One of the larger announcements made during Nintendo's E3 press conference this year was the return of Luigi's Mansion on the Nintendo 3DS. Finally, the long awaited sequel to the GameCube classic is on its way, and the two people who like Luigi are probably ecstatic. All jokes aside, Game Rant got some hands-on time with the upcoming Luigi's Mansion 2, and it's actually a lot of fun — so much so that it scored a nomination from Game Rant for E3's best handheld game.

The game starts off in a similar fashion to the original, as Luigi is tasked with heading into a haunted mansion and sucking up money and ghosts with his handy dandy Poltergust 3000, but it's not nearly as easy as it all sounds.

Ghosts can't just be sucked up when they are found, they must first be stunned with Luigi's flashlight.

After a ghost has been stunned, the player has to hold down the right trigger button to begin sucking up the ghosts. Each ghost has a set amount of hearts that slowly decrease the longer they are trapped within Luigi's vacuum's sucking radius.

Many fans of the original probably noticed that the whacky scientist E. Gadd was missing from the Luigi's Mansion 2 trailer that Nintendo revealed during their press conference at this year's E3. Anyone who was concerned about the series continuing without E. Gadd will be happy to know that their fears are unfounded, because he is still the one giving Luigi advice and inventions this time around. Nintendo refused to go into much detail on the story for the new Luigi's Mansion for obvious reasons, but clearly someone is in trouble and Luigi is the only person who can save them.

The game takes place in a brand new house, but the layout of Luigi's Mansion 2 is very similar to the first instalment in the series. Players move from room to room clearing them of ghosts, unlocking new rooms in the process. There are even a few times when Luigi will stumble upon a window or hole in the wall where he can scout the next room before he heads in.

When this happens the gyroscopic capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS kick in, requiring gamers to actually physically move their 3DS around to check out the room. This is a nice addition to the 3DS version of the game, and it helps pull players even further into the faux-horror atmosphere.

There is an abundance of ghosts, and while that's something that everyone would expect to appear in a haunted mansion, they look a little bit different then the original ghoulish cast. The overall feel of the game is a lot more bright, and despite Luigi's blatant cowardice the game is a lot less likely to give any kids nightmares. The 3D effects in Luigi's Mansion 2 are also implemented well, and compliment the game quite nicely, while simultaneously helping to create an immersive experience for the individual playing it.

Luigi's Mansion 2 is a title that fans have wanted to happen for ten years, and after getting some play-time with the new game it's safe to say that it's exactly what fans have wanted from a sequel.

Putting the game on the 3DS changes the overall intimacy and controls, but at the end of the day it feels pretty much identical to its GameCube counterpart — which is not even remotely a bad thing. There is still a lot that is currently unknown about the game, and there are likely still a few new features that have yet to be revealed.

Luigi's Mansion 2 is currently scheduled to haunt a Nintendo 3DS near you in 2012.

Were you excited when Nintendo revealed Luigi's Mansion 2?

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