Ghost Master

Infobox VG| title = Ghost Master


developer = Sick Puppies
publisher = Empire Interactive, Feral Interactive (Mac)
designer = Gregg Barnett, Chris Bateman
engine =
released = May 23, 2003
December 21, 2006 (Steam)
genre = Puzzle, Strategy
modes = Singleplayer
ratings = ELSPA: +7 ESRB: T
platforms = Windows, Mac
media = CD, Download (Steam)
requirements = Pentium III 450. Windows 98,ME,XP,2000. NVIDIA TNT2 3D card. 128MB of RAM. 750MB of HD space. DirectX 8.1.
input = Keyboard and Mouse

"Ghost Master" is a puzzle/strategy game for the PC. It is among a small selection of games that pit the player in the role of the enemy, similar to "Dungeon Keeper". In this case, the player assumes the role of a Ghost Master, a seemingly bureaucratic spirit tasked to perform certain duties. While the bulk of a Ghost Master's duties consist of hauntings, a Ghost Master may also be "called in" to increase belief in the supernatural, avenge deaths, and conscript renegade ghosts. Because a Ghost Master cannot directly interfere in the world of mortals, he is given a team of subordinate ghosts to do so. When not haunting, the Ghost Master is responsible for the training of the ghosts under his command.

The game was published on Mac OS X by Feral Interactive.

Basic Gameplay

In all but a few levels of "Ghost Master", the goal of the game is to cause all mortals to flee the area in fear or succumb to madness. "Ghost Master" plays similarly to a real-time strategy game. The player first chooses the ghosts he wants to field in the level.

The player cannot field every ghost in every place. Each ghost has one or two types of objects (or "fetter") it can be bound to. For example, a ghost who died during a robbery could only be bound to a "Murder Fetter", whereas a water spirit can only be bound to a bath, sink, or a simple puddle of water.

Another limiting factor is "Plasm". This numerical resource dictates which abilities a ghost can use. As a human becomes frightened, Plasm is generated. With more Plasm, stronger abilities (and more ghosts) can be fielded at any one time.

Once the objective(s) for a level has been completed, the game rates the player's progress. Many factors are considered, including time, amount of impact on the mortals, and how many mortals fled. If the player is able to complete the mission fairly quickly, there is a multiplier added to the final score. This score determines the amount of "Gold Plasm" is given to the player, which is used to add more skills to ghosts.

Trapped spirits

Each level also includes various trapped spirits, haunters who are bound to a particular fetter or location. The Ghost Master can attempt to solve their problem and, if successful, the spirit joins the Ghost Master's team and can be used in future scenarios.

Mortal defenses and abilities

Inherent

Each human in the game is different in how easily he or she can be scared, and what can cause it to become scared in the first place. All mortals have a belief level, which partially determines the efficacy of a ghost's powers upon them. Every human also has conscious and subconscious fears which are particularly effective on him or her. These are unknown at the beginning of each level, but some ghosts have the ability to expose these fears.

For example, a human with a low belief bar and a no special fear of spiders would not be particularly unnerved by the appearance of a spider in his vicinity. However, if that human's subconscious fear was Fire, seeing a room ignited in flame would be extremely effective.

Some areas are protected by wards, either spiritual or technological. Haunters cannot be directly moved into wards, nor can they be 'benched' once inside. This requires the ghost master to find alternate means of sneaking the haunters over the threshold and, if necessary, moved back outside once they are finished.

Special

Somewhere between average humans and your ghosts are priests, witches, and Mediums. These humans have the ability to banish your ghosts that are fielded. Banished ghosts are no longer usable during that level, and are returned after the mission is complete. Also, a large score penalty is levied on players who allow ghosts to be banished.

Ghostbreakers

Ghostbreakers (a parody of "Ghostbusters") are the most dangerous mortals, from a supernatural perspective. They are able to detect and banish ghosts at a much faster speed than other humans. They are able to field special wards, which prevent the player from fielding, or benching, ghosts trapped underneath them. Only if the electrical generators are destroyed will these wards fail.

The three main Ghostbreakers are named after Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd.

