Grabbed by the Ghoulies goes gold

Grabbed by the Ghoulies, the new Xbox title from Microsoft and developer Rare, has gone gold. The scheduled ship date for the ghost-story game is October 21, with an MSRP of $39.99.

Billed as a "beat-'em-up action-adventure," the E-rated game marks Microsoft's latest attempt to expand into the kids' game market. Featuring an emphasis on humor, the game follows a grade-schooler named Cooper trying to rescue his girlfriend after she's kidnapped by a group of mischievous sprites.

Grabbed by the Ghoulies is the first Xbox title from Rare, which developed dozens of N64 titles, including Banjo-Kazooie and GoldenEye 007. The company is also planning Xbox versions of two of its N64 classics--Perfect Dark and Conker--to be released in 2004.