of gameplay, the attention to detail and quality of visual minutia can really be appreciated. But as a showcase title, it is ultimately underwhelming.

audio

There isn't anything really special about Luigi's audio, either. The main theme is fun, funky, and really quite catchy; and it never grows tiresome. But the lack of any complimentary melodies throughout ninety percent of the game eventually makes the main theme age prematurely. By the end, it's pretty stale.

The sound effects are decent. Luigi calls out to Mario; but that's really the extent of voice throughout most of the game. Professor Gadd mumbles some inverted Ewokese as his text pops onscreen. Luigi yelps and squeaks appropriately when he's spooked. The Poltergust 3000 sucks and blows realistically. Thunder crashes, ghosts giggle and moan, doors creak and fire crackles. It's all very nice, with a few nostalgic nods to the Mario series. It's just nothing special.

gameplay

Luigi's gameplay consists mostly of hunting ghosts and trapping them. Standard ghosts must be stunned with a flashlight; they're paralyzed momentarily, so Luigi can suck them down. Then there are trickier, bigger ghosts, which typically require Luigi to trigger something in that ghost's room before it can be trapped. Finally, Luigi faces boss ghosts in surreal arenas -- such as a giant ghost baby inside an enormous bassinet. In time, the vacuum acquires the abilities to expel fire, water, or ice, each of which is needed for specific puzzle solving and ghost capturing. Luigi can also chase 50 Boos that are released early in the game, which haunt rooms already cleared of standard ghosts.

As suggested by the instruction manual, the act of catching a ghost is much like fishing -- pulling the ghost in by countering its actions with the control and camera sticks. Zelda: Ocarina featured a fishing mini game; it was one of the more inventive and engaging peripheral activities of that larger adventure. In the same light, Luigi's Mansion might be considered a brilliant and addictive mini-game. Too bad there's no larger adventure to justify its simplicity.

Luigi's gameplay ascends a gentle learning curve. Once the basics are mastered, and become second nature, a player can focus wholly on some of the trickier puzzles that arise late in the game. Most players will complete Luigi's Mansion in 6 to 8 hours. Despite the repetition, it's never boring or redundant: for this, we can actually be thankful for the game's brevity.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

Luigi's Mansion is fun. In fact, it's five or six of the best hours you can spend on any system this year. Unfortunately, that's all that it is. I can't recommend this as a purchase to anyone, except younger players, Mario Bros. loyalists, or launch completists. That said, Luigi's Mansion is a perfect weekend rental. Don't cheat yourself out of some quality ghost busting.

Yes, have some.

7.5/10