Reception

"Ghost Master" received generally favorable reviews [cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/ghostmaster |title=Ghost Master (pc: 2003): Reviews |accessdate=2007-11-10 |format=HTML |publisher=MetaCritic |language=English] but did not sell many copies.

Interestingly, the game ends with a cliffhanger, with the Ghostbreakers bringing in a bomb that would completely erase supernatural presence in the city the game takes place. Because of the lack of a sequel, a bonus level was released for fans, which provided some closure. However, the bonus level is only available for the UK version of the game and was not released for the US version.

The bonus level is included in the Steam release of the game.

Trivia

*Several mission and character names and plots are humorous references to popular culture:
**"Weird Séance" - "Weird Science".
**"The Calamityville Horror" - "Amityville Horror".
**"Summoners Not Included" - the name is a parody of a well-known line on many electrical products ("Batteries Not Included")(And is also from the film "Batteries Not Included"), while the plot closely mimics that of the movie "Evil Dead".
**"The Unusual Suspects" - "The Usual Suspects" (loading screen shows several ghosts are standing in a lineup).
**"Deadfellas" - "Goodfellas" (takes place on a mobster's yacht, and several trapped ghosts have been "whacked" by him).
**"Poultrygeist" - "Poltergeist".
**"Phantom of the Operating Room" - "The Phantom of the Opera".
**"The Blair Wisp Project" - "The Blair Witch Project".
**"Spooky Hollow" - "Sleepy Hollow" (the ghost Dragoon is an obvious reference to the Headless Horseman and the ghost Scarecrow bears a close likeness to the Tim Burton style Scarecrows seen in this film and "The Nightmare Before Christmas").
**"Ghostbreakers" - "Ghostbusters".
**"Facepacks and Broomsticks" - "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".
**"Full Mortal Jacket" - "Full Metal Jacket" (takes place on an army base)(Fans of M*A*S*H* wil be amused by the mortals name's).
**"Harriet" is a rabbit-shaped phooka, similar to "Harvey".
**"What Lies Over the Cuckoo's Nest" - a combination of "What Lies Beneath" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (takes place in a mental hospital).
**Patients "Magenta Quinn" and "Ursula Kudrow"'s name follow the same pattern, the former being forged from "Rocky Horror Show" character Magenta and the actress portraying her, Patricia Quinn, and the latter from "Friends" and "Mad About You" character Ursula Buffay,, and the actress who portrayed her, Lisa Kudrow.
**Almost all of the hospital patients' names in the level "The Phantom Of The Operating Room" are derived from the soldiers in the film Aliens
**"Leon Compowski", one of the patients in the asylum in the level "What Lies Over the Cuckoo's Nest", was a character in the first episode of the third season, of the Simpsons and was played by Michael Jackson. The bio tells us that the staff refer to Leon as "the big white guy who thinks he's the little black guy", exactly what is said about Leon in "The Simpsons".
**"Maxine Factor" is a haunter who used to be a travelling make-up saleswoman, her name is a reference to the makeup company Max Factor.
**The Pianist Fingers from "Deadfellas" appears with his feet encased in cement and weeds wrapped around parts of him. This refers to the mobster style of disposing of bodies by giving them "Concrete Shoes" and throwing the body in water.
*Some Ghosts are based on ancient mythology
**"Wisakejak" is a Coyote trickster spirit, the name comes from a popular Native American trickster, more commonly seen as "Wisakedjak"
**"Harriet" is a phooka trickster a mischievous spirit from Celtic folklore
**"Brigit" is the Ghost of an insane bride-to-be, left at the altar, and takes her name from the Celtic Goddess, most commonly known as Brigid or Brigit, but also known as Brìde, among other names, being the Goddess who represented the female spirit; wives, mothers etc. - among many other things.
**"Windwalker" is a wendigo, a malevolent spiritual being and devourer of human flesh, seen in Algonquian mythology
**The two Fire Elementals "Firetail" and "Sparkle" are salamanders, long believed to be magical lizards born from fire, due to their habit of sleeping in damp logs prepared for firewood.

References