Ghost Squad (Wii)

I just bought this game yesterday to go with my Wii Zapper and it is brilliant. The Zapper works really well with this game and you will be pulling off double/triple hit combos in no time. The game's sound and graphics are also really good and it is like having a mini arcade machine in your living room when you play it.

The game is quite short as in there are only 3 areas to play but you can unlock loads of weapons and costumes which keeps you coming back for more, and for £25 is an all round good buy. Can't wait until House Of The Dead in March/April 2008

Pretty much a perfect copy of the GHOST SQUAD arcade game. You get the the main arcade mode with 3 missions (a hotel, airplane, and jungle base) with several areas to shoot through on each one. You'll make decisions on which path to take, so you will end up replaying levels to see everything. For those who struggle (or want to struggle) the game lets you turn on/off the targeting cursor, and has 3 difficulty levels.

It's best to play this game with a gun accessory. B buton is shoot and flicking the wiimote away from the screen will reload. The shooting is broken up by the odd mini-game event. Mostly holding the A button on a hostage to subdue them or pointing at a bomb wire and pressing A and other stuff. Also the bosses are played against in this way.

A nice feature to the main game, is the experience points system. Unlike older arcade shooters, there's more to the points from shooting bad-guys and being quick about it, these mount up and the more you get the more guns (with different behaviours and features), and costumes you can unlock (as well as a few bonus modes). You can play the main game with 1-2 players and there is also 4-player support in party games. The training mode is great (but short) for easing people into the game and is a good place to make sure you've setup your wiimote the way you wanted.

The sounds and music are a lovely (and cheesy techno) touch, that reminds me of old-skool shooters. The graphics are crisp, on a HDTV but they seem to look like a fuzzy PS2 game on a standard TV at 50Hz. And don't expect to much acting talent from the voice actors...

I played this game using the "Venom ShootActive Wii Gun Accessory". Compared to others I've used it is the best out there - others feel very front heavy (like they're tipping forward). It is far too awkward playing GS with just a wiimote in one hand, as you naturally point the wiimote at an upward angle.

A serious point though, if you get this game. When you point your wiimote normally at the screen you'll notice the cursor is slightly above/below where you're actually pointing (depending where your sensor bar is). Luckily the game lets you fix this...

It would be wise to put the wii sensor bar on top of the TV and set the wii settings. Then go to the in-game options and calibrate you wiimote (lining up the on-screen crosshairs with the top edge of the wiimote). This is a bit annoying, but it will save any aggro later when you realise your going to have to shoot at an angle to compensate for the cursors postion. It was a nightmare to shoot when the sensor bar was below the tv.

And for the hardcore, there's also the ability to submit your hi-scores via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

This is a worthwhile purchase on the cheap and with a wii gun accessory. A good blast with plenty of reason to stick at it for a while.

Before I get onto the review, note that this game is $30 in the US so as usual UK players are getting ripped off. This is why it lost a star. Hold fire until you find it for under £20.

The game itself is great fun. Play alone or in co-op, gain points and unlock new outfits and guns. Every time you beat the end-of-level boss it raises the difficulty of that level the next time you play (up to level 15 I think). This changes the time of day, paths available and number of enemies encountered. You can play with the crosshairs turned off for more points if you're good and have calibrated your Wiimote properly.

There is also a party mode for 3-4 players in which you get to play through anything you've already unlocked and don't unlock anything else. There are also online scoreboards so you can compare your top score with everyone locally, in the UK or worldwide.

Recommended for everyone who doesn't have Wiimote pointing trouble as a great casual game for 30 mins at a time.