Hands On: Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins

Advanced Media Network recently got its hands on Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins for PSP, and the game is everything a fan of the series could hope for. Expect to see all the hallmarks of the series: the valiant knight Sir Arthur, armed with a lance and clad in armor (or sometimes just a pair of boxers), must once again battle hordes of beasts and meanies and, using his platforming prowess and trusty double-jump, save the princess from the clutches of evil. It’s a tried and true old-school formula, and in the hands of the right developers (in this case some members of the original Ghosts ‘n Goblins team) it can be the formula for success.

All the right things have stayed the same, from the expansive map of the underworld journey that starts each level to the famous, or perhaps infamous, level of difficulty. The original Ghosts ‘n Goblins games required superior platforming skills, and that hasn’t changed for Ultimate. However, the gods have had mercy on us and the new game has a save feature — the originals required you to play from beginning to end. A few other features help the frustrated gamer: adjustable difficulty settings, and the ability to respawn in the place you die instead of from a checkpoint.

The game has upped the complexity in a few key areas. There are now several new types of weapons and items to find. The enemies are more varied and the bosses are bigger than ever. Arthur now has some new abilities, including being able grab ledges, dash, shoot downward, and most importantly, to level up his magic abilities and attacks. Though still a 2D side-scroller, the game has been implemented inside a 3D engine and uses this to deliver some interesting, non-innovative effects and animations. Fortunately, all this added complexity doesn’t take away from the core gameplay — it’s still just run, jump, attack, and don’t die.

The levels we played also featured some much-needed nonlinearity in the form of various branching or optional paths. With five main stages divided into multiple sub-missions, the game is large, though definitely not excessively so. The challenge of the game, and not its actual length, are what will make it take a while to complete.

Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins is scheduled for release throughout North America in the third quarter of 2006. Check back with PSP Advanced for a full review in the coming months.