Sighhhh… here we go
again… an adventure game by a small development company in Europe,
under-marketed and released to little or no acclaim, and never finding a
publisher in North America. We’ve certainly all heard that song before.
But wait! There’s good
news! There’s still time for this one to find an audience, so let me don
my mask and become champion of the underdog, defender of the adventure
genre, and crusader for one of the most charming games you’ll ever get the
opportunity to play – Gast: The Greatest Little Ghost.
When I first heard
about Gast through the grapevine, I was under the impression that it was a
children’s game. Needless to say, I was immediately drawn to it.
Admittedly, that says more about my maturity level than the game, but let
me assure you that this game is fun for ALL ages. Play it WITH the tots,
play it without them, or feel completely confident in letting them play it
alone. The overriding theme here is… play it!
As the story opens, we
learn that the evil clown Beleseblob has turned what was once a joyous
amusement park into a haunted and sinister shadow of its former self. By
stopping the clocktower that enchanted the park with laughter and
merriment, and filling the park with his evil “henchmen” to scare away
visitors, Beleseblob has created a macabre nightmare into which no one
dares enter… except you.
You’ll assume the role
of the title character, Gast, a cute little spectre with a dark cloak,
giant eyes and endearing facial expressions. Gast is the caretaker of the
magic clock, so it’s our job to help him rid the park of the evil
henchmen, confront the ruthless clown, and restore the park to its
original glory.
Gameplay isn’t entirely
traditional, but nor will it bring any great surprises. Gast is a third
person game played entirely with the mouse, although not quite point and
click. Reminiscent of Sanitarium, Gast requires you to click and hold the
(left) mouse button in order to move in the direction of the arrow
cursor. Some may consider this a nuisance, but it does give you more a
sense of actually “controlling” the game, and interactivity is never a bad
thing.
Camera angles will
change periodically, so at times you’ll see Gast from the side, front, or
back, while at other times from a ¾ overhead, isometric perspective,
giving the game a semi-3D feel. These changes can occasionally cause a
little disorientation as you move from one screen to another, but they
give the game a more cinematic feel than the constant fixed angle of most
titles. Artistry in gaming? Hmmm…
The simple premise of
the game is to collect “soul stars”. As Gast wanders (floating, of
course!) through the park, a wide array of clichéd baddies will attempt to
scare him. These include such schlock-monsters as a headless man, a
mysterious tentacled creature, and a venus flytrap straight out of Little
Shop of Horrors. There is also the usual (if infinitely more flamboyant)
assortment of creepy crawly critters like bats, rats, cats, and gnats
(well, a FLEA actually, but close enough). Oh, and a gargantuan spider.
I know how some of you love those so.
Ultimately, you’ll want
to dispose of each creature completely, by fair means or foul. However,
many of these henchies are hurting-on-the-inside types that request your
help before they’ll leave, let you past, or follow you. This is where
the puzzles come in, as you’ll need to figure out how best to assist them
(and then DEsist them). Puzzles are almost all inventory based, and
(remembering that this is a game with children in mind) Gast occasionally
has a little “thought bubble” that offers clues to the items you’ll need
(whether you’ve encountered them or not). I know this may sound like
sacrilege to the Walkthroughs are for Wimps club, but this game is about
fun and atmosphere, not brain strain.
The rest of the
interface is simple and clean, with the right mouse button pulling up the
six-item inventory and options menu. The one thing missing was a map,
which would have really been beneficial. Since the game is largely
non-linear, you’ll spend much time having Gast hover-trekking through the
park, and the layout can get more than a little confusing. It’s probably
worth it to take a few minutes to draw a little map your first time
through. I, of course, insisted on staying lost the entire time, so
that’s always an option, if not a recommended one.
You cannot die in Gast
– there are SOME advantages to being a ghost, after all. Instead, you
have “scare points”, which increase each time a henchman frightens you, or
you fall victim to one of the assorted traps in the park (tumbling
boulders, plummeting off cliffs, etc.) These scare points can be
counteracted by each star you collect, and by having Gast eat or drink
(it’s a hoot watching Gast suck up some sneezy slime). Although the
accumulated scare points impact the length of the “ride” leading to the
showdown with Beleseblob (we’re getting to that), this aspect of the game
serves mostly as a personal side challenge, rather than having any real
bearing on the outcome.
The graphics in the
game are terrific. The developers have created scenery and characters
that manage to be eerie and foreboding, while at the same time retaining a
stylized, cartoony flair. Anyone that has seen The Nightmare Before
Christmas will have a good idea of what I mean, and whether intentional or
not, the Gast artists seem to have found more than a little inspiration
from that movie. The cutscenes dispersed throughout the game were less
polished, but frequent enough to keep the story fresh. For anyone who
doesn’t have a 3D graphics card, it is possible to run the game through
software rendering, and the results looked almost as good.
Moving from sight to
sound, some of the voice acting is a little shaky, but c’mon… who’s
complaining that a talking raven doesn’t sound realistic enough? The
background music is perfectly suited to the game’s mood, and the various
sound effects like hooting owls and creaky doors all help to support the
game’s tone.
Now, if Gast has a
momentum-squelching “BUT”, here it is… Once you’ve collected enough soul
stars, and disposed of as many henchmen as possible (and the more the
better, as you’ll soon discover), it’s time to give Beleseblob the big
adios. To do that, however, involves undergoing a short sequence of up to
THREE arcade activities. The first will be a (literal) roller coaster
ride where you must maneuver your cart to avoid flying objects, as well as
any henchmen that you left remaining in the park. For each collision,
you’ll lose a star, and this is where your accumulated scare points will
directly affect the length of your ride. When you’ve managed to finesse
your way through that challenge, you’ll then have to face those darn
remaining henchmen again (if you left any, that is, but it’s likely you
will), and dispose of them once and for all by throwing your precious
stars at them. Then, when only Gast is left standing (levitating?), it’s
time to chuck your (by now) few remaining stars at Beleseblob himself, who
taunts you but doesn’t seem to pose any threat. For some reason, in
separate attempts, I managed to take him down in one, two, AND three hits,
so either the damage is random, or he has some soft spots I hit by luck.
If you’re howling
in protest at the thought of arcade sequences, take a deeeep breath.
First of all, I already recommended having a kid nearby when you play
this, and they will giddily accomplish the entire sequence blindfolded in
less time than it takes you to read this. Secondly, if you’re actually
faced with the horrifying prospect of trying it yourself, it’s very
easy. Unlike many arcade events that truly reward fast reflexes, Gast
favours patience. If you don’t panic and take your time, you’ll see some
EASILY recognizable patterns that will have you breezing through (just be
sure to be thorough with your henchman extermination duties back at the
park, but that’s most of the fun anyway). For that matter, you’ll WANT to
fail at least once just to see the final cutscene with a negative result.
So no, the ease of the
puzzles and the difficulty of the arcade sequences shouldn’t dampen
anybody’s spirit (except a Beleseblob henchman’s). The worst thing I can
say about Gast is that it’s simply too darn SHORT!! I finished the entire
game in only a few hours, and that was taking my time. HOWEVER… the
developers were aware of this, and the game is designed to be
played more than once. Now, normally I despise repetition in games, but
to facilitate a fresh gaming experience, Gast does what I wish EVERY game
would do… offer multiple puzzle solutions!! In fact, it is
impossible to solve all of the game’s dilemmas in one go, as certain
solutions will close off paths for other puzzles, so you’ll want to play
through at least twice, and the self-imposed challenge the second time
around to NOT repeat your original puzzle solutions greatly raises the
complexity. Toldja there was something for everyone here!
As I played Gast, I had
the notion that I was experiencing a “Grim Fandango lite”… and from me
that is high praise, indeed. By no means is it EQUAL to that earlier
classic, but the influence is clearly present. Gast has style; it has
character; it has energy… most of all, it has what I find many games lack
– a true sense of adventure! If it’s a kids’ game, call me a kid,
because I thoroughly enjoyed myself. If you’ve got children either living
in or visiting your household, Gast should be a no-brainer, and even if
you don’t, do yourself a favour and consider this one (you don’t have to
tell anyone you played it; we’ll just keep it our little secret).
Final score: 80%
Played on:
Win XP
Pentium 4, 2 GHz
512 MB RAM
GeForce 4
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