I was skeptical to check into Luigi's Mansion because it's not an official Mario title, and you know how Mario titles can be that focus on other characters or step away from the formula that has worked so well over the years- hit or miss.  It's not like Luigi's scrolling through levels in 2D style jumping on goombas and kicking koopas around.  No, in this game Luigi's using a vacuum to suck up ghosts in a haunted mansion.  That's the object of the game.  Suck all the ghosts (plus 50 boos) to ultimately rescue Mario who's trapped in the haunted mansion behind a picture.

Along the way you'll pick up water, ice and flamethrower items to make attacking and capturing ghosts easier.  These items are necessary because the ghosts get more anxious to avoid Luigi's vacuum later on, often leaving the room and encouraging you to chase after them.

Not all the ghosts are boos.  Many of them are more colorful and bigger different types of ghosts.  You'll see orange, purple, red and green ghosts.  Since the object of the game is to suck up as many ghosts as you can with Luigi's vacuum, the game uses a countdown system while the sucking process occurs.  When the number reaches 0, you're ready to suck the ghosts up.

If this sounds quite bizarre, it is!  If it sounds uninteresting... well to be honest this game doesn't have a lot of replay value since it's not a traditional Mario title, so I'd probably agree with you there.  I can't see myself playing through this game more than 3 times.  Constantly walking up and down hallways and into rooms performing the same task gets monotonous after a while.  I also find myself feeling sorry for the ghosts.  Whenever they're at the mercy of a sucking vacuum, they often flap their arms around and desperately try to fly into the opposite direction as hard as they can.  This is often unintentionally hilarious but sometimes I feel sorry for them depending how I feel.  Anyway besides ghosts there's also skeletons, soldiers, ceiling hanging bomb spitting ghosts and what appears to be shy guys with pitchforks.

What REALLY fascinates me about this game are the graphics.  This game looks so unique it's not funny.  And in fact, it's not funny- it's really creepy!  While a lot of people think this is an adventure game, I can't help but think the way the ghosts are animated combined with the sometimes unsettling atmosphere of the mansion is a little *too* realistic and it really freaks me out once in a while.  Nintendo tried to make this kid friendly but I don't know- sometimes it's just really freaky.  I remember a couple Super NES games having similar qualities, but the graphics and ghost animations in Luigi's Mansion on the Gamecube are in a whole new category of creepiness.

The boss fights involve a little bit of strategy, but since so much focus is on Luigi sucking in ghosts there's nothing really extreme or head-scratchingly difficult in the strategy department.  I like the big boo boss fight though.  This one's a little trickier than the other fights since there's a couple (pointy!) steps involved.  Oh and of course, the final fight with... I won't spoil who (yeah yeah, not exactly a surprise!) is pretty creative too.  And the way he loses his head creeps me out just as much as the ghost animations.

This game has its problems though.  For one thing the mansion is small, and you're often revisiting the same rooms and hallways over and over just to find the remaining boos.  The graphics are really upclose and humongous.  This might make the game look impressive (make that REALLY impressive) but I wonder if the mansion would have been bigger if so much space hadn't been used to make everything so gosh darn big.  Anyway get ready for a decent amount of exploration but nothing special.  The game is honestly too short.

I can't stop thinking about those creepy ghosts.  The one playing piano... how about the dog?  Or the child sleeping upside down in her bed?  The weird way the toy soldiers move around?  Nintendo tried to make this stuff playful but it often comes across as well, yeah the word of the day- creepy!  Still a decent game at least, but the vacuum sucking feels like a silly gimmick the same way the spray nozzle in Super Mario Sunshine feels like a silly gimmick. Not that it's bad, but rather this game is not something I'd want to play very often.  More puzzle-based than adventurous if you ask me.

The characters are good at least.  Luigi is his typical boisterous/sometimes dim-witted self, and the conversations with Toad are usually funny and exciting.  The character of Professor Elvin Gadd (an inventor) is bad though.  I don't care for him much.  Mario could have been used more later on I think.  However not showing Mario very often gives Luigi a greater amount of attention which is nice.

Overall I recommend Luigi's Mansion, but please be prepared for an adventure very different from the Mario games.  Don't be surprised if you get tired of this game in just a couple hours.
I was skeptical to check into Luigi's Mansion because it's not an official Mario title, and you know how Mario titles can be that focus on other characters or step away from the formula that has worked so well over the years- hit or miss. It's not like Luigi's scrolling through levels in 2D style jumping on goombas and kicking koopas around. No, in this game Luigi's using a vacuum to suck up ghosts in a haunted mansion. That's the object of the game. Suck all the ghosts (plus 50 boos) to ultimately rescue Mario who's trapped in the haunted mansion behind a picture. Along the way you'll pick up water, ice and flamethrower items to make attacking and capturing ghosts easier. These items are necessary because the ghosts get more anxious to avoid Luigi's vacuum later on, often leaving the room and encouraging you to chase after them. Not all the ghosts are boos. Many of them are more colorful and bigger different types of ghosts. You'll see orange, purple, red and green ghosts. Since the object of the game is to suck up as many ghosts as you can with Luigi's vacuum, the game uses a countdown system while the sucking process occurs. When the number reaches 0, you're ready to suck the ghosts up. If this sounds quite bizarre, it is! If it sounds uninteresting... well to be honest this game doesn't have a lot of replay value since it's not a traditional Mario title, so I'd probably agree with you there. I can't see myself playing through this game more than 3 times. Constantly walking up and down hallways and into rooms performing the same task gets monotonous after a while. I also find myself feeling sorry for the ghosts. Whenever they're at the mercy of a sucking vacuum, they often flap their arms around and desperately try to fly into the opposite direction as hard as they can. This is often unintentionally hilarious but sometimes I feel sorry for them depending how I feel. Anyway besides ghosts there's also skeletons, soldiers, ceiling hanging bomb spitting ghosts and what appears to be shy guys with pitchforks. What REALLY fascinates me about this game are the graphics. This game looks so unique it's not funny. And in fact, it's not funny- it's really creepy! While a lot of people think this is an adventure game, I can't help but think the way the ghosts are animated combined with the sometimes unsettling atmosphere of the mansion is a little *too* realistic and it really freaks me out once in a while. Nintendo tried to make this kid friendly but I don't know- sometimes it's just really freaky. I remember a couple Super NES games having similar qualities, but the graphics and ghost animations in Luigi's Mansion on the Gamecube are in a whole new category of creepiness. The boss fights involve a little bit of strategy, but since so much focus is on Luigi sucking in ghosts there's nothing really extreme or head-scratchingly difficult in the strategy department. I like the big boo boss fight though. This one's a little trickier than the other fights since there's a couple (pointy! ) steps involved. Oh and of course, the final fight with... I won't spoil who (yeah yeah, not exactly a surprise! ) is pretty creative too. And the way he loses his head creeps me out just as much as the ghost animations. This game has its problems though. For one thing the mansion is small, and you're often revisiting the same rooms and hallways over and over just to find the remaining boos. The graphics are really upclose and humongous. This might make the game look impressive (make that REALLY impressive) but I wonder if the mansion would have been bigger if so much space hadn't been used to make everything so gosh darn big. Anyway get ready for a decent amount of exploration but nothing special. The game is honestly too short. I can't stop thinking about those creepy ghosts. The one playing piano... how about the dog? Or the child sleeping upside down in her bed? The weird way the toy soldiers move around? Nintendo tried to make this stuff playful but it often comes across as well, yeah the word of the day- creepy! Still a decent game at least, but the vacuum sucking feels like a silly gimmick the same way the spray nozzle in Super Mario Sunshine feels like a silly gimmick. Not that it's bad, but rather this game is not something I'd want to play very often. More puzzle-based than adventurous if you ask me. The characters are good at least. Luigi is his typical boisterous/sometimes dim-witted self, and the conversations with Toad are usually funny and exciting. The character of Professor Elvin Gadd (an inventor) is bad though. I don't care for him much. Mario could have been used more later on I think. However not showing Mario very often gives Luigi a greater amount of attention which is nice. Overall I recommend Luigi's Mansion, but please be prepared for an adventure very different from the Mario games. Don't be surprised if you get tired of this game in just a couple hours.