Ghost Squad

It ain't The House of the Dead or Time Crisis for sure but it raises the bar for Light Gun games with the utilization of action phases and sniping sequences. I wish we could see more of this approach in Light Gun games but sadly the genre is dead for a while. Although this is the most diverse and interesting gameplay concept I've ever encountered in a Light Gun game, Wii edition lacks the intensity of the original arcade cabinet. It sure is fun but could've been a cult entry for the genre if it was a bit more ambitious.

Ghost Squad is an arcade light-gun game ported to the Wii like House of the Dead 2+3 was. You play as part of a special operative style team taking on the terrorist organisation known as the Indigo Wolves through 3 missions.

Three missions doesn't sound too much, but the idea is that you replay the game many times. It doesn't get boring as quick as you may think, because as you play; your character and the mission 'levels up'. When your character levels up, he unlocks a new gun or a new costume. The costume only matters during the cut scenes, but the gun can change the game-play experience because it affects the blast radius, ammunition level, and other aspects such as if it can penetrate armour.

The missions have many branching paths but the end boss is always the same. At certain points you will be presented with an option. Options may be if you choose to go through the left or right door, or another decision may be to choose to focus on saving the hostages or offer back up to your team. As the mission levels up, you unlock new decision paths which open up new areas within the level so there are new experiences to discover on repeated plays.

The game-play comes down to using the Wii Remote to aim and shoot enemies as they appear, and reloading by pointing off-screen. Movement is on-rails so movement between sections is automatic. There are a few action sequences where you have to point the remote and press A to engage in hand-to-hand combat, save hostages, or defuse bombs.

Success or Failure of the mission only comes down to the boss result, since you have unlimited continues and each boss poses a different challenge. On the first mission, you have to lock on to the helicopter and fire a few rockets within the time limit. On the second mission, you have to give the boss a head-shot with one bullet, and the third mission, you have to attack an armoured boat, then take down an armoured soldier.

The game's look and sound seems dated, but it is a retro game and will bring back memories of playing the likes of Time Crisis (if you are old enough to remember those days) and House of the Dead.

There is a multiplayer mode which has two funny optional themes. Ninja mode gives the levels a Japanese décor as you fight samurai looking enemies with shurikens. Paradise mode turns the enemies into Bikini clad women, and you take them down with your trusty dolphin water gun!

Overall, Ghost Squad is a very fun game and definitely recommended if you are looking for an arcade light-gun game. It would have been nice if they made extra levels, but there is plenty of fun to be had with the given content.

My perspective on light gun games has always been a little skewed, my taste for the more tactical Time Crisis beating out most games with literally only shooting. Ghost Squad is a fine take, though, with linear repetitive levels belying a cool split path system that incentivises skill and rewards repeated play with some awesome unlocks, enough to distract from the classic arcade conversion problem of lacking true depth in lacking true death.