Microsoft game studios GRABBED BY THE GHOULIES User manual

0903 Part No. X09-93065
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l Rotate Camera
L Move
APick Up Weapon/
Advance Text
r Rotate Camera
> Pause Game/Skip Story
R Attack
l+r Auto-center Camera
B Discard Temporary Weapon

About Photosensitive Seizures
A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when
exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or
patterns that may appear in video games. Even people who have no
history of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition
that can cause these “photosensitive epileptic seizures” while
watching video games.
These seizures may have a variety of symptoms, including
lightheadedness, altered vision, eye or face twitching, jerking or
shaking of arms or legs, disorientation, confusion, or momentary
loss of awareness. Seizures may also cause loss of consciousness or
convulsions that can lead to injury from falling down or striking
nearby objects.
Immediately stop playing and consult a doctor if you experience any
of these symptoms. Parents should watch for or ask their children
about the above symptoms-children and teenagers are more likely
than adults to experience these seizures.
The risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures may be reduced by
sitting farther from the television screen, using a smaller television
screen, playing in a well-lit room, and not playing when you are
drowsy or fatigued.
If you or any of your relatives have a history of seizures or
epilepsy, consult a doctor before playing.
Other Important Health and Safety Information The Xbox
Instruction Manual contains important health and safety information
that you should read and understand before using this software.
Avoid Damage to Your Television
Do not use with certain televisions. Some televisions, especially
front- or rear-projection types, can be damaged if any video games,
including Xbox games, are played on them. Static images presented
during the normal course of gameplay may “burn in” to the screen,
causing a permanent shadow of the static image to appear at all
times, even when video games are not being played. Similar damage
may occur from static images created when placing a video game on
hold or pause. Consult your television owner’s manual to determine
if video games can be played safely on your set. If you are unable to
 nd this information in the owner’s manual, contact your television
dealer or the manufacturer to determine if video games can be
played safely on your set.
The Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Screen Display . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Playing the Game . . . . . . . . . . 12
Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Items and Secrets . . . . . . . . . . 20
Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Ghoulies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Game Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Staff Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . 29
1

Any Haven in a Storm?
After walking for hours, Cooper’s map-reading
skills are proving less impressive by the
minute, the storm is almost upon them, and the
latest development reveals Cooper and Amber
squinting up at a building that looms suddenly
from the darkness…
Perched like a watchful vulture on top of a
cliff, Ghoulhaven Hall broods over the shadowy
landscape that forms its domain, lit by well-
timed melodramatic zig-zags of lightning.
It’s also noticeably absent from the map.
The next time he looks up, the creatures of
Ghoulhaven have materialized out of thin air,
bundled up the thrashing Amber and whisked
her away into the depths of the haunted house!
Within seconds, no trace of Amber or her
captors remains and Cooper’s world is turned
totally upside-down. Stunned, he realizes he
has no choice but to attempt a rescue.
What Cooper doesn’t know is that there’s more
to Ghoulhaven Hall than meets the eye. A
lot more. This  rst fateful appearance of its
inhabitants has given him an inkling that
it’s not just your everyday dilapidated old
mansion, but until he sets foot inside, he has
no idea just how many Ghoulies cram the
place from floor to rafters, where they came
from, or how they  t into the master plan of
Ghoulhaven’s shadowy owner!
Cooper shudders. Personally, he’d
rather brave the storm than seek
shelter in what appears to be the
set of some over-the-top 1960s
horror  lm. Amber’s not listening
to his concerns, however; she’s
had enough, and manages to
drag Cooper as far as the
main gates before he insists
on checking the map one
last time, trying to work
out the quickest route to
real civilization.
Big mistake.
2
3

Cooper
Amber
Fiddlesworth
Dr. Krackpot
Baron Von
Ghoul
Babs Buffbrass
Crivens
Ma Soupswill
Of cial Groundskeeper of
Ghoulhaven Hall, charged
with the unenviable
task of patrolling and
maintaining the gardens
and outbuildings.
The long-serving Housekeeper
may look a bit rough around the
edges, but she’s worth keeping in
mind as a source of Ghoulhaven
insider knowledge.
Right-hand man to the
Baron of the Hall, Krackpot
certainly lives up to his
name and is a keen scientist
with suspiciously close ties
to the Ghoulies themselves.
The owner of Ghoulhaven Hall,
and the slightly unhinged
mastermind behind Cooper’s
entire nerve-jangling ordeal.
Is a  nal reckoning with
the Baron inevitable?
Our hero, an unsuspecting young
everyman trying to make the best
of his predicament and ultimately
rescue Amber from the depths of
this hair-raising Hall!
Cooper’s girlfriend, who
is not having a good day and isn’t
likely to see it improve much
until Cooper (hopefully) manages
to get her out of Ghoulhaven.
Ghoulhaven Hall’s elderly
Butler is one of Cooper’s  rst
contacts within the house, and
soon proves himself to be an
extremely valuable ally.
The in-house Cook, whose culinary
talents may later come in handy—
just don’t ask questions about her
slightly odd choice of assistant.
4
5

