Review: Ghostbusters
June 22nd, 2009 | Written by Anthony Perez | Topic: PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360
There’s an odd phenomena spreading throughout the gaming industry at the moment. For years – decades even – games based on licensed properties ranging from films to comic books were dreadful. In recent years game development has become more expensive and profit margins have slimmed, yet rather than see studios put out half-baked, soulless titles that would sell regardless of their quality, we’ve seen a lot of solid licensed games. Wanted, The Bourne Conspiracy, and Wolverine Origins were all damn fine games. Not