Developed by 1st Playable Productions, the ghost hunting game transforms the 3DS into "a portal to the astral plane" which allows gamers to investigate real-world environments with the system's camera to "search, capture and destroy supernatural entities." (Sounds like Casper is about to have a lousy afterlife.)
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about an AR ghost game without mentioning the long-delayed game Ghostwire for the DSi, which looked cool and built some buzz, but has never made it to market. Now the question remains whether it ever will be released since The Hidden clearly scooped it.
As far as the Hidden "plot" goes, as a member of the Ghostly Entity Investigation and Strike Team, (G.E.I.S.T.), players must bring their 3DS device with them to new locations to complete the 12-mission game. Along the way, different gameplay activities include: scanning an area using the 3DS camera and Wi-Fi hotspots; tracking ghosts and pulling them from their realm into ours; shooting ghosts with paranormal weapons tech; navigating through tunnels of other dimensions; avoiding being detected "by entities that are too great in number or extremely tough to handle with your equipment."
Jesse Sutton, CEO of Majesco Entertainment, describes The Hidden as "bridging worlds which conceptually is a great fit for the ghost hunting theme."
"Gamers everywhere will get a thrill out of discovering what’s truly hidden in some of their favorite real-world spots."