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I have fond memories of arcades and their cash guzzling games. Nothing could beat spending a crisp ten pound note in an arcade on games like Time Crisis and Silent Scope. The over the top cubicles, loud pumping music and flashing strobe lights all merged together to make a fantastic gaming experience. Sadly as home consoles have become more and more powerful the appeal of arcades has waned. With the creation of the Nintendo Wii and its motion controlled games, it’s never looked direr for games like Time Crisis (in the arcades). On the other hand, the Nintendo Wii has allowed arcade gaming to finally enter the home in its true form; Lightgun games. Dodgy and cheaply made lightguns are now a thing of the past as the Wii mote allows easy precision aiming. It was only a matter of time until past arcade games were ported over to the Wii and Sega’s Ghost Squad is no exception. Released in the arcades in 2004 and again in 2007 in an ‘Evolution’ format, the game featured 3 levels of varying locations, difficulties and weapons. The Wii version came out earlier this month but does it execute its plan successfully or does it haunt your gaming dreams for years to come?

If you compare the two games on paper there isn’t really much to distinguish spending a couple quid in the arcade on Ghost Squad or forty pounds on the Nintendo Wii edition. The game still features 3 levels; one on Airforce One, one through a Ramboesque jungle and finally one in a mountainside presidential retreat. The premise is simple; shoot your way through generic goons until you reach your end object which varies from shooting down a helicopter or quelling a hostage situation with a cool and collected shot to the perp’s head. 3 levels might not sound like a lot and at about 10-15minutes each it’s not. Each level can be instantly replayed but upon successful completion it ramps up the difficulty. There is some variation within the levels produced by the inclusion of multiple routes through the levels. At certain chances you’ll be able to choose which door to enter or whether you’ll want to try and defuse a bomb or rescue hostages.

Furthermore, it’s not just monotonous gunplay. You’ll have sniper sections where you get a zoomed in rifle, a countdown (depending on the difficulty) and a set amount of targets to kill. Fail to complete the mini objective and its Game Over. Another instance will have you tracking a helicopter with a missile launcher until you’re locked on and subsequently firing off your rockets. You’ll diffuse mines, rescue hostages and engage in hand to hand knife combat (which involves timing button presses with circles on the screen). Fail to block an attack and its Game Over, but succeed and you’re granted a cut scene of you taking down those that attacked you. There’s plenty of deviation from the typical formula and it’s nice to see that it’s just not a continual shootfest.

Once you’ve finished a level successfully or Game Overed, then you’re get the mission end screen. It’ll show you how far you got, which route you took and grant you XP which levels up your profile / character. With higher ranks comes unlockable guns, 25 in fact, and they all handle differently. There are assault rifles, shotguns, semi-automatics (to name a few) and they all have different firing modes. For example, the default gun has a single shot, 3burst fire shot or fully automatic. The latter is limited to however much ammo it says on the screen, while the other two are unlimited. You fire using the trigger on the Wii mote and use the A button to interact with the game. You have a health bar which deteriorates when shot until empty and then you’re granted a continue screen. Sadly there isn’t a limit on continues so the game quickly becomes very easy due to the fact that any risk is removed. The only time you actually fail a mission is if you don’t defeat a boss or fail a sniper challenge. If that’s the case, you just start again. The actual shooting is a joy, as the Wii mote’s sensitivity is spot on. It goes where you want it to and is calibrated perfectly. To reload you just move it off screen and to shoot, point and click.

If you’ve played Ghost Squad in the arcade then you’ll feel right at home, its nigh on identical. The graphics are decent, but don’t exactly push the Wii. The music is a mix between odd techno baselines and tension building tunes. There’s two player co-op which ups the enjoyment factor but makes the game even easier. The only Wii-exclusive features are the four player minigames and an online leaderboard. Finding four people to play the game is the hard part, but when you do, its longevity is slightly more bearable. It’s not a bad game, but it’s just lacking in its content to justify a purchase. It’s definitely a rent title as its ‘drop in and out’ gameplay and structure is suited to on and off play. It’s a noble effort but just lacks that killer punch.

Score: 6/10

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