Ghost Rider Hands-On

***wraggster*** · January 26th, 2007, 23:50

via IGN

Just how far would you go to save the life of someone you cared about? Some people would sell their cars, their homes, or every possession they owned if it would help out. But what if the only way you could lend a hand was by selling your soul? That's the dilemma that faced Johnny Blaze, the human alter ego of Ghost Rider. One of Marvel's niche anti-hero characters, Ghost Rider is now hitting the mainstream with a new movie and video game. We sat down recently and checked out the Spirit of Vengeance's latest adventure.

Unlike a lot of film/game tie-ins, Ghost Rider is not a game version of the movie. Instead, comic scribes Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti penned an exclusive story that takes place after the events in the film. After selling his soul to save his father's life from terminal cancer, Johnny Blaze is transformed into the Ghost Rider, avenging the spilling of innocent blood. Unfortunately for Johnny, Mephisto plans to use him to recapture a number of demons that have escaped Hell and threaten to start the Apocalypse. Sending his lackey Vengeance to drag Johnny into Hell, Mephisto essentially leaves Johnny with one choice: fight for him and eliminate the demons that are running wild on earth, or watch as Roxanne Simpson is taken by Mephisto.

To dispatch the demons, Johnny has a number of moves available as the Ghost Rider. He can use light or heavy attacks with chains imbued with Hellfire, which he can string together to make damaging combos. Once weakened, his enemies can be grabbed and destroyed with a finishing move, which should vary depending on the height and kind of opponent he's facing off against. For instance, flying beasts will be snatched out of the air and pummeled, while shorter beasts will get suplexed. As you complete combos, you'll fill up a spirit gauge, which lets you fire off blasts from your Hellfire shotgun or release chain link projectiles. You'll also be able to trigger a Retribution mode when the gauge is filled, which gives Ghost Rider heightened speed and damage as long as the mode lasts. If you wish, you can also grab enemies within the Retribution mode and perform the Penance Stare on enemies, ripping souls from their bodies and storing them for future use. All of these moves will contribute to a Vengeance bar, which increases the number of souls you receive when you defeat an opponent as long as you don't receive any damage. In fact, some enemies can't be defeated unless you wind up raising the bar, forcing you to vary up your attacks.

You won't be forced to constantly bash your way through demons all the time either. Certain levels will require the Ghost Rider to take to his Hell Cycle and ride through enemies and over opponents. As he takes off down these tracks, he can use his chains to whip nearby foes, or fire projectiles at distant threats. Ghost Rider will also be able to use boosts to leap over or slide under obstacles. Along the way, you'll collect souls, which can be used to unlock a variety of moves or stat bonuses, as well as movies, concept art and even comic book pages.

PSP owners will receive some bonus features apart from the console version. Multiplayer matches are available via adhoc races for up to 4 players. There are five different racing environments to go through, as well as three separate race types to try out. Players will also receive different skull challenges to try out along the course of a mission. Typically three challenges will be given. The first two might be a test of skill, such as not getting hit on a level or not using your penance stare, while the third is a wild card challenge like defeating a number of opponents in a specific time. Successfully completing these challenges will earn you additional souls at the end of a level, and you can replay stages over and over if you happen to miss one challenge or another.

Players will face off against a number of monsters throughout the five separate chapters that you'll traverse, including demons, elementals and humans that have been twisted to follow the forces of evil. There will also be a number of bosses and even fellow Marvel Character cameos, such as Lilith and Scarecrow, that Ghost Rider will encounter along the way. Plus, while the game won't feature the likeness of Nic Cage in the game, the likeness of every other character from the movie will be used, primarily in cutscenes that are presented in a "comic-book" style to help move the story along. We'll have more on Ghost Rider soon.

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