Another frustrating problem with the game is that you can't save your game in the middle of a haunting. It can easily take you over an hour to get to the point in a haunting where you're down to just a mortal or two and one remaining trapped ghost, but unless you keep on playing you will lose everything that you gained so far. You really have to make sure that you give yourself a couple of hours each time you play the game so that you don't lose your progress.

Once you complete a haunting you can go back and try it again to free any trapped ghosts that you missed or to attempt to direct a more effective haunting. The game rates your performance based on the number of various frights that you caused and the time it took you to complete the goals, and rewards you with points that can be spent between hauntings to purchase new powers for the ghosts in your portfolio. Most of the powers can be used by several of the ghosts, so there is some strategy in distributing the powers in order to create a versatile team that can cover the bases in any haunting.

On the presentation side of things the game is excellent. The game goes for a 3D cartoon feel and succeeds in creating a great look. The spooks have a nice translucent look and are well-animated making them look quite life, er, death like. You have full control over the camera, and can view your haunting from any angle that you'd like. There is also an option to lock the camera on any spook or mortal, and to even view the action from their point of view. In addition, the game is filled with movie references (not only from horror movies, but from other genres as well) and humorous touches that the observant will really appreciate. The game is not gruesome, going for classic frights instead of gore. Things are more gruesome than you'd find in Scooby Doo cartoons, but are not any worse than appear in typical PG-13 films.

Overall Ghost Master is a good game that has some flaws that keep it from being a great game. It is an interesting game concept and its pure novelty factor will really draw you in over the first few hauntings. As you continue to play though, its frustrating points will begin to weigh on your enjoyment of the game. Also, the ability to replay any of the levels is not a strong enough draw to keep you playing once you've completed the game the first time through. A multiplayer game in which players competed for scares would have been a great addition that would certainly have extended the game's playing time. If you can put up with the long dry stretches that plague some of the later hauntings you'll enjoy the game, but those who are more easily frustrated or have shorter attention spans will probably give up on the game.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 83%.  Ghost Master can be frighteningly fun, but lacks the substance to make everyone a believer.

System Requirements:  Pentium III 450; 128 MB RAM;  32 MB Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM;  750 MB Hard Drive Space;  Mouse.

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