Ghost Master
$19.95		(Win98/ME/2000/XP) (Mini Retail) (GHOSTMASPR)

Publisher: Empire Interactive

- Ages 7 and Up

Ratings:

from Games Domain

from Gamershell

from Four Fat Chicks

Exercise Your Demons

Grim spectres, mischievous gremlins, howling banshees, things that go bump in the night... and that's just your starting team!

As an afterlife civil servant sent to Gravenville by the Haunter Committee, frighten lowly mortals from their homes and places of work in a game that puts you in charge of legions of ghosts, ghouls and spirits!

Your mission: manage resources to scare and manipulate people, then discover the secrets behind Gravenville...

Features:

Innovative and universally appealing game concept - control the bad guys for a change!

Groundbreaking graphical and technological advances - that bring bring unparalleled levels of accessibility, enjoyment and involvement.

A wide range of ghosts and scaring tools at your disposal!

Uses a simple "forget the manual" game interface

Ground-breaking artificial intelligence - many seemingly-living AI driven characters in each level

Requirements:

Win98/2000/ME/ XP: Pentium®II 450, with 128 MB RAM. 3D graphics card: ATI Radeon / nVidea GeForce. 640x480 screen. Optional gamepad controller.

Reviews:

Games Domain by Martyn Clayden

"Sick Puppies' Ghost Master has turned the whole horror genre on its head, though, and come up with an ingenious anti-mix of The Sims and "Beetlejuice". You play the ghost of a deceased civil servant who has been sent to examine the supernatural activity in the small town of Gravenville. Naturally the problem originates from the humans and your role is to recruit, train, equip and command a team of specialist spooks mostly to scare the living daylights out of them."

"The camerawork on the other hand is excellent. The 3D graphics are superior to most games of this ilk (certainly The Sims) and 360 degree movement, tilting, panning and passing through storeys is smooth and effortless. Not only can you centre the view instantly on chosen ghosts and humans, you can also possess a mortal in first-person view and listen to his heavy breathing and pounding heart as his terror increases..."

"Ghost Master is an original and entertaining idea that has been excellently implemented. Hopefully, Sick Puppies is even now hard at work on expansion packs with more spookily comic names and a crypt full of new monsters and abilities. Otherwise, we might just have to bite them..."

Gamershell by James Kinnear

"One mission is called “Calamityville Horror”, set in a creepy haunted house, and instead of asking you to scare all of the humans away, you are asked to make the humans discover the two corpses in the house. There are many puzzle elements like this in Ghost Master, which add variety to the game, and make it that bit more challenging..."

"Ghost Master is a totally unique and original idea. If you like The Sims, you will be right at home, watching humans go about their usual daily routines. And if you don’t like The Sims, it will be right up your street too! Think of it this way – after all those times they messed up your house and made you take them to the bathroom, it’s time to get even. Scare them witless – it’s fun!"

Four Fat Chicks by Old Rooser

"Let's dispel one misconception right away, though. Many who have not played GM view it as an adventure title. That's not the case, I'm afraid. GM is primarily a real-time strategy game, with strong simulation overtones, and some RPG components. It's Ghostbusters (or "Peoplebusters," really) meets The Sims. One might think of GM as "haunting management." It's original, creative, funny and graphically lovely; but it's not an adventure.

"Ghost Master comes to us from Sick Puppies, a British development house. In doing a little research, we find that one Gregg Barnett is not only responsible for this inventive title, but also had a major hand in all three Discworld games! I may be a bit biased, with my English wife, but I do feel that, except for peculiar spelling, the English have a wonderful talent for subtle and off-the-wall humor (or humour). Given GM, I'm very much anticipating further products from Barnett and company."

"Ghost Master is unique, creative, colorful, challenging, and a good deal of plain old fun. If you've ever wanted to enter the puerile world of your Sims with a team of bizarre spirits, then this is the game for you. If you're up for a hard, but satisfying, puzzle/strategy mission objective game, Ghost Master should fit the bill. Heck, it gets "10 extra points" just for being so weird and different!"

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