ESRB Game Rating: T
Game Publisher: Atari
Developer: Terminal Reality.
Platform: Xbox 360 (also available for PS3, Nintendo Wii & DS, PC, PS2)
Release Date: June 16, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $55.99

“Who ya gonna call?”

I am a child of the 80s. I know who the Ghostbusters are and I remember watching all of the movies fondly. News of Ghostbusters III abounds, especially since “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” seemed to ignite an interest in a series that was immortalized in the 80s. While the movie (still uncertain whether it will happen) is slated for release in 2012, and even Rick Moranis is being rumored as coming out of retirement to reprise the role of Louis Tully, in this new segment of the franchise, Ghostbusters fans can pick up a copy of this new video game, which includes all the original actors sans Moranis.

I enjoyed playing Ghostbusters: The Video Game quite a bit. The biggest thrill was in the nostalgic aspects to the game. Dr. Peter Venkman is a sarcastic ass throughout much of the game. Dr. Egon Spengler is helpful and understanding and Dr. Raymond Stantz is somewhere in between funny and helpful. The fact that the original cast returns to voice each character really helps to add something to this game. If new voice actors had been chosen, I wouldn’t have wanted to play “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” and I’m sure that I’m not alone on this.

You play as a new recruit, who gets saddled with doing all the dirty work for the other Ghostbusters. As the new guy, you get to take on the dirtiest ghosts, and once you learn the initial procedure (Ray walks you through exactly how to snag a ghost in the basement of the fire station, when Slimer escapes), you’re pretty much expected to figure it out ‘on your own.’ Of course, this is fairly easy to do, and occasionally you’ll receive warnings if you are doing something wrong like, “Don’t ever let the streams cross!”

Initially, it’s pretty cool to be a Ghostbuster. How many times did you dream, as a kid, of strapping on a proton pack and letting lose your vengeance on some nasty spirits? The action begins almost immediately, when Slimer escapes from his containment unit. That pesky, plump, neon green monstrosity wreaks havoc, eventually escaping from the fire house and returning to the site of his first manifestation, the Sedgewick Hotel. Of course, it takes time to zap a ghost of its powers and then hold on enough to lasso it in. This can become tedious, though you do get to explore different locations and experience different levels of intensity when it comes to the haunting presence of each entity.

If you can get past the tedious moments of the game, the story is a lot of fun. The names behind the Ghosbusters put a lot of time and effort into this project, and it shows. If you are a fan of the franchise you should dig the video game. I could only play it in spurts, because my hands would get too tired of constantly having to shoot my energy stream at the ghosts. You use one of the triggers for this, and it can make it difficult for those with hand weakness or strength problems to consistently play this game on the Xbox 360 or PS3. I’m imagining the PC version might be a bit easier to use since there is no trigger to hold, but that’s just a guess on my part.

The best part of the game is in the fact that your character doesn’t speak, at all. You are just a made up guy in the franchise, so you don’t have to worry about pointless, non-canon style banter that would distract from the game. You just listen and learn from the real cast of Ghostbusters characters, then do your thing as you take on a plethora of disgusting, naughty and downright stubborn ghosts, ghouls and other paranormal manifestations.

Story:
“Ghostbusters: The Video Game” begins two years after the end of what happened in Ghostbusters 2. This means it is around Thanksgiving of 1991. The game starts with an advertisement (aired a la TV set) for the services of the Ghostbusters. Also, the Ghostbusters are surging in their popularity thanks to their obvious ability to rid the world of those nasty, pesky, paranormal apparitions. This makes it necessary for them to hire a new recruit, which is the person you play.

As the new recruit, you are known only as Rookie. The gang doesn’t want to get too attached to you anyway, since you’ll be testing out the dangerous new proton pack. Egon jokes (or is he joking?) that you might not be sticking around long enough, so they don’t want to know anything personal about you. The team doesn’t want to form any unnecessary attachments, after all.

After you arrive, the entire city of New York experiences a massive PKE shockwave. This is coming from a museum that is displaying a Gozer exhibit. The wave is bad news for the Ghostbusters, because this frees the pesky, annoyance known as Slimer from his containment unit. Before you can head off to the museum to figure out where that shockwave came from, you must first capture Slimer and another spirit in the basement. Of course, Slimer escapes, and it is off to the Sedgewick Hotel. The staff is not pleased to see you, but it becomes clear, Slimer isn’t the only spirit haunting the hotel.

After cleaning up the hotel, Rookie and the rest of the Ghostbusters must head to Time Square. There they find Stay Puft, that gigantic Marshmallow Man from the films, wreaking havoc! Within the battle, it is revealed that Big Fatty Marshmallow has been following Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn. She is not only a potential love interest for Peter, she’s also the curator who is in charge of the museum’s Gozer exhibit. It doesn’t take much for Ray and Egon to deduce that Ilyssa, the Gozer exhibit and the release of all these paranormal entities are related.

The Ghostbusters must discover that connection and avoid pissing off Mayor Jaques Mulligan as well as Walter Peck. Peck is now head of the P-COC (Paranormal Contract Oversight Committee). They can’t mess up the city, any more than they have. It isn’t the time to worry about destruction though because an array of ghosts, from Eleanor Twitty (the “Gray Lady”) to Ivo Shandor, are displayed.

When there’s something strange in the neighborhood? Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!

Enjoyment/Fun Factor:

Features:
“Ghostbusters: The Video Game” is a third-person shooter. It’s told from the perspective of you, the rookie, looking in and being guided by the other Ghostbusters. The screen is relatively clean as far as meter readings go. You play with your proton pack, which will overheat if you use it too much (there is a manual release button you can press, to go right back to using it without having to let it cool down on its own). This vent method works fairly well. You can find out how much you are overheating and which weapon mode you are in by looking at your proton pack. This comes in handy, since you have to go find a corner to duck behind to vent unless you want to get slimed.

This new proton pack will eventually have up to four different proton streams. The initial Proton Pack is the one we all know and love from the movies. Spengler has modified this to include a massive ball of energy called a Boson Dart. This explodes when it hits your target and is a pretty sweet addition to the pack. You can also use additional ‘attachments’ which include shock type blasts (Statsis Blasts), slime blasts (with the Slime Blower), the Meson Collider (electric streams at their best) and additional streams to pretty much annihilate the energy of the ghosts. This variety of weapons makes game play a bit more interesting. The slime blasts can also tether objects together, which is especially useful on those quick to move ghosts. With the money you raise (every ghost you catch equals $$), you can buy even more weapons. You have up to 20 different weapon upgrades you can purchase.

When using the proton pack with its primary weapon, you shoot your proton stream at a ghost until it is weak enough to be captured. The proton stream turns into a capture beam (you can also press a button to put the ghost in your capture beam prior to this) and you can lasso the ghost into a trap, which you’ll have to throw down at some point prior to capturing the ghost. The capture beam allows for some pretty cool slam attacks. This ensures the ghost remains weak and can’t escape prior to capture. It takes a minute to get the hang of lassoing the ghost into the trap, but once you do it’s a piece of cake! Just a note, the capture beam can also be used to move objects around if they are in your way.

While play is somewhat repetitious (there is only so many ways you can nab a ghost) new enemies join the old crew from the movie, including Slimer and Stay Puft. This adds a little bit of variety to the game and branches off from the same events that are present in the film. There are a total of 55 paranormal apparitions. With every one you come in contact with, using your PKE meter, you will log them into a spirit guide book for later reference. This guide offers insight into each spirit and provides weapon ideas to combat them quickly and efficiently. This definitely comes in handy during later battles.

Want to finish reading this review? Go to Page Two…