Product Description

WARNING! This import game can't be used on UK/European consoles. It requires special equipment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7142 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: 45496960018
• Released on: 2002-05-03
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: GameCube
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .50" h x 5.25" w x 7.25" l, .20 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
When Luigi's Mansion was first announced many assumed it would be a title to follow in the legendary footsteps of Super Mario World and Super Mario 64. It's nowhere near as epic as either of these titles, though, and also unlike them will never be accused of being the "best game ever". Once you get over the shock of the game being on such a small scale, though, its various charms do become obvious. The game involves you, as Mario's brother Luigi, trying to exorcise a haunted mansion of ghosts by sucking them into a vacuum cleaner. If only Bill Murray and the Catholic Church had realised it was so easy. Except it's not really that easy at all: the complications and cleverness of the game come in with the use of light and shadow. Many ghosts cannot be seen unless you reveal their shadow or manipulate the objects in a room to make them appear. These imaginative--but never frustrating--puzzles add to the otherwise simplistic process of catching the smaller ghosts by freezing them with a beam of light and sucking them up the Hoover. It's only a minor classic but Luigi's Mansion does a good job of showing off some off the Gamecube's graphical effects and providing a game which all the family can enjoy. If only it was a bit longer... but then, knowing Nintendo, if it was longer it wouldn't have come out until the space year 3050.--David Jenkins

NGC Magazine
"A fantastically playable combination of Super Mario World and Ghostbusters. 88%."

Manufacturer's Description
While it won't win many points for originality, Luigi's Mansion is great fun to play, and it's a perfect showcase for the GameCube's graphics horsepower. In the game, Luigi--Mario's younger brother and co-star of several games through the years--has inherited a spooky old mansion provided he can summon the courage to spend the night within its haunted walls. Luigi arrives prepared to clean house using a Ghostbusters-like device that stuns the ghosts with light and then vacuums them up safely. The gameplay gets tricky when some of the bigger light-shy ghosts vanish before you can put the Hoover on them. And, should one of the spectral pests sneak up on Luigi, he loses courage and the common currency of all Mario-inspired games: gold coins. Graphically, the game is amazing for its translucent ghosts, mirrored images, and particle effects (Luigi's vacuum device will also suck the dust off a chair and the mist out of a freezer). The game's campy visuals are more cute than spooky, so even jittery Mario fans will love this one.

Customer Reviews

Short, but incredibly sweet
Nintendo have done the unthinkable - launched their new console with something other than Mario. Initial impressions may be that having Luigi kick start the Gamecube is a poor gimmick to avoid being overly formulaic, but thankfully there are differences here other than green clothes and a thinner physique. Luigi's Mansion invites you down an alternative road to Mario's platforming adventures, and offers a more puzzle based quest.

Equipped only with a hoover and a flashlight, and little in the way of bravery, Luigi ventures into his newly won mansion to rescue his portly brother from the escaped ghosts who inhabit the place. In the simplest terms, you're asked to hoover them up so that the local lunatic professor can return them to the paintings they came from. Along the way, you're advised to hoover up hearts to stay alive and money to... well. That would be telling.

This game demostrates the Gamecube pad's brilliance instantly. The control is tight and refined, and very easy to grasp after a few tries, meaning you'll be hoovering ghosts up with ease in no time. You'll also find your hoover being used in different ways will unearth bonuses and solve the wealth of puzzles in the rooms.

The structure is simple - you can access a room to begin with; defeat the ghost(s) in the room and you'll often find a key, which will let you advance to another room. Repeat. Sound boring? It's anything but. Many of the puzzles are brilliantly ingenius, making solving them immensely satisfying. Sometimes randomly vacuuming various things will obtain results, but more often than not serious thinking will go a long way. It's hard to explain, but each room is so littered with surprises that a huge grin will weld itself to your face. Trust me, it's a golden experience.

The graphics are brilliant, but you must have already known that. If you haven't seen them in action, then you'll be amazed. Luigi's animations are fluid, as are the things you can vacuum; aim your hoover at a tablecloth or bedspread and watch how realistic it looks - it's incredible. Also worth mentioning are the excellent shadow effects. Lightning strikes send the shadows of Luigi and other objects streaking up the wall - it's truly fantastic. Other spot effects enhance what is generally an immensely pleasing visual experience.

This is the sort of game you wish would carry on forever, but sadly this is far from the truth. Despite some tricky puzzles, Luigi will take the aveage gamer under 10 hours to finish. And while there is another mansion to play through at the end, most will be disappointed to find that it's just the old one reversed, with harder ghosts. And the replay value is pretty non-existent - when you know how to solve all the puzzles, the game loses some of it's appeal. Nevertheless, you'd be moronic to avoid at least TRYING this game for that reason. It's just like all the best thing - over far too soon.

A great game, but not an icon
Luigis Mansion was the first game I bought for my Gamecube, knowing my brilliant previous experiences with the Mario titles. This game was everything I'd expected, but goes nowhere near the likes of Mario 64, or Super Mario World. The idea is basic, but far from boring, as you battle Luigis way through the mansion you come accross countless different numbers of ghosts, sucking them all up with your Poltergist 3000. Professer E. Gadd, the person who 'made' the hoover, also 'made' FLUDD in Super Mario Sunshine.
So far now I've completed it 5 times, and now can be completed comfortably within a day. That brings me to another drawback - the game won't last long - you will beat the game quite quickly, and it will loose it's appeal before you have saved up enough money to buy a new game.
Overall, this game is fun, but not for real gamers. Ideal for youngsters wanting an easy lift into the world of Nintendo classics.

Luigi's Mansion
The world's first Hoover 'em up? This game has brilliant 3D graphics. Luigi wins a mansion in a competition he didn't enter. It is unfortunately full of Ghosts which love the dark. You have to save Mario who has been captured by King Boo and trapped in a portrait.You are armed with only a flashlight, the Poltergust 3000 and a gameboy horror, Professor Elvin Gadd's invention, you must suck up all the ghosts you can. There are 3 medals to collect which enable you to shoot fire, water or ice from your vacuum. It is a superb game overall.