Don’t run before you can
walk, sir! Some of those later
Ghoulies are most fearsome .
Features
From here (depending on progress made in the
current save slot) you can replay completed
Chapters, watch storybook scenes, listen to the
soundtrack, view credits, access other game
demos, and tinker with in-game options such as
the camera mode and controller rumble.
Bonus Challenges
Track down and acquire hard-to- nd Bonus
Books (see Items and Secrets, pages 20-21) to
unlock special Bonus Challenges. Successfully
complete these to win trophies, which in turn
unlock further tantalizing extras. Initially
none of these Challenges will be accessible, so
get searching!
Can’t wait to take a Ghoul by the horns? That’s
the spirit! Here’s what you need to know in
order to plunge straight into the adventure.
After the introductory sequence you’ll see the
Save screen, gateway to the main game. There
are three separate slots available for you to
save your progress, each as vacant as a zombie’s
head upon your  rst visit. Use ? (D-pad) to
highlight an empty slot, then press A to open
it. Next, enter a name using ? (move cursor),
A (select), l or r (move text cursor), and X
(toggle symbols).
Note: If you have a previously saved game,
press A to open the slot or X to delete the
save  le. Once the slot is highlighted, Y
displays info and stats on your progress.
Finally, you’ll reach the slot’s menu screen with
three further options.
Play
Select this to throw yourself straight into the
game. In a slot with saved game data you’ll pick
up Cooper’s story at its most advanced stage, so
if you’d rather start elsewhere, use the Replay
Chapter option in the Features menu. Naturally
you won’t be able to jump to a Chapter ahead of
those cleared of Ghouly infestation.
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7

l Rotate Camera
L Move
A Pick Up Weapon/Advance Text
r Rotate Camera
> Pause Game/Skip
Storybook Sequence
R Attack
When Holding a
Permanent Weapon
R (Right thumbstick):
Push in the direction of your attacker
to swing the weapon, or hold it in
that direction to  re!
l+r Auto-center Camera
B Discard Temporary Weapon
Pause Menu Options
b Go to Game Stats page
b Go to Map page
B Return to game
X Quit game
Y View Challenge rules
(during Challenges only)
8
9

Cooper’s Energy
Challenge Icon
Ghouly
Energy
Ghoulies
Temporary
Weapon Grab
Icon
Cooper Permanent Weapon
Challenge Door
Permanent
Weapon
Ammo Gauge
10
11

The moral of the story?
The moral of the story?
Don’t take anything for granted!
Don’t take anything for granted!
Don’t take anything for granted!
The moral of the story?
Don’t take anything for granted!
The moral of the story?
The moral of the story?
Don’t take anything for granted!
The moral of the story?
The moral of the story?
Don’t take anything for granted!
The moral of the story?
Don’t take anything for granted!
The moral of the story?
Getting Around in
Ghoulhaven
Just as Cooper is never quite sure what he’ll
 nd around every twist and turn of Ghoulhaven’s
spooky corridors, it might come as a surprise to
you that Grabbed by the Ghoulies isn’t structured
in the way you might expect.
More speci cally, your fated route through
the Hall isn’t entirely straightforward. Cooper
often receives hints and tips from unexpectedly
helpful strangers, prompting nervous retracing
of steps in search of secret passages, newly-
opened doors, and lesser-known pathways.
Sometimes the advice offered may even seem too
helpful, but under the circumstances, who can
afford to ignore it?
Certain rooms could end up being visited more
than once, but don’t expect to face the same
situation behind those familiar doors each time.
Cooper could pass through a room relatively
unhindered once, twice, maybe three times, only
to  nd a whole army of Ghoulies awaiting him
on his next visit…
Chapters
Cooper’s entire trial by fear in Grabbed
by the Ghoulies is split into Chapters. Each
Chapter delivers a new main goal, beginning
with the rescue of Amber from right under the
Ghoulies’ slimy noses. The fact that this occurs
at the end of Chapter 1 should give our hero a
hint that there may be more to this quest than
he was expecting!
Having the story divided into Chapters also
makes it easy to return to speci c areas or
restage your favorite battles through the
Features menu of the save slot, without having
to drag Cooper through the preceding perils
and pitfalls over and over again.
12
13

