The USA version improved quite a bit from the European version. The 6 months they had extra has been used to clean up the bugs and change the camera, controls.... It's a much better version than the EU version. This proves that the continent that receives a game last gets the best version
I want to import this game. It looks sooo good!
Read here what all the improvements are
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/531/531097p3.html
IGNPS2: It seems that in Europe many gamers took issue with a few, very specific aspects of the title. With this in mind...
Studios Cambridge: Haha! "With this in mind..." Something developers can be loathe to admit is that sometimes they can get too close to the products they work on. Even if you focus test, you can still get in a position where you can't see the wood for the trees.
Also you always have to hit your dates, so in all honesty you never normally have the chance to step back from your game for a few months assess all the good and bad points and make changes.
But that's exactly what the American release of Ghosthunter with Namco has allowed.
We listened to a lot of feedback outside of the studio, European reviews, forums and had some very constructive meetings with Namco development about a number of changes we could make to Ghosthunter to really make it the game we had originally envisioned at the concept stage.
The number of changes are too numerous to list but even if you've played the European version
I recommend checking out the US version as it is really is a more polished overall experience. Some sections you will simply not recognize.
In fact we have made over 1500 fixes and improvements in order to create the American version. The grenade mechanic has been refined. All areas that people had comments on in the forums have been addressed.
IGNPS2: How exactly do the two versions differ when it comes to camera control and player control?
Studios Cambridge: The camera system has been tweaked throughout. We looked at any area that caused the player problems and either changed the geometry or the parameters on the camera itself.
We have introduced a camera assist system to the general run-around camera mode, meaning it naturally gets itself into a more appropriate position.
The hunting camera has had a distance calibration system added so we can bring it closer to the player in tighter environments.
As for player control we had a few issues with certain ghosts being faster than the player giving them an unfair edge so we increased Lazarus's top speed in Hunting Mode.
We changed the control layout, enhanced the cover system, and made all grenade functionality more transparent to the player.
It's still fundamentally the same system with a whole load of extra polish added.
IGNPS2: How do the two versions differ when it comes to difficulty?
Studios Cambridge: High level: Puzzles: We made some of the puzzles easier, adding in a few more helpful hints if we felt they were needed. Looking back at the European release we realized that some of the puzzles were a little obscure something that Namco helpfully pointed out to us in places.
Combat: We actually made this slightly harder for the American market. I guess us Brits aren't as, handy with our weapons.
Generally it was something that we took the lead from Namco on. One of my leading designers worked closely with our external producer Erik Harshman, on a monster by monster, battle by battle, basis, improving the Ghost's behavior and AI, and changing damage, health, and hit point values, throughout the game and wiring across disk after disk until we felt we had nailed the difficulty curve.
IGNPS2: Will there be any content additions to the North American version that were not found in the European version?
Studios Cambridge: It's more a case of refinement to what we already had rather than new levels or weapons.
At a high level from the start of the game:
The haunted school: The level geometry / game-play / and difficulty has been totally reworked to get the player into the core game much more quickly. A European player will simply not recognize a lot of the new stuff we have added in here.
The Swamps: The combat has been re-worked, as has the end boss fight to bring the themes of the realm to the fore.
These levels of changes permeate the whole game. The final thing to say is that some of the Ghosts on the European version have harder, big brothers in the American version that you will see in some of the later levels.
hands-on from ign
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/529/529125p1.html
an excerpt
"Of course, Ghosthunter looking fundamentally awesome helps the action and exploration segments quite a bit. Character models are lifelike, animate with surprising fluidity and feature some of the absolute best texture detail found on the PS2, period. Lazarus' neatly kempt face still shows signs of stubble and when he grimaces, he wrinkles -- an ultra slick texture deforming effect that's taken to the next level when Scar Face the djinni scowls. For as technically good as the people look, the ghouls look better artistically. Flashing light, glowing substance, flailing limbs, and intricately detailed wounds outline some of the many stereotypical, comical, creepy, and wholly original monsters found throughout. There's a real sense that these beings are completely unnatural and the way they lividly contrast the protagonists' hip-rave clothing and the surprisingly vivid environments is refreshing.
More amazing still are weapon effects, boomerang ghost accumulation effects, the torch light, and just about everything else. When a ghost is contained, for instance, the process involves an expanding translucent sphere that soaks the surrounding scene in light of different shades and hues and them implodes like a collapsing blackhole after having its fill of the universe. Ghosthunter, despite not being finished, already looks incredible. Our collection of videos likely won't do the progressive scan capable title much justice, but they should still offer some indication as to how brightly this puppy shines.
With all the initial good, there is still a smidgeon of bad.
With their version, Europeans complained about failing controls and camerawork. We've noticed no shortcomings in these departments, but the game is honestly not very frightening. Most ghostly encounters are setup by cutscenes or predictable transformations or simple openings of simpler doors. It's a title that has yet to sling us out of our chairs. Also, there's no telling how long this one will last, or how redundant using the game's spectral character to linearly solve basic puzzles will get."
And here are some beatufil vids!!! Check them out!
http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/546/546763/vids_1.html
