So, what does it look like when you cross a ghost with a dragon? Well, pretty much exactly what you'll see in every frame of the quasi-Spyro action game, Casper Spirit Dimensions. This Casper is a much more butt-kicking ghost than the friendly fellow we've seen in the past, but he's still cute. The PS2 powers some nice effects and cool looking environments, but there's very little in the way of detailed touches such as we're seeing in more mature games like Ico or Silent Hill. Poor kids just don't get the benefit of the doubt... Sure, they probably don't know the difference, but I get the impression Casper went out the development door in a bit of a rush. Little things like buggy edge-detection and weak camera make Casper Spirit Dimensions feel more like PSone than PS2, but more than that it's just a lack of the special effects we're beginning to take for granted, like interesting use of light and shadow, detailed character models and environments that come alive with motion and sound. Too often, along with owing a great debt to Spyro for gameplay, Casper looks way to much like he's of the same vintage. More visual polish could have made a big difference in this game's 'oooh' factor. The music is a completely different story, and it barely does Casper's soundtrack justice to say that it's phenomenal. Sure, the pieces loop and there's some degree of repetition, but the weakest musical moment here is still better than the best moment in most games, especially kids' games. Instead of fluffy carnival music, we have almost a 'Peter and the Wolf' thing going on. Really tasteful, and it adds greatly to the mood and atmosphere of the game.

While some of the static visuals may lack pizzazz, Casper doesn't fail to impress with neat tricks like the ghostly disappearing act he'll do to slide through bars. I was really hoping to see some ghosting through walls, but that's not in the cards. Weapons and attacks show off lighting wizardry, and at least one stage uses particle physics to create nice snow falls or weather effects. But, set against the plain-jane, sparse levels, fancy effects eventually wear off. I would have preferred bigger more interesting levels to the eye-candy. But, that's probably just older-person perspective showing through. For a younger gamer, all the gadgets are where it's at, and they won't care about too much more than finding secrets, beating enemies and finishing the game. Luckily, that ride is a fun one, fancy graphics or not.

In copying the Spyro formula, Casper manages to emulate a really successful piece of gaming. Where Spyro went right was in offering an experience that felt lighthearted and fun on the surface, but proved to be progressively deeper. The balance was almost always right, and the amount of exploration to be had kept even non-kid gamers happy through the original and many sequels. Enemies were always an interesting bunch, and the variety of little quests created a driving purpose as you steered Spyro through his paces. So, Casper Spirit Dimensions nails the 'fun' part perfectly, but loses some depth in the gameplay.

The story begins when Casper responds to a distress call from Wendy the Witch. An evil tyrant named Kibosh has put a lockdown on the spirit realms and it's up to Casper to free each realm and defeat Kibosh. Wendy's role is somewhat limited in that she can only assist Casper by opening passages he can travel through to each realm, leading out of a house that serves as a 'hub.' A nice 'save anywhere' feature means you don't have to return to the hub, and helps keep things flowing. The pacing takes you through many small levels in each realm, moving on after you complete a quest. Finish the quest and earn a prize, which generally combines with other items to open the entire stage. You didn't think you'd get out without fighting a boss, right? Of course not. Bosses present and accounted for... Plenty of good bad guys help make things interesting, but Casper has some strong juju to battle with. In a power-up system that feels more like Quake than Spyro, Casper has at his disposal several different ghost 'shots' and a burst of turbo speed to attack flying enemies or just flee the scene. Combining attacks is possible, and much more than Spyro, Casper Spirit Dimensions plays with heavy Action and only light Adventure. Not that gem-gathering won't take up a lot of time and not that the levels aren't fun to explore, but there's just not that sense of wonder as each level opens up. Little touches do shine through, and the theme-park levels are fun to look at, but the little tucked-away wonders that made Spyro so much fun, like flocks of sheep and super-animated, wacky bad guys are what I sorely miss. Too often, Casper's 'auto target' feature will light up an enemy from far away, and they'll just be frozen stiff or pacing back and forth, waiting to launch their little AI function to fight you. Somehow, this diminished the potential for suspension of disbelief, and I longed for a more interactive world that really rewards exploration.

The point system and objectives are standard fare, and again nothing out of the ordinary. Gathering objects or defeating enemies can get a little old, but Casper Spirit Dimensions manages to mix things up enough to remain fresh and sustain interest. Especially young interest.

As I hinted before, AI is not the sharpest, but the worst thing is balance. More than a few enemies don't even seem aware of your presence, and others actively hunt you down. There's a push-pull relationship between learning new skills and attacks while trying to adjust to an inconsistent level of difficulty. Casper could have really used a little more power on the defense side, since his options amount to running away, dodging or turning invisible briefly. The invisibility is so brief as to be almost useless, but when enemies use projectile weapons and you're running low on health, using this trick may save your little ghostie life. Health refills are few and far between, which is another issue. Overall, Casper Spirit Dimensions maintains a manageable level of difficulty in quests and battles, but more flexibility would have given the game greater appeal across a wider base of gamers.

More than a few buggy items show up in the Casper engine, with the most annoying being lack of easy navigation and getting caught on invisible edges or stuck in areas. You wouldn't think this could be a problem since Casper is some kinda free-roaming ethereal being who can fly and slide through bars in an invisible state, but poor design in how controls work makes for issues. An example would be the fact that Casper can slide left-right by using the analog stick, but can't slide up-down. He can turn his head up or down and fly in that direction, but having a more 'helicopter' style of movement control would have made much more sense. As it is, going head on into a cul-de-sac can results in way too much wiggling to get out, especially when an enemy is right on your tail draining energy by the second. This could have been fixed easily for vastly improved control.

Managing items is kept simple with a HUD showing the active weapon and alternate weapons, along with respective ammo levels. Each item shows up next to a meter that indicates your level of health and a recharge bar showing how much power you've gathered for speed bursts and special attacks. After completion of certain tasks, you'll be given the choice to increase one of Casper's attributes, so there's some sense of building the character to the way you want to play. But, with only a few attributes to change and a handful of opportunities to bump them up, it's not a huge part of the game. Too bad, because it could have added to things greatly. Moving through levels and stages is fairly non-linear, which is nice, but sometimes the range of options makes for a setting that could be confusing to younger or less experienced gamers. Nothing folks wouldn't overcome with time, but my idea of 'exploration' isn't having to search around madly because you get lost in a level with less than intuitive design. Again, with a better sense of purpose in design and structure, Casper Spirit Dimensions could have made it closer to the top of the Spyro pedestal.

Kids will enjoy the colorful characters, but may be frustrated at some of the glitchiness in the game. Too little sophistication and some dodgy controls will turn off a portion of older, more seasoned gamers, but Casper should be received well overall. With Jak & Daxter on the horizon, I have a feeling that everyone's idea of what a 3D Action/Adventure or Platformer should be is going to change, but Casper Spirit Dimensions does a fine job of cashing in on the fun, lightweight antics we enjoyed in games like Spyro, Croc and a few of the better Disney joints. Unfortunately, Casper Spirit Dimensions banks too much on light entertainment and fails to satisfy the deeper, basic elements of great gameplay and balance. It's not a huge letdown or a waste of money, but I walked away feeling it could have been much more with a little extra polish and loving attention to detail.