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Ghost Rider

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How can a game starring a skeleton with his head on fire be so dull?

Words: Nathan Ditum
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It’s about here you’ll realize that - behind the flailing bluster - there isn’t half the complexity to Ghost Rider’s combat as there is in Sony’s Greek epic, just a relatively small range of repetitive attack sequences. These can be mixed up with aerial variations and grapple moves, which can be activated when enemies are dazed. You can even upgrade your move list by cashing in collected souls, but they don’t disguise the limitations of the system for long. Special moves fare a little better - collecting demon charge from despatched Hellspawn gives ammunition to your Hellfire Shotgun, which delivers a satisfying blast. If you’re feeling tactical you can also block, though the game never really requires it of you - slightly more frantic combo-mashing is a perfectly viable alternative.

Ghost Riderdoes have a way of forcing you to mix up your play, though, in the form of level-determined shields on certain enemies. See, at the end of every stage you’re given various ratings - for speed, damage dealt and so on - ranking from A to D (each given awful hell-related titles like “Avenged,” “Brutal” and “Condemned”). During the levels your fighting skill rating is constantly updated - the bar is filled if you vary your moves, improving your rating from “Damned” upwards, and resets completely if you’re hit. Certain enemies are protected by shields which can only be broken once you reach the skill level written on the shield itself. Not a bad idea, you might think - at least it’s forcing you to mix up your tactics after all - but surely a better way would be to not make it so easy to get through the game by jumping in the air and hammering the attack button, rather than arbitrarily saying “this guy’s invincible unless you can reel off your whole move list without getting hit.”

 
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Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider

Genre: Action
Release date: Feb 13, 2007
Published by: 2K Games
Developed by: Climax
6 DECENT
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