Luigi's first adventure is a fun, albeit limited, adventure.
Pros:
+Luigi finally gets his time in the spotlight
+Innovative and fun gameplay
+Smooth presentation and entertaining design
+A suitably creepy (in a Mario sense) environment
Cons:
-The game is very linear in most aspects
-A rather short adventure which offers not much else than the story itself
-Occasionally clunky controls
Overview/background:
There is no question that Luigi has been largely overshadowed by his brother in red, Mario. This has even been an ongoing comedic element in some Mario games of the past and future, Luigi being the target of endless denial and obscurity. Finally, Luigi has a game of his own, and even though he once again doesn't reach the greatness of his brother, he can be proud to star in a game as entertaining and imaginative as Luigi's Mansion.
Story: 8,2/10
Did you expect a deep, involving story? I thought not. It's simple, funny and at times intriguing. However, it is not much more than that. Luigi get's a mysterious letter from his dear brother, Mario, announcing he has won a mansion in a contest Luigi had no idea he had entered. He goes to meet his brother in the mansion, and after an unfortunate encounter with ghosts, he meets the unusual professor E. Gadd. The bespectacled codger reports that he saw a man with a red cap walk in the house and never come back out. Luigi isn't long in discovering who that person is, and after being armed with a flashlight and a ghost-sucking vacuum, the Poltergust 3000, he delves into the mansion to save his brother (it was Mario, btw).
Graphics: 9,3/10
The graphical prowess of the Gamecube is largely overlooked compared to the other two mainstream consoles of the time. Fortunately, Luigi's Mansion is another showcase of how great the games looked on the purple cube. The textures are smooth, environments are detailed and the denizens of the mansion show no blemishes in the looks department. The gloomy interior of the mansion feels suitably authentic and Luigi himself is exactly how he should be. All in all, the game looks really good.
Sound/score: 8,7/10
The music in Luigi's Mansion is pretty unique. Since this is a game aimed towards all ages, they couldn't put anything that could really induce terror and fear into young ones. However, neither would it be fitting to put in happy, cheerful music. LM somehow manages to sort out this limbo and come with a chilling but at the same time charming and Mario-esque soundtrack.
There isn't much voice-acting at all, but Luigi can call out Mario's name and his voice changes according to how dark his surroundings are. It may be pretty much nonexistent, but when it is present, it is done well.
Gameplay: 8,8/10
Equipped with the flashlight and Poltergust 3000, Luigi becomes a veritable ghostbuster. A multitude of ghosts appear throughout the game, and all of them are weak to the formidable vacuum. The first thing you do with most ghosts is flash them with the flashlight. Once that is done, you can suck them up into the vacuum with the R button. You can control the vacuum with the C stick and later use the L button to utilize a number of elemental attacks. This control scheme is truly innovative but it can also be quite clunky at times. The tiny C stick isn't used much in other games, so you may not be very skilled at using it. However, once you learn the controls thoroughly, you'll be catching ghosts in no time.
However, there are also unique ghosts that are a bit tougher to catch. Many of them need some clever puzzle solving to capture and the biggest are epic boss battles. These are the most fun to capture, and are also all very unique in appearance and personality.
E. Gadd has also armed you with a Game Boy of sorts that lets you sense ghosts and check maps of the area. This helps a lot as the corridors of the mansion can often seem confusing. Many of the doors are locked initially and you have to locate keys to open them and discover new areas. This, however, also makes the game quite linear, as you will most often know what to do next. However, the game keeps things interesting by presenting new challenges, ghosts and secrets.
There are collectibles as well. Coins, diamonds, emeralds, rubies and bills are yours for the taking if you find them. This adds more fun into the gameplay, especially the elusive and difficult to achieve golden diamonds. This adds more of an exploration element into the gameplay, which is exactly what the game needed.
Ultimately, Luigi's Mansion's gameplay is fun, novel and occasionally frustrating, but you'll forgive its transgressions easily.
Replayability: 8,0/10
Except for the different difficulty modes, there's not much else to do in the game. It offers enough to warrant a replay, but don't expect there to be something extremely different the second time around. This is the game's main flaw, but it is fortunately the only big one you'll find.
Luigi's first real adventure in gaming may not be a breakthrough in gaming, but it is a great game regardless and any fan of the green, lanky bro of the duo should not hesitate to buy Luigi's Mansion.
-calvinsora