game's music artists Takkyu Ishino, Joey Beltram and Mijk van Dijk performing live, and a Fuchikoma robot appeared. All who bought tickets received a papercraft kit of the Fuchikoma and ten posters of the game were raffled. A Japanese demo disc was also released with the first mission playable. The first edition of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine was published in October 1997 and featured the game on its cover. Having acquired the North American license to publish Ghost in the Shell video games in mid-1996, THQ released the game in North America on October 31, 1997. It was released in Europe by Sony Computer Entertainment on July 1, 1998. THQ's producer Don Nauert said that aside from dubbing and changing the button configuration, the English localization of the game was not modified nor censored. Soundtrack The soundtrack albums for the game were titled , named after the cybernetic body manufacturer in the Ghost in the Shell series. The albums were produced by Takkyu Ishino and feature techno tracks by other composers including Mijk van Dijk. Two versions of the albums were released by Sony Music Entertainment Japan on July 17, 1997: Megatech Body CD., a standard single disc; and Megatech Body CD., Ltd., a limited two-disc edition. Megatech Vinyl. Ltd. was a limited two LP record set scheduled to be released. Track listing Related media Kodansha released three books and one video about the game. was published on July 4, 1997; the artbook contains concept designs, scenes and commentary. Two guidebooks were published: on July 17, 1997, and on August 29, 1997. The video, , features interviews with the animation staff; it was released on VHS on April 22, 1998. A LaserDisc was also released in 1998 that included interviews on side A and the in-game cutscenes on side B. Reception Ghost in the Shell gained an aggregate rating of 78.50% at GameRankings based on six reviews. AllGame praised the graphics, sound and gameplay; the review stated, "Even with plenty of eye candy and strong audio, a game is nothing without actually being fun to play and as you've probably guessed, Ghost in the Shell supplies the fun, whether you're familiar with the license or not." GameSpot rated the game as good, eulogizing the controls as "simple... most people will take to them like a fish to water" and praising the animation sequences. GameFan reviewers cited the game's unique wall-scaling