If Capcom’s Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is any indication, the afterlife is where things get really interesting.

Designed by Shu Takumi of Ace Attorney fame, this unique Nintendo DS exclusive stars you as Sissel, the ghost of a murder victim determined to figure out why he was killed and by whom.

While the premise of the game might sound morose — about a disembodied spirit trying to solve his own murder — the adventure is quite light-hearted because of the zany characters, silly dialogue and often-humorous death scenes (such as seeing a wrecking ball flatten an enemy, like in a Road Runner cartoon).

There are a few challenges that stand in your way as you play: You’ve got amnesia, so you don't recall anything from your previous life; you’re limited on what you can affect in the physical world; and you've only got until dawn to solve the mystery of your untimely death.

Ghost Trick is a story-driven puzzle game that challenges you to rewrite recent history to save others, in the hope it will give you clues to your own demise.

One of your powers is the ability to rewind to the last four minutes leading up to someone’s death, so you can try to change the outcome.

For example, early in the game you need to help a young girl (and her dog) escape a hit man.

When you activate “ghost time” in her apartment, the scene stops, and your ball of energy can move around from one item to the next — as long as the items are close enough.

Use the DS stylus to make a line from, say, the Christmas tree to a hanging mobile to a cupboard door on the other side of the room.

Once you un-pause the scene, perform a “ghost trick” to manipulate the object you’re possessing at the time, such as causing that cupboard door to swing open, which in turn knocks food under the sofa.

The dog follows, and so does her master, so when the hit man kicks open the apartment door, he doesn’t see anyone inside.

If you fail to accomplish the task at hand — in this case, save the girl and her dog — you’ll be forced to restart the scene to get it right.

There is a fair bit of trial and error in tougher scenarios, but all the puzzles are logical.

As you slowly begin to unravel the key players in the story and the reasons for your death, you zap from one scene to another through telephone lines.

The clever concept, thought-provoking puzzles and huge cast of characters make for a refreshingly fun and unique mobile adventure.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is the first great Nintendo DS title of 2011.