Grabbed by the Ghoulies (Xbox)

Anyway, the story is you're normal save the girl scenario. The game is split into chapters, in a story book fashion. The controls are easy to get to grips with, firstly it was annoying to use the right thumbstick to attack, but soon it becomes second nature. It has extremely fluid game mechanics.

The beauty of this game is, pretty much all the rooms are destructible. Also the game is not just a hack and slash, it does require some thought. There are a number of power ups and itmes and unlockables.
The music score is excellent, that I was humming it on the way to work. It is a great game, this is a game that appeals to everyone. Thats what makes it so great. A game that can appeal to a a wide audience, which in this case it does definetly gets a 5 stars from me.

Yes, the game is short, it took me 11 hrs to complete, but the replay value is great.
This game is extremely humorous, true British humour in every form. This is what in my view makes a classic, It's fun and appealling and I can play this game no matter if there are young children around me.

Buy, this game and you wont regret it. for the price it is here, it is a definite STEAL!

Do yourself a favour and click on purchase.


Rare does it again!   August 18, 2004
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Rare's highly anticipated debut game for the Xbox was an instant classic!

At the start of the game, you see your girlfriend (Amber) kidnapped by the evil Baron-Von-Ghoul and you (Cooper) need to venture through his spooky mansion and get her back. However, the Baron has many evil 'ghoulies' to stop you succeeding. The colourful graphics of the game are excellent and perfectly suited to the 'scary but comical' environment. These are complimented by a wonderful soundtrack and many sound effects (many imported straight from the N64 classic: Banjo-Kazooie) to build up the atmosphere. While the controls are fairly basic, they are easy to get used to and give a slick fighting experience.

Cooper can perform a variety of fighting moves in order to get through each room and complete the challenges set. All objects in the rooms (from plant pots to grand pianos) can be used to help Cooper beat up the resident ghoulies. The game starts easy but as you progress you can use many comical weapons such as the 'Soda-Can Launcher' and 'Sacred Water Pistol' to name a few. Once completed, you can replay the game to unlock bonus mini-games and find extras you missed the first time.

Innovative gameplay, a great plot and a host of extra features make this a must have game for any Xbox owner.


Humourous and good fun   July 19, 2004
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Offering a different playing experience to most other games. It has been stated that this is pitched at younger players, however I found it fun and pleasureable to play (and I'm 35) as it is both challenging and maintains your interest, always wanting you to continue to see what's in the next room.

The graphics are very good and if you perservere after the initial easyish levels you will discover it has more depth than it at first appears,

The story revolves around your attempts to search and rescue your girlfriend from a large mansion habited by a variety of spooks and ghouls, where every room has a different task/challenge to overcome before you can progress to the next room. These challenges generally revolve around destroying various monsters but a different slant is in place each time which ensures you having to approach each challenge differently, utilising a variety of weapons along the way.

As well as the main game there is a host of seperate lockable challenges which add to the overall shelflife of the game. All in all a worthwhile game which I would recommend. My favourite game is Halo so I wouldn't naturally have gravitated towards this but am very pleased I gave it a go.


Great!   January 29, 2004
 4 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is a Rare classic, incredable innovative gameplay, loads of depth and replay-value, you'll want to play this again when you complete it. I bought an xbox *just* so I could play Rare's games, because they got bought by microsoft from Nintendo, and they make some of the greatest games ever - this is their first game with microsoft, and beleive me when I say its not dissapointing at all.

This game is just the breath of fresh air that xbox so desperatly needed. A break from all the shooting and racing and fighting and more shooting that are all the other games.

It is the BEST game on the xbox - so if you've got an xbox... go get it!


Solid entertainment, by no means a classic   November 25, 2003
 12 out of 17 found this review helpful

Its no surprise that Rare's XBox debut doesn't match its previous efforts. Grabbed By The Ghoulies was put together in around 12-18 months, half the time of a 'typical' Rare release. The gameplay is simple and addictive, with plenty of the developers trademark humour and wit. Its essentially a comedy-beat'em-up, bearing striking resemblance to Nintendo's Luigi's Mansion. GBTG is a means of widening the XBox demographic and generating a small profit by minimal expenditure. Ok, so its a shame that Rare didn't release Perfect Dark II, or Kameo, or something like it; but ignore the bad press, sit down with a copy, and Grabbed By The Ghoulies may just suprise you.