Ghosthunter is a third-person shooter video game developed by SCEE Cambridge Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2.

It was released in Europe in December 2003, in North America by Namco Hometek in August 2004 and in Japan by Electronic Arts in September 2004.

Ghosthunter is a third-person shooter in which players control the protagonist, Lazarus Jones, with the left analog stick.

Ghost energy can be collected in the form of orbs found throughout the game and dropped by defeated enemies.

He is on a routine call with his partner, Anna Steele (Nan McNamara), to investigate reports of unusual sounds in the building.

Jones returns to the lab, where a sentient computer (Joe Morton) explains that when he pressed the button, he shut down an array containing imprisoned ghosts, and he must now set about recapturing them.

The program also explains that his only hope of getting Steele back is to find Professor Richmond, who created the lab.

After heading to a ghost town, where he saves a young girl from the clutches of the spirit of Lady DeMontford (Jane Hamilton), Jones returns to the lab and learns that Astral's real name is Kate Heller, and she was Richmond's assistant.

He then heads to a prison island, Devil's Scar Penitentiary, where he encounters Frank Agglin (André Sogliuzzo), a former police officer who killed several people, including his wife, before being executed by electric chair.

He and Jones then head to a secret military base, where Richmond worked during the 1970s, undertaking paranormal research for the government.

However, Hawksmoor proposed a deal to the military executives of the base - if they granted him Kate's body, as well the right to exploit Richmond, he would destroy their enemies.

With Ghosthunter, SCEE Studio Cambridge has created a dark, atmospheric fantasy that will appeal to both gamers and horror fans.

The game utilizes the PlayStation 2's technical capabilities to combine film-quality graphics and sound with well-developed characters and a compelling storyline, delivering a rich, cinematic experience that fully captures the essence of the action-horror genre.

"[13] Playable demos of a 60% complete build were first shown at the August 2003 Games Convention in Leipzig, with a European release date slated for November.

In April 2004, Namco Hometek announced that they would publish the game in North America, with release slated for August.

[16] Eurogamer's Ronan Jennings argued its only real positive attribute were its graphics, of which he wrote, "there are times in it where I have never seen anything so impressive in a game.

It sports a stunning-looking world that's comfortable and satisfying to explore but for some reason the developer has tarnished this with a god-awful set of enemies and infuriating level design.

"[17] GameRevolution's Brian Gee praised the graphics, but found the overall experience lacking: "While Ghosthunter sets up a freaky scene, it never does much to distinguish itself from your average action game.

[7] GameSpot's Alex Navarro was more impressed, arguing that it struck a good balance between survival horror and action; "The primary reason Ghosthunter works is that it seems to have a very firm grip on what it wants to be.

It knows it isn't scary enough to really fit into the survival horror genre, but it's too creepy to be considered just a standard action game.

However, he concluded by praising the "game's incredible presentation with slick support for progressive scan, widescreen display, and a penchant for utterly astonishing graphics and superlative audio effects.