E3 2001: First look at Luigi's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion, the next game in Nintendo's long-running Mario series, was demonstrated today at the Nintendo press conference in Los Angeles by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

The premise behind the game is that Mario and Luigi have won a contest, and they've received a mansion as the prize. Luigi arrives at the mansion, only to find that it's haunted and Mario is missing. A demented doctor character confronts him and explains that he needs to collect all the ghosts in order to save Mario. Luigi then sets off with a flashlight and a vacuum cleaner to take on the ghosts.

The game's visuals have a rubbery 3D-cartoon look to them. The mansion itself is shrouded in darkness except for Luigi's flashlight and the occasional flickering candle. The backgrounds can be seen at all times, but ghosts can only be spotted with Luigi's flashlight. Luigi's vacuum cleaner is slung onto his back and used to suck up the ghosts (à la the film Ghostbusters). The vacuum cleaner can also be used to collect items like coins and mice. When the vacuum is in use, objects in the environment like lamps and tables begin to sway as if they're in danger of being sucked up as well. The longer you use the vacuum, the more it heats up. If the vacuum's numeric dial reaches 10, then Luigi's pants catch on fire and he scoots along the floor on his butt trying to put it out. Luigi can also use the vacuum cleaner to spray water, which is depicted using an incredible effect.

In one scene, Luigi walks into a bathroom where the silhouette of a woman bathing can be seen through the bathtub curtain. If Luigi uses his vacuum, the curtain is pulled back to reveal...nothing (it's a ghost playing tricks on you). Other visual elements seen show Luigi's breath appear in a cold room and the mist from an open refrigerator move when Luigi uses the vacuum cleaner in the kitchen.

Luigi's Mansion is planned for release in November. We'll have more details and a hands-on report on the game once the E3 convention begins tomorrow.