Possession: Sounds a bit gruesome doesn't it?
The Bad: Weak gunplay, weak multi-player, graphics are technically a little stale.
Introduction: Geist was a Nintendo GameCube game developed by N-Space, the company known for creating the Duke Nukem Series. Geist is what is described a first-person shooter, but its quite a bit different than your average as a matter of fact, in terms of: possession.
Presentation: The overall presentation of the game is pretty good. The menus are very simple, but they aren't much of something that will impress the eye. The story is told in a very easily understood matter. Characters are quite well developed and original, and the voice-work is pretty good to match
Story: The story of Geist is supposedly similar to that of Half-Life. You play as a character named John Raimi, who is entering the secret Volks Corporation in an attempt to gain some information on its secret dealings. You, as a scientist, enter along with a military group and fight along side them as well. But as you obtain the information and are about to depart from Volks, you are captured by an unknown enemy. You are strapped in a machine where your spirit is transported out of your body into the air. You are trapped in virtual-reality, but then are rescued by a young girl named Gigi who guides as you set on your mission to find your body, as well as your friend who was c
captured as well.
Graphics: The graphics in Geist are pretty good. Some of the textures are really great, but the characters are somewhat unrealistic with some annoying animations. Volks Corporation looks pretty similar throughout the game, so don't expect too many new things; and in Spirit Form, you see things out of normal color so don't expect it to be 100% colorful either. As well as this, the frame rate is somewhat inconsistent throughout the game; there is some slowdown during the high action sequences that should be taken notice of, but I experienced little problems myself. The problems are mainly in Geist's first level.
Sound: The sound in Geist is pretty good as well. The voice-work is done well by many characters, but some do sound a bit too overacted. The gunfire is somewhat the same sounds throughout the game, but I think the music in Geist is pretty solid. Its during the boss battles that you experience some great music. This game also sounds great in 5.1 Surround Sound. Gameplay: All right, now for the most important part of any video game. The gameplay is Geist is pretty smooth, and there are many tasks to do throughout your adventure. The focus of this game is being in you Possessive/Spirit state, so I will start with this first. In your Spirit form, you move many times faster than a normal human or animal does, and there are many things that you can take control over, or possess. You can possess inanimate objects, as well as living creatures. You know you can possess something when there is a red aura that surrounds the object. But to possess a creature/human, you need to scare them; which is the key gameplay element of the game. You first need to scare someone, particularly by possessing an object and doing things that normal wouldn't occur. For example, you can possess mechanical arms, but then you can grab some one with them; and the person will be surrounded by the red aura, and you can possess the "Host". Not only that, but you have a energy meter in ghost form that dwindles away while you are not possessing anything. Do replenish your life, you either possess something, or take life energy from the plants that reside throughout Volks Corporation. possession is a key factor in the game, and many areas cannot be reached without possessing the proper person/animal. There are even times when you possess birds, dogs, and even rats. Its quite entertaining to see what you can possess, but there is only one way to scare them which you need to find out for yourself. The second element of Geist is its shooter elements. The shooting elements in Geist is pretty good, but the action is somewhat unsolid compared to other FPS. It could have used a bit more touch up, and the controls are a bit sluggish. Its easy to get used to however, and you will take no notice of it all. So in other words, the FPS is a nice highlight in the game, while not perfect.
Multiplayer: Yes, Geist has a nice multilayer addition as well. Its pretty good, but you cannot play through all the levels or possess every object unless you collect tokens in Single Player Mode. There are three modes in Geist: Possession Death match, Capture the Host, and Hunt.. possession Death match is like normal death match, except that you posses beings or objects to use to kill your opponents instead of gathering weapons for your arsenal. Capture the Host is just like capture the flag, with the exception that you possess Hosts and move them towards you scoring zone. Now Hunt is a every strange mode; it is a match between Humans and Spirits. Humans can shoot deadly gases at the Spirits, while Spirits possess the Hosts and try to put them in deadly traps. Hosts can fight it however, and death can be prevented. It is similar to death match, but more complicated; and not as fun.
Value: Geist is not really a long gamel around 10 hours long. Geist is more of an adventure than a FPS, so it feels shorter all the same. There is collectibles throughout the game that adds to the value, but its not really anything to add. The reason why I scored it a bit higher, is because the Multiplayer adds a lot of value: to any FPS so its a plus. Without the Multiplayer, Geist may have not been worth a $50.00 investment, but nowadays with a cheaper price range, you may want to Geist a go.