Ghosthunter puts you in the role of Lazarus Jones, a slightly naïve country boy who has just transferred into the rough-and-tumble Detroit police department. On his first assignment, Lazarus and his partner, Anna Steele, are sent to investigate an abandoned high school, which is purported to be haunted. After an introduction in which the usual action-movie-style tension is set up between the two (think Lethal Weapon), they split up, searching the high school for anything suspicious. It doesn't take long for Lazarus to start hearing voices, and eventually, he stumbles upon a bizarre array of machinery in the school's basement. Faster than you can say Walter Peck, Lazarus presses the wrong button on the machine, unleashing a horde of unhappy spirits upon the world, one of whom (a particularly grotesque-looking man of medieval dress and mannerism, named Hawksmoor) even goes so far as to kidnap Lazarus' partner, Steele. Of course, this simply will not stand, and it is then up to you, as Lazarus, to go out and capture all those kooky, creepy ghosts you've let loose and get your partner back.
From the get-go, it's pretty clear that the primary inspiration for Ghosthunter came from the famed Ghostbusters film franchise. For instance, some of your tools of the trade include a crazy contraption that lassos a ghost using spectral energy, as well as a ghost grenade to trap the fallen spirits (and eventually contain them in that wacky array that looks an awful lot like a bigger version of the old Ghostbusters containment unit). In addition, you'll find yourself in a number of situations that are pretty reminiscent of the Ghostbusters films, such as one sequence where you're interacting with a ghostly librarian poltergeist who eerily demands silence when you enter a school library and another scene where you have to quietly follow a "howler" spirit that looks a lot like the wacky, ghostly sidekick Slimer. Then there's the main bad guy, Hawksmoor--one look at him will likely have you yelling, "He is Vigo! You are like the buzzing of flies to him" at your TV. However, for as much as Ghosthunter derives from older tales of ghostbusting--er, ghosthunting--it uses its inspirations very well and manages to create something pretty original.
The primary reason Ghosthunter works is that it seems to have a very firm grip on what it wants to be. It knows it isn't scary enough to really fit into the survival horror genre, but it's too creepy to be considered just a standard action game. Ghosthunter falls squarely in between the two, and it manages to keep an almost uncanny balance all throughout the game. You'll never find yourself jumping out of your seat in fright; rather, you will find yourself having a legitimate feeling of uneasiness in many situations. The game is also good about not counteracting these feelings of dread with too many gags or goofy moments. Yes, the game has its campy sections, and the story is wholly silly the entire way through, but the story is paced well enough to maintain a good atmosphere. You're creeped out when you're supposed to be creeped out, and you smile when you're supposed to smile, which is more than you can say for most games that attempt to strike this careful balance.
