When I first heard that a game called Ghost Squad was coming to Wii, I was hoping for a squad-based follow up to the Gamecube title Geist - but things are a little more down to earth instead, as the title refers to an elite anti-terrorist unit who handle crisis situations with ease. The action couldn't be further removed from Tom Clancy's classic Ghost Recon series however, as this is a conversion of Sega's arcade game, and another title that heralds the return of the light-gun genre, thanks to the Wiimote's motion sensing abilities.

The action in Ghost Squad is entirely on-rails and for those unfamiliar with the term, this means that you have no control whatsoever over your movement. Viewed from a first person perspective, you see through the eyes of the Ghost Squad leader as he makes his way through hostile territory while you blow away the myriad terrorists foolish enough to enter your line of sight. Generally speaking, all you have to worry about is shooting the terrorists before they shoot you, the light-gun action only broken up by the occasional sub-mission to defuse bombs and mines, snipe from a distance or detain hostages.

This might all sound very limited - and it is - but this is to be expected from a light-gun game. However, there's plenty of scope for doing more than just shooting the bad guys, as you get bonuses for Quick Shots (blasting terrorists the split second they leap into the screen or pop their heads up from behind cover) and Good Shots (head shots), plus keeping your overall accuracy score high. Most enemies go down with a single shot, so the only real advantage to head shots is for getting a better score, while shooting scenery objects can reveal handy power-ups like high capacity magazines or unlimited ammo with no reloads and first aid kits to replenish your health bar or armour to reduce the damage you take. Normally you can take about four hits before you croak, although shooting a hostage reduces your health bar too, which makes no sense at all, unless it's your conscience that's killing you, so be careful - you can easily pick them out, dressed in civilian clothes with a handy "Help" speech bubble.

The main problem with Ghost Squad is that there are three measly missions to complete and you can blitz through the whole game in under thirty minutes if you skip the cut scenes, something you'll want to do after your first run through the game, as they're dull and unspectacular with clunky dialogue that's typical of a poor Japanese to English translation, featuring such daft and cheesily delivered lines as "It's a booby trap by the enemies!" and "I give you permission to use the grenades." There's no story or character development, which is forgivable in this genre, yet it would have been nice to find some cut scenes that were better scripted and featured some interesting action moments or cool camera angles. Instead you get to see such daft but funny moments as the President high fiving you after you rescue him!

The three missions at least take place in varied areas. The first mission sees you storming a complex of cabins set in the mountains that has been taken over by terrorists, the second takes place entirely on Air Force One as you work your way through to retake it from the terrorists, while the third sees you storming an enemy encampment in the jungle before moving on through the undergrowth and into some old ruins, culminating in a fairly challenging sequence that takes place as you speed down a river, blasting foes off jet skis and out of helicopters before taking out an armoured cruiser and its occupants.

The boss encounters at the end of the three missions are a bit annoying - the first sees you shooting down a helicopter with a rocket launcher, but due to the delay of the homing rocket lock-on process it seems impossible to save all of your fellow squad members who are under fire. The third is an ultra-armoured boss who you'll never take down in the thirty seconds you're given unless you use your grenades to blast away his shield (but use the grenades and it's very easy) while the second one is the most annoying moment in the whole game - you have eight seconds and one chance to get a head shot, and if you miss then you fail the entire mission. It might only take ten minutes or less to get through it, but it's still very annoying that your success all comes down to a single shot, with a very small dot representing your gun sights for the encounter.

In an attempt to expand the lifespan of the game, there is plenty of replay value in the way the levels are laid out. At several instances in each mission you are given a choice of how to proceed, opening up new locations and new sequences, as well as new challenges. Do you provide cover outside the cabins at the start or storm in, and once inside do you rescue the hostages or defuse the bomb? Also, when you complete a mission successfully it 'levels up', so next time around new sections are unlocked, as well as the number of enemies sometimes increasing and the challenges getting harder, like reduced time for a sniping section or more hostages required to succeed. There are close quarters encounters too, where you must punch or slash in the right areas quickly with the action button, which can frustrate when just one mistake causes you to fail the section - you still move on but it's a black mark against your score. Other challenges might see you protecting allies from enemy assaults, with their health bars being an indicator of how many more hits they can take before they go down.

With twenty-five weapons to unlock and a number of outfits ranging from desert togs and 'Tough Guy' to the humorous Panda costume, there's plenty of scope for changing your playing style too. The costumes are only aesthetic, but weapons range from your standard rifles to guns that you don't have to reload (you reload your weapons by moving your crosshair off-screen) but that can overheat, to single shot rifles, pistols, shotguns and more. Picking a different weapon changes the gameplay dynamic and you're sure to find favourites, as well as weapons that you hate. It's annoying then that once you choose a weapon you're stuck with it for the whole three missions, unable to change your gun without quitting and losing your progress.

The action itself is actually a lot of fun. The camera movements are excellent as your squad leader runs through a building, diving behind cover and then peeking out, or crouching and sneaking along as enemies come from all directions, some popping up, some diving in and some dropping down from above with a knife, who must be taken out very fast if you want to avoid injury. The usage of the camera as you are led through each level serves to immerse you in the experience and make you feel as though you're really seeing through the eyes of your character. While the game works just fine with a Wiimote, it feels so much more enjoyable using the Wii Zapper - if you're a fan of light gun games such as this then it's absolutely worth picking up the Zapper, which comes bundled with Link's Crossbow Training, a fun little gem that's worth the price of entry alone. The Wiimote is just as responsive as the Zapper, but the feel of holding a rifle with two hands and having a proper gun trigger to shoot with is much more enjoyable, although the decision to use the awkwardly placed action button instead of the Nunchuk trigger, which you have your finger over at all times, is perplexing - fortunately you don't have to use the action button that often, but why the Nunchuk wasn't used for actions is beyond me and I couldn't find a way to change the control configuration.

There's a multiplayer mode too, which is fun in short bursts - up to four players can join in at once and players can even dive in mid-game, which is a nice touch. However, you don't get to keep your experience points in multiplayer. There's also an online leaderboard to upload your score to, which is a nice touch and encourages you to retry to strive for the very best scores. Finally, the Training mode is tacked-on and fairly pointless, over in seconds and just not worth bothering with. It's a nice touch however that you can reconfigure the Wii sensor to get the aiming as precise as you wish, and if you're feeling brave you can attempt the missions without an onscreen crosshair to guide you, for increased score (and don't worry, you get your crosshair back for using special weapons like the sniper rifle and for that annoying boss head shot!)

Ghost Squad is a straight-laced arcade shooter that will be enjoyed by players who have at some point gained thrills from heading down to their local arcade and pumping coins into a light-gun game. It has no plot, daft dialogue and next to no cut scenes, and the entire game is on-rails, but it's still great fun to play as your man darts around the level and you wait tensely for the next batch of terrorists to launch in so you can take them down with precision accuracy. However, while the inclusion of multiple sections in each mission and the range of unlockable weapons is admirable, it's just not enough to boost up the game's lifespan and the three missions quickly become tedious after half a dozen or so replays - even with the reduced price, some brand new missions should have been added in to increase the variety of the experience. This is throwaway fun that will only be enjoyed in short bursts and the novelty will wear off long before you unlock everything and max out the missions to their highest level. Unless you're nuts for arcade shooters, it's hard to justify the entry price for this one, but a bargain bin purchase or a weekend rental is definitely worthwhile for some simple action-packed fun. And remember, you are Ghost Squad - you leave no trace behind! Well, except for piles of dead terrorists and the empty casings of your unlimited ammo...

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).