Luigis Mansion 2 explores exotic and spooky mansions in new screens

The unexpected sequel to the GameCube launch title that wasn't a Mario game, Luigi's Mansion 2, has a new set of screens from TGS 2011. The reluctant hero is showing off some of the game's exotic areas, as well as the usual haunts. Though Luigi will be traveling back and forth from mansions to his ally Prof. E. Gadd's laboratory, he'll apparently still visit at least one ice world and an Egyptian-style temple chamber - it's remarkable what mansion owners have in basements.

So far Luigi's Mansion 2 doesn't seem to stray from the concept of a Mario game meeting a G-rated Ghostbusters. Luigi has to collect ghosts, stunning them with his flashlight before sucking them into his trusty Poltergust 5000 (vacuum cleaner). But there are a few 3DS-specific enhancements, such as the direction Luigi points while sucking ghosts being subtly controlled by tilting the system and a 3D screen that might actually be helpful by adding depth to a static vantage point — a camera feature often used in survival horror to intentionally obscure vision, which has always struck us as oddly out-of-place in a Nintendo game.

For more on the game you can read our recent preview or flip through the gallery below. Luigi's Mansion 2 is due out in 2012 and is being developed by Next Level Games, the makers of Captain America: Super Soldier and Punch-Out! Wii.

Sep 16, 2011