Grabbed by the Ghoulies

« This is one of those infamous games that you'll pick up long after completion just for the fun of it. »

« The game took me back to the days when gameplay was solid. This is definitely a title that will be replayed over and over as the years pass. »

« Its level design, easy to learn combat system, humor and challenges posed by the icons that show up in each room make you want to play just one more room that will keep you up way too late. That, my friends, is the true mark of a fun game. »

« Despite the excellent presentation, Grabbed by the Ghoulies really didn’t have much of a story or a linear progression. It was more like a series of ongoing monster-bashing challenges – even the ending was rather anti-climatic. »

« A smorgasbord of visual bliss, superb animation and a level of arcade-style design that channels the spirit and fun of Smash TV, bringing that stickiness into the modern era - and what could be cooler than that? [Dec 2003, p.82] »

« Although it's worth the 5-10 hours of your time that it will take to complete the main game, we honestly expected a little more. [Dec 2003, p.80] »

« One of the most refreshing, fun and downright brilliant games I've played this year. »

« The game explores some good new gameplay techniques, like fighting with the right analog stick. Even with the innovations, there is still enough holding the game back from greatness. »

« This game has giving me so much happiness and joy it is so stupid l love it »

« Giving this game a 10 and then describing general aspects of the game as mediocre or repetitive makes no sense to me. This game is mediocre in areas, outright bad in others. The combat in this game is quite bad. All the combat is relegated to the right thumb stick. Why? Who knows. Why is this a problem? Because other than using the A button to pick up weapons, the face buttons do absolutely nothing. This an essentially a 3D brawler set in a spooky mansion, but you have nothing in the way of mobility. There’s no side-hop, there’s no block, there’s nothing. The game at times gives you different gun-type weapons, but they either spray or shoot projectiles, and both control the same way. They’re okay, but there’s only so much that they can do to break up the 100 rooms of repetition you face. Neither do the restrictions occasionally put in each room really keep things fresh, because in the end you’re always just pushing the right thumb stick to some enemy, and that’s it. That’s the game. Are there puzzles then to break up the monotony of this barebones combat? No, but we got everyone’s favorite game mechanic: QTEs! Yep, their way of breaking up the combat is that occasionally some random SOMETHING will give Cooper a “super shock” and the way to avoid losing some HP is by hitting the face buttons in a certain order quickly. It’s not fun. Really no part of this game is for very long. The story is completely inconsequential and is IMO the most transparent window dressing to just go VERY LINEARLY from room to room. To be clear, there is NO exploration in this game. You go from Room 1 to Room 100 in exactly that order with no variance whatsoever. I beat the game in 4.5 hours collecting all the Rare books along the way, so fortunately it’s not a very long experience. This feels like a $15 game that would have shown up on Steam 10 years later and no one would have cared about it. Instead you have these other people here on MC who were the poor souls who got this as a Christmas or birthday gift and have tried to convince themselves that this game is anything more than what it really is: a barebones (wink) brawler with no standout mechanics or characters or personality to speak of. »

« I'm surprised how well this game manages to look like a typical rare game. I think all the reviews of this game are wrong. The game is a lot of fun and even though it has repetitive gameplay it manages to be like a good game. if this game had been released on a nintendo console, surely everyone would have bought it, because this game wasn't microsoft's fault, but rare's. is almost the perfect soiel for me. »

« I'm really confused by all the hate this game had,it's actually a really good game with amusing mechanics, an ok/kinda good graphic for the time and a lot of passion put into it. There are tons of different monsters and challenges that this game mixes together in an always well-thought way that makes the gameplay never really boring or still, and the fact that you can pick up/break almost every object in every room makes it feel like the world is actually real, and not just some kind of "wallpaper" put around you punching skeletons. One of the things that make this game special is the worldbuilding: the world around you is both dark and colourful at the same time,and often there are some kind of "joke scenarios" that could even make you laugh by how incredibly out and in place they are at the same time (for example,the dancing room. I love the dancing room). The only thing that can be annoying at times is the camera,which can become pretty confusing in some of the later stages of the game,but it's mostly fine for the rest of it. Come on, they made quick time events before it was cool, and not even in an annoying way! what do you expect more from a 2003 game? »

« *Played via Rare Replay* I am in no way an Xbox hater, but if there is one thing that hurt the British juggernaut Rare after they looked unstoppable in the mid & late '90s it was getting acquired by Microsoft. Following a string of high profile disappointments the original founders jumped ship and those who remained got put on Kinect duty, where the studio's reputation faded to the point where they don't even have a presence in present day gaming outside of their online pirate adventure simulator Sea of Thieves. One such stumbling block responsible for that was this 2003 horror-themed brawler that sees you battling your way through a maniacal weirdo's monster-filled mansion in an effort to save your girlfriend like some family-friendly version of Splatterhouse. It was a bit of a misfire with professional critics and didn't quite have the developer's typical sense of personality or style. Yet, despite its mediocre reception I actually think there's a lot to love here. There are definitely a few odd design choices, such as how the camera is controlled with the left and right triggers while the second analog stick is used to attack. For the most part though it's a fairly straightforward experience. As you head towards your goals you'll learn that each section of the estate you pass through comes with a challenge that must be completed before you can progress and turns what would otherwise be normal combat scenarios into miniature puzzles as you try to contend with whatever rules have been put in place. The variety of modifiers, enemy types, and consumables have been mixed and matched in a number of ways to ensure that no two segments feel identical. A huge plus as the grounds you'll be traipsing over end up not being as big as they at first seem, so you'll be revisiting the same rooms over and over again. The fact that you'll encounter different obstacles and item placements every time prevents a repetitive vibe from ever truly setting in even when your surroundings start to look familiar. If there's one aspect I wish I could have enjoyed more about the title it would have to be its persona. Don't get me wrong I LOVED the setting and motif despite areas of the environment getting a touch overly traversed as they both proved a perfect fit for my October season. The story and accompanying comic book panel cutscenes annoyed me however, as the writing lacks the comedic wit I expect from the creators of Banjo-Kazooie and Conker. So my enjoyment comes exclusively from the gameplay. Between Viva Piñata, Kameo, and now this I can confidently state for certain that Rare did in fact lose a level of quality back in 2002 when they were bought out by their current parent company. Each of the games I just mentioned (all of which I am a fan of) have their rough edges where you see the hints of underdeveloped ideas and cut concepts. If this is as far as they were destined to fall before getting stuck in their motion-sensing sports compilation phase though, then I wish they would go back to putting out products of this caliber as opposed to the whole bunch of nothing they're working on these days. "Ghoulies" may not match anything from the N64 height of the team's career, but it is still more creative, imaginative, and fun than the majority of what we've gotten since their relative absence. 8.6/10 »

« Dont Pay attention to Bad Reviews this is a Classic for the original xbox its a very fun game story is no the best but the gameplay and the music, its awesome!!! »

« I can´t understand all the hate Grabbed By The Ghoulies had to face. Certainly this is by far not the best game the cult studio Rare has published, but it´s a lot of fun! Especially the atmosphere is odd and convincing. The gameplay and graphics take getting used to but playing Grabbed By The Ghoulies with some friends and beer guarantees a hilarious evening! »

« Este es un juego es muy bueno pero fue bastante infravalorado en su momento, recientemente veo que cada vez hay más personas que le hacen justicia y ciertamente este título merece mayor reconocimiento »