Charge up your proton packs!
I'm sure everyone remembers the horrible atrocity that was Ghostbusters for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It has become fairly popular in our culture today due to the difficulty and poor quality of the game. The Ghostbusters don't really have a great track record when it comes to video games. I do have good news though, and that is that we have a new Ghostbusters game that will wipe away the bad taste in our mouths left from all the terrible Ghostbusters games of the past. I am glad to announce that the new Ghostbusters video game is something to be proud of.
Most video games that are based on movie franchises are usually destined to suck. Whenever the gaming community gets word that a movie is about to be made into a video game, most people can't help but cringe. Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis who are 2 of the 4 stars of the movie series wrote the script for this video game adaptation and they did a very good job. All four of the actors who played the Ghostbusters plus some others from the cast lend their voices and likeness and this makes the game very special. The humor is top notch and the voice acting is superb. It's probably some of the most enjoyable voice acting I have seen in a video game. It all comes together and really makes you feel immersed in the Ghostbusters universe.
The plot of this game is basically supposed to be Ghostbusters 3. You play as a recruit who tests the Ghostbusters equipment but is then quickly thrown into the action and becomes the 5th Ghostbuster. The game play is surprisingly tight and has a lot of depth. You have many different types of weaponry and gadgets to use on your journey. Your proton pack can have up to 4 different types of shots and 2 different uses for each type of shot. Your proton pack can overheat so you have to vent out your pack if you use a certain ammo for too long. It's basically what reloading would be if you were playing a shooter. You have gadgets that can help you out. One gadget reminds me of Metroid Prime where you have to scan things to learn information about ghosts in order to find their weakness. You can upgrade weapons and purchase new gadgets with the money you earn. The game play mechanics pretty much remind of a fishing game where you hook your ghost and your trying to reel them into the trap. There is a large variety of enemies you have to conquer and it is fun trying to find what each weakness is. I gotta mention that the boss battles are simply EPIC! I could not get enough of the boss battles. They are so much fun and will sometimes give you a good challenge. At first I found it hard learning the controls and how to do this and that. The learning curve is steep at first but after about an hour or two of playing you will be comfortable with everything. The campaign is a lot of fun and took me about 12 hours to complete. The game keeps track of all the environmental damage you cause on your adventures which is a hell of a lot of fun. You can check all your career stats in the pause menu which will interest you from time to time.
Multiplayer is a lot of fun and a great addition to the game. You can play as any of the 5 Ghostbusters and your choice of shot for your proton pack. There is a variety of fun game modes like Slime Dunk, Survival, Containment, Destruction, Protection and more! You can play a single game or a Co-Op Campaign where you have to play 3 consecutive game modes with the winner earning the most cash. What is also great about mulitplayer is that there is extra missions to complete as well as a list of Most Wanted ghosts to catch. The more cash you earn and the more suits you unlock for your Ghostbuster. There is no splitscreen though which is a bummer. Overall, the game play is very enjoyable and there is lots of content to complete on both levels.
Visually this game is stunning. The graphics are so beautiful and totally blew me away. The characters all look like their real life counterparts. The cut scenes should truly live up to all Ghostbusters fans expectations and are some of my favorites I have seen in video games. The lighting is very well done as well and things get eerie when you are hunting for ghosts in dark locations and I really enjoyed seeing much more of the alternate dimension from the first Ghostbusters film. The level design is beautiful and has lots of nicely modeled locations as well as some familiar locations from the films. The destructible environments really adds a tad of enjoyment to the experience and makes the action feel realistic and hard hitting . The audio is cinematic quality. Great soundtrack that brings back tunes from the original film and like I said earlier, top notch voice acting. The overall package is solid and should not disappoint.
While there is lots of good things to say about this game, there are a few negatives. The game has so much going on that it seems to push the 360 to its limits at points. Don't be shocked if you see moments where the game experiences lag in Campaign mode. It's nothing though that truly ruins the game play. One thing that may irritate players is the wavey difficulty curve. There is times where the game is easy but then there are points at random times where the game is very difficult. I found some areas in the game where I wanted to pull the hair out of my head. There were areas where I would get stuck for an hour at a time. Your partners who are computer controlled can sometimes be knocked out really fast making it even harder for you to revive them and makes things frustrating. I also found that sometimes I had a hard time knowing exactly what to do because the objectives listed are blandly described. You may be scratching your head from time to time. Lack of splitscreen multiplayer in the next gen versions of this game is a little bit of a bummer and was something I was looking forward to. Wii fans won't be disappointed though as they were provided with splitscreen.
Overall, Ghostbusters: The Video Game lives up to the hype in my eyes. I was looking forward to it for a long time and when I finally got the game I was not disappointed. If your a fan then you have to play this game! There's a lot of content and it's especially worth it now with the low price point you can pick it up for. Do yourself a favor. Call the Ghostbusters today!
Review originally written: February 28th, 2010
