Halloween is a time for weird and wonderful adventures.
On one Halloween, a group of children head into the woods toward a house they
heard was full of delightful candy. Two of the children, Alicia (dressed as a
witch) and Greg (in the guise of a devil) trail the group. When the two lagging
children finally reach the house, they are shocked to see the door open and
inside, the Bogeyman and a cast of ghouls have extracted the souls of their
friends and turned what remained into stone statues.
Alicia and Greg, pursued, ran off into the woods. Most lost than before, they
stumble upon a land filled with the dead. A guardian at the gates looks them
over carefully, then decides that he may be able to help them. Well, not him
personally, but he agrees to lead them to one who can help them rescue their
friends – Jack OLantern.
Thus begins the adventures of Alicia and Greg in Spirits & Spells, a
DreamCatcher and Wanadoo release for the GameCube console system.
This game may look like an adventure for the young, but it is anything but.
The storyline may be a little more than they can handle.
This game is rather linear in nature. There is only one way through the game
and you will have to avoid obstacles or defeat the monsters lined up in front of
you. The game allows players to take on the role of Alicia, who uses her hat as
a boomerang to knock down the mobs that confront her. Greg can do leaping
pitchfork attacks. There are powerups scattered throughout the game, which can
be used to generate special attacks. There are also witches and imps throughout
Sydre, and in their Halloween disguises, Alicia and Greg can pass through
undetected, but only for a short period of time.
Other game features include a three-dimensional environment, and 13 levels of
gameplay. Both Greg and Alicia are playable and show up at different times
throughout the game. Each is vulnerable to certain elements – for Alicia it is
fire, while Greg will expire if he touches or walks on ice.
If you fail, there are save points that you are returned to until your lives
are used up.
Graphically this game has some very solid aspects and some not so good
aspects. The worlds are very lush and the three-dimensional aspects is
excellent. But the camera is fixed and that can mean that at times you have a
third-person viewpoint but at others this is a side-scrolling game. The
animation is also very well done.
The musical score for this game is rich and vibrant. The sound effects are
solid as well. The character dialogue attempts to be stylish, but falls a little
flat.
The game controls are very simplistic. The A and B buttons control jump and
attack, while the left thumbstick controls directional movement. If you have
collected enough characters, the Y button allows you to switch characters, the Z
button activates the player interface and the X button (depressed for two
seconds, then used in concert with the B button) activates a special magical
attack. The two characters also have special moves which use the X button and A
button in combination.
The game does not really present a great challenge. The puzzles are
simplistic and this a move from point A to point B venture. Even when
occasionally failing, and being set back to a checkpoint, the path ahead was
unvaried, which make hinder replayability.
Spirits & Spells looks good for the most part, but the game lacks depth. The
story has control elements that are simple to use – so simple even a child could
navigate through this world, but the story may be a little too extreme for
younger players. Rescuing souls stolen by the Bogeyman who then turns the
children into stone may be a little much.
Spirits & Spells is simplistic and linear and will not overly challenge.
This game is rated for Everyone.
Gameplay: 6
This game is too linear. You can’t stray off the patch and the fixed camera
teases with a look at a delightfully rendered world, then locks you from at
least seeing it from a panoramic perspective.
Graphics: 8
The look of this game is delightful. The environments are superb and the
animation is very well done.
Sound: 7
The musical score is robust and fits the game mood perfectly. The dialogue could
have been much better, and the effects are merely average.
Difficulty: Easy
This game is a linear trek that does not offer much in the way of
mind-stretching puzzles.
Concept: 6.5
The controls are simplistic enough for a child, but the story seems to tread an
older line.
Overall: 6.5
This game is a tease. It looks terrific but does not play out as well. The sound
track goes from excellent to merely Ok. This is a mindless diversion that has a
measure of eye candy, but lack depth.