Battling the Ghoulies
While Cooper might not have willingly chosen
to be in this situation, he’s certainly not
going to let it get the best of him. Undaunted
by numbers, he’ll press the attack against
oncoming Ghoulies with a vengeance, trusting
in sheer bravado (and occasional blind panic)
combined with a repertoire of armed and
unarmed combat moves to see him through.
Regardless of whether or not Cooper’s lucky
enough to have picked up a weapon, R (Right
thumbstick) is always used to launch his
attacks. Movement is controlled separately by
L (Left thumbstick). In combination, the two
thumbsticks give Cooper the freedom to aim
punches, kicks, and weapons in any direction,
not just the one he’s facing. You’ll soon see how
essential this is to overcoming the (sometimes
terrifying) odds!
The range and variety of unarmed combat
moves open to our hero comes as a surprise
even to him, and the type of move executed
depends upon distance from the target and
position in the chain of attacks. See the
Weapons section (pages 22-23) for more details
on the arsenal of Temporary and Permanent
Weapons stored deep within the mansion, and
what spectral bottom-kicking advantages each
of the different types has to offer.
Rooms
Ghoulhaven Hall and its grounds are split into
over 50 rooms of various sizes which could
be anything from a narrow, gloomy hallway
with peeling wallpaper to a wide outdoor
farmyard haunted by all kinds of eerily
unfamiliar sounds and shadows.
Each Chapter of the game takes place over a
number of rooms, some telling a more tangled
and far-reaching tale than others. By the time
he’s wrapped up his business at Ghoulhaven,
Cooper’s likely to know the layout of the place
better than Crivens himself!
14
15

Just try not to pass out too frequently,
sir. What if your performance was
Just try not to pass out too frequently,
sir. What if your performance was
Just try not to pass out too frequently,
being... rated?
sir. What if your performance was
being... rated?
sir. What if your performance was
Just try not to pass out too frequently,
sir. What if your performance was
Just try not to pass out too frequently,
sir. What if your performance was
Just try not to pass out too frequently,
being... rated?
sir. What if your performance was
being... rated?
sir. What if your performance was
being... rated?
Energy
A single pulsing red heart
is used to represent Cooper’s
energy, shrinking and beating
faster as he becomes weaker
and more scared. In a further
twist to the Ghoulies tale,
initial energy levels upon entering a room are
never  xed and can vary, potentially making
encounters and Challenges (see pages 18-19) a
lot trickier than they  rst appear!
Energy is lost by taking hits from the Ghoulies
or falling victim to shocks. Should Cooper
lose all his Energy, he’ll go into a Faint. This
is far from the end of the road, however, and
you’ll see no Game Over screen in Grabbed by the
Ghoulies. Instead, Cooper returns to the start of
the scene or another suitable point, ready to
give it another shot.
Scares
Although Cooper’s kept permanently on edge
by Ghoulhaven’s chilly atmosphere and lurking
tenants, it’s the Hall’s capacity for sudden
Scares that can have the most shocking effect.
Scares are surprise events such as phones
ringing without warning or Ghoulies popping
up at windows, and if Cooper fails to avoid the
visible Scare Sphere that these create, he’ll
lose control and become numb with fright. Not
only does this make him almost impossible
to move and too terri ed to defend himself
(hence the attack function lockout), it also
means he will receive double damage if he’s
unlucky enough to be surrounded by attacking
Ghoulies when it happens!
Super Scary
Shocks
Think of these as
more dangerous,
high-risk Scares.
A Super Scary Shock
can crop up either
as part of normal play or during a special
sequence, and is easily recognizable from the
row of buttons that pops up onto the screen.
It’s a ghoulish test of reactions in which the
buttons displayed must be pressed, in order
and as quickly as possible, to help Cooper
shake off the paralyzing fear. Taking too
long to snap out of it will result in a loss of
precious energy. Needless to say, you should
beware the Super Scary Shock!
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