Thepremise of Geist is very unique. You are part of the spiritual operative that
is searching for your body that is being held captive in a large complex. You
can possess almost anything in the game in order to rescue your body. We’ve
had FPS games where you fight aliens, save the world, set in horror locations,
but have we ever played a FPS that has you possessing the bodies of the
computer controlled characters?
The game is laid out just
like other FPS games. The game is divided up into different missions that you
have to complete in order to finish the game. The demo at E3 showed the
objects for each particular mission for a particular level. The version I
played had you taking possession of an engineer to destroy part of the
complex. Once you have your objective you then start the mission.
The controls are similar
to other FPS games, but unlike some other GameCube FPS’s there is no lock on
or auto target button. The first person you possessed didn’t have any weapons
and in order to make it past the guards you could either possess one of the
guards or possess a gun security system. With one button click you are
roaming as a spirit in the game. You then move to another character or item
that you can possess. If you can possess the item or character you will see
an indicator on the screen. Each time you possess an item or creature the
game displayed an impressive small cut scene showing this character becoming
possessed.
Once you possess another
person or item the controls adjust to that particular character. For example
if you possessed a guard, then your controls will display the particular
weapon the guard is using. If you possess a gun turret, then the controls
adjust to the gun turret. Each time you possess another character there is
always an option to de-possess this character. Each time you de-possess you
fly through the stage as a spirit looking for another item to possess.
There was a large
assortment of items that could be possessed within the one. One was a
security camera gun turret, another was an explosive box, and probably the
most unique was a dog. It’s a very interesting concept and it was very simple
to execute at anytime. If you’re not sure what to do next you can always fly
around and look for something to possess.
The graphics for the demo
on display were well done. The characters had their own unique and smooth
animation and the frame rate was very steady. The different levels shown were
also very good, but nothing that will blow anyone away. The demo on display
was a little buggy with the controls seeming to drop player input on
occasion. One of the booth representatives had to restart one game on
display.
Geist looks to be a great
game when it’s released in the fourth quarter of 2004. The concept is very
unique and something different than the normal run of the mill shooters. With
the huge assortment of FPS games being released later this year, Geist might
be overlooked. This might not be the next Halo or Half Life, but Geist
deserves just as much attention as those other games.
