Geist is not quite an 8, but it's there, very nearly. It's enjoyable to play, but it takes awhile to get the hang of it.

The story's not hard to follow: Evil corporation comes under attack, uses hero in experiments, hero becomes ghost, ghost seeks revenge. It's not hard, bizarre, but not hard. The strangeness lends a lot of strength to the title, however. There are many points throughout the game where you could, concievably, fight everyone that moved. Being a ghost, however, is generally easier and faster. Much of your time is spent inside a host, which you can possess and control when you've frightened it sufficiently. Human hosts can do human things, but there are points where dogs and even rats do the trick. You also spend time in inanimate objects...Bombs, for example.

Geist poses an interesting set of circumstances, and the controls fluidly match the challenges. There's some, but not a lot, of needless or obnoxious platforming. There's a fair amount of poking about solving puzzles, similar to Resident Evil or Tomb Raider.

And then there's the Boss Battles.

This is one thing Geist does especially well. The options at your disposal see to that. You're fighting a guy with 6 soldiers supporting him, and he shoots you dead....possess a new soldier, you creepy little polterguy you.

There are points where it seems slow, where I couldn't finish a puzzle, or pattern out a boss easily, but those change a game from too easy to a game, something to stir you. As far as mini-games, there's some "bonus" collections, including both Geist and Host items, and a big text logger. Moreover, there are a few stages that break the mold, the most memorable of which involves your friend being chased on a motorcycle, while you can slip around possessing crates of explosives, other cars, or even the guns of an enemy truck.

Geist is vying for a spot as a classic, and has found a nice resting place between two genres that can sometimes get stale.

Overall Game Score: 8.0

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