Back to the mansion

You’ve got to appreciate Nintendo for their steadfastness in wanting to create the absolutely best game they can. No matter how much pressure fans pile onto them for releasing a sequel for a particular game, they’ll start when they feel the time is right and they’ll finish when the game is done. One such game that fans have been waiting for, seemingly forever, is the sequel to 2002’s fantastic Luigi’s Mansion, then released for the GameCube. The popular puzzler is set to make a return in 2012, making a jump to Nintendo’s 3DS handheld in the process. We jumped at the chance to play the game at GamesCom and are eager to share our findings.

Still fascinated by ghosts, Professor E. Gadd is eager to continue his ghost research and has asked Luigi to help him. Armed with a vacuum cleaner strapped to his back, Luigi sets out to bust some ghosts in a creepy looking but decidedly haunted manor.

Go go Ghostbuster

Luigi’s Mansion 2 graphics did nothing but impress and it was immediately noticeable that the game suited 3D images very well. The layout of the rooms of the mansion, along with the objects placed in it, gave a real sense of depth. Light sources from both inside and outside the mansion change position as you traverse a room, further strengthening the feeling of being in a 3D world. Light - or lack thereof – plays an important role in creating the spooky ambiance one would expect in a haunted house. The occasional bout of thunder will cause most of the lights inside to go out for a short period of time. It’s not uncommon that these moments are used to sprout some new ghosts that need to be sucked up and, after a while, you start expecting this whenever you enter a new room. But, as you’re never sure that it - will - sprout new ghosts, thunder really helps build up the tension.

The vacuum cleaner is used in many ingenious ways and you should never underestimate just how much it contributes to your puzzle-solving and coin gathering efforts. The vacuum loves sucking up cloth, revealing clues, keys and goodies in the process. By reversing the airflow, it can be used to blow-start a propeller that in turn lifts stuff up or blow objects out of the way. Of course its main application is sucking up ghosts but, as Luigi doesn’t have Ray, Egon or Venkman to support him, he’ll need them to hold still for a while. For that he can shortly zap them with an electrical bolt. Though, when I say shortly, I really do mean shortly. Few ghosts will be sucked up on a single attempt and timing the zap with the vacuum action takes a little getting used to.

The fourth dimension

Fortunately, maneuvering Luigi through the mansion and controlling his actions feels very intuitive. The new analog button/stick works like a charm and all the controls proved to be quick and responsive. One dimension I had not expected to use outside of using stairs, was up and down. Many rooms have secrets above the standard view and pointing Luigi’s gaze upwards can reveal all sorts of things.

Going hands-on with Luigi’s Mansion 2, the 2012 release date confused me a little. What I saw - felt - and - looked – ready for release in every way. Obviously I saw only a small portion of the game but it was yet more proof that Nintendo will slap on the polish until they’re happy with their game. And from what I saw, I’m confident that we will be too.