A 360 review of Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Since I first heard news of a Ghostbusters game back in 2007 I was overjoyed as the lack of a third film left me sorely disappointed. Whether you’re a child of the 1980s or a sci-fi comedy fan, the Ghostbusters franchise probably gave warm and fuzzy feelings inside you and a hole that needed to be filled. Problem was Ghostbusters co-writer Harald Ramis (played Egon and also co-wrote Animal House and Stripes) did not want to make a third film since almost 20 years had passed and he knew how badly such a time elapse faired for the fourth Indiana Jones film.

Enter Ghostbusters , the video game.

With CG graphics and voice acting, Ramis and Aykroyd were able to successfully create the third film albeit for the gaming console. Ghostbusters the Video Game (“GVG”) is a virtual tribute to Ghostbusters fans as you feel as though you are in the film with all the themes that made the franchise as popular as it is.

Story

In GVG you are “Rookie,” the new “experimental equipment technician” that gets to test out all the new tools and weapons just incase they malfunction (which, they don’t) and the guy they send in to any situation if it is too serious for them to handle. In short, you’re a red shirt. On your first day on the job you get a virtual baptism of fire with Slimer, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and many other familiar and new ghosts along the way as you try to figure out why the recent outbreak of ghost activity is happening.

The story is intriguing as you actually investigate the paranormal events with your PKE meter (some sort of paranormal tricorder) all the while listening in to the guys coming up with hypothesis leading right up to the end twist, which actually surprised me. This kind of comedic sci-fi mystery is exactly what put Ghostbusters on the map and the tradition continues with GVG. While your character does not speak (nor is his real name specified beyond “Rookie”), this actually adds to the experience as you feel like you’re part of the movie and you’re just letting the main actors play their part with little to no interference from you.

The dialog is just plain hilarious. Aside from Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis, all original actors returned to reprise their roles including Annie Potts as Jeanine and even William Atherton as Walter Pecker. Between the bantering from the actual characters (“We eat gods for breakfast!!”), the ridiculous phone messages (“That Viggo painting is a priceless artifact – it belongs in a museum!!”), and the abstract sayings of the Viggo painting (“I sense a dark future, where music is free and available for download.”), I had almost non-stop chuckling and some heavy laughter throughout. The moments of boring dialog were VERY few and far in between.

Game play

The game play uses a mixture of styles from mostly Dead Space and the last two Resident Evil games. Like Dead Space, you see your character in third person over their right shoulder with the health and weapon gauges on the proton pack as opposed to a standard heads-up display or basic overlay. This means the screen has more screen space for actual gaming rather than obtrusive numbers from a display or overlay. It also gives the player a more realistic experience. The game play takes some ideas from Resident Evil 5 with the inventory selection from the D-Pad as the proton pack has four weapon modes (standard photon blast, slime gun, etc.) although it is more similar to Republic Commando than RE5.

The controls are very basic and require little time to master from basic movement, dodging, and selecting between primary and secondary fire. The games movement is actually very well calibrated as I required no tweaking to the sensitivity, I just picked up the controller and went with it despite how much movement is required (which is a LOT).

GVG’s game play is also surprisingly simplistic but without the boring repetition. You spend much of your time “zapping” a ghost with your weapons weakening them, and then you snare them into the “trap” and retrieve the trap. There are some monsters that can be destroyed but you’ll find yourself snaring a LOT of traps. This requires you to master wrangling ghosts with the snare secondary fire of the photon beam (which activates automatically thank God) as your controller will be moving back and forth trying to reel the ghoul in, like fishing.

When you’re not zapping ghosts, you’re following their trails with your PKE meter, scanning everything as you go. This means you focus in night-vision first person, which can mean that things will pop out at you and potentially startle whoever is playing.

One of the greatest things about the game play in GVG is the ally AI. For once, they are actually capable and helpful. Last night, on my second play through, I was at the Sedgwick Hotel and the guys actually reeled in two ghosts by themselves as I only provided cover. Not to mention the best part is that not only can you revive your team mates but they can revive YOU and do so in a timely fashion. This is unbelievable as your allies in GVG are more reliable than Delta Squad in Gears of War 2. Who woulda thunk it?

The only downside to game play, and it’s a big one, is that you cannot drive Ecto-1. You get to cause serious property damage, shoot people with your proton beam and not get into trouble, and even ride down the fire station pole, but when it comes to driving the only ambulance every child has wanted to take out for a spin, it’s a strict no-no. The main characters even taunt the player for not being able to drive in the last mission. Jerks.

The only other downside is that there is no new game plus. Once you beat the game, you’re done. Like Fallout 3, this is just unacceptable as it diminishes replay value. I sincerely hope they will include downloadable missions and add-ons later on. You just can’t leave the game like this!

Graphics and Music

The graphics are pretty well done. The facial expressions and movement is akin to Gears of War 2 as the textures are well done (but we’ll be frowning upon them in six months when Assassins Creed 2 comes out). The lip-syncing is out of whack but it happens.

The environments are simply stunning… and fully destructible. You can blow up virtually everything. I had a blast (no pun intended) turning the Martinez’s Bar Mitzvah buffet from a kosher delight to one charbroiled casserole with my proton pack (and subsequently got a gamer score for it). From the stores, the damage, the cemetery, it’s all done exceptionally well.

As for the music, it’s almost all from the original movies from the piano riffs to Ray Parker Jr’s Ghostbusters. This gives the game a much more realistic feel to it, not to mention makes you feel like you’re part of the film.

All in all, Ghostbusters gets a solid 90%. The controls were near flawless, the dialog was excellent, but the game could’ve been longer (took me eight hours to beat on casual), lacks side quests and a new game plus option, and you cannot drive Ecto-1.

A worthy rental and purchase!!