While it may seem strange for the Ghostbusters to make a reappearance in 2009 it really is fortuitous that the game was released when it was, on the 25th Anniversary of the first film’s release. Ghostbusters: The Video Game went through something of a tumultuous development; it was one of the more conspicuously dropped victims of the Activision/Vivendi merger. The game was eventually picked up for publishing by Atari and now we have the final product. It has been well worth the wait because despite a few minor problems, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is one of the rare few movie licensed games that not only makes you feel like part of the story but it is also, on its own merits, an incredible and innovative game.

Gameplay

You play as The Rookie (aka. Youngblood, the new kid, junior, etc.), a new recruit to the Ghostbusters. You are given the glamorous title of Experimental Equipment Technician, mainly to distract you from the possibly horrific injuries you will suffer if the equipment fails to work as it should. The story is exactly as one would expect from a Ghostbusters movie, a pulse of psychokinetic energy shocks the city, a certain evil ancient Sumerian deity is once again roaming the city streets in a ’destructor form’ most should find familiar and various spirits, monsters and ghouls seem to be popping up out of nowhere, clearly something is amiss.


The game begins with you being kitted out with your very own proton pack when suddenly a psychokinetic pulse rips through the city causing brown trousers all over town, locally this pulse weakens the display case that holds the infamous Slimer captive and off you go with Ray to try and hunt him down while Egon tries to fix up the containment unit you inadvertently blast in the attempt to capture Slimer. This introductory sequence gives you the basics of how to drain a ghost’s PK energy (its health), throw a trap and use the capture stream to wrangle, slam and otherwise drag the ghost into the trap, the Sap, Cap and Trap method. As the game progresses you get access to more interesting weapons and equipment and you receive cash for ghost scans and cursed artefacts. The cash is used to purchase upgrades for your kit.
The movement controls for Ghostbusters: The Video Game are standard for 3rd person shooters but always feel sluggish. This sluggishness is sort of hinted at during gameplay by references to the proton pack’s rather heavy weight. The controls also get bogged down when in an area that is crowded with environmental objects or debris as your character will often get hung up on these objects. As much of your time is spent strafing and walking backwards while sapping ghosts this can be an issue in areas like the graveyard with all the tombstones. Otherwise the controls are fantastic once you get used to the new conventions; this ain’t your father’s 3rd person shooter.


Beyond the innovative Sap, Cap and Trap gameplay you will also need to work as a team, both in campaign and multiplayer, when your health is dropped to zero you get knocked down but any one of the other Ghostbusters can help you back up. Only when all are knocked down is the mission failed. Many of the enemies in the game have specific weaknesses which can only be discovered by getting a good scan of them using the PKE Meter. Other innovative elements are the different and very unique weapon types like the standard capture stream, which can also be used to toss around environmental objects (handy when fighting stone gargoyles) and the Slime tether which can be used to attach a contracting slime cable between two things (like a ghost and a trap...SLAM!).
While Ghostbusters: The Video Game is quite linear, the game offers up a huge variety of enemy types and while many of them act in similar fashion they all have different attack types and looks, so it keeps things fresh. Ghostbusters: The Video Game also goes fully old-school with boss characters. Many of which are enormous god-like creatures with real bad attitudes. You will also find yourself in a fairly diverse bunch of levels, from the Sedgewick Hotel to the streets and roof-tops of New York City all the way to the bizarre netherworld. The game also contains a ton of easter-eggs most of which are hilarious. For a taste simply go have a chat with Vigo the Carpathian or check the answering machine while you are at the Ghostbusters HQ (the Firehouse). The game also has some really funny achievements, like using your proton pack to make a bar mitzvah buffet a bit more kosher.


One of the greatest strengths of the single player campaign is that it constantly serves up lots of great action or lots of really funny moments between the characters. For the multiplayer, the game types are all action packed and are mostly cooperative rather than competitive like most multiplayer games. While the multiplayer game types are fairly standard fair the cooperative nature makes things a bit more interesting and depending on the ranks and skill levels of the players involved special events may occur such as the appearance of special Most Wanted ghosts. All in all the multiplayer component could have felt like an unnecessary add-on to a game that relies heavily on humorous dialogue and story but it actually feels like something that is going on between missions and maybe as a mopping up after the main story and it is a hell of a lot of fun. The teamwork aspect of multiplayer comes naturally without much communication and the end of round scoring as well as the Slime Dunk game type adds to the competitive side of things. There are many other innovative and fun gameplay elements within the game that make The Ghostbusters: The Video Game a really fun game in its own right and one hell of a licensed game.

Graphics and Audio

The graphic quality of Ghostbusters: The Video Game is probably the one aspect of the game that is somewhat lacking in quality. The graphics certainly aren’t bad but the textures are very soft and bland and the environments, while vibrant and clear are likewise fairly bland. One exception is the weapons fire; pretty much all of the weapon discharges look fantastic and really light up the screen although the slime from the Slime Thrower looks like it comes from the previous generation of games. The animations are quite excellent especially during dialogue scenes. The characters look natural and all of the Ghostbusters are instantly recognizable by their facial expressions alone but once again the models themselves, while well animated, don’t look all that great otherwise.
As for the audio, everything from the Ecto 1’s sirens to the voice acting to the sounds of the proton pack’s blast stream sound absolutely fantastic and if you were already a fan of the Ghostbusters nearly every sound will cause you to break into a smile. All of the Ghostbusters were voiced, expertly, by the original cast, including Annie Potts as the ever sharp Janine. Other major names, who all did incredible voice work, were Alyssa Milano, Brian Doyle-Murray and Max von Sydow. The music was also appropriately used and made funny sequences more amusing and tense sequences that much more anxious. Most music is fondly remembered from the original movies but still sounds good.


Value

With an incredibly engaging and funny storyline that manages to last a decent length of time, with tons of hidden items and great easter-eggs to find, not to mention three difficulty levels there will certainly be those who will want to go back for a second (or even third) helping of the single player campaign. The multiplayer also features lots of variety and lots of interesting bonuses that can only be acquired via increasing your multiplayer rank. The multiplayer also manages to keep the fun and cooperative nature of the single player story while giving some competitive edge. Ghostbusters: The Video Game will remain in my active roster for some time.

Conclusion

For fans of the Ghostbusters, this is a no brainer, pick it up. The story, characters and action are all Ghostbusters through and through and make an excellent addition to the series canon. For those unfamiliar with the Ghostbusters, I implore you to give this game a try; it really is an innovative, fun and funny as hell experience and really manages to differentiate itself from the pack of 3rd person shooter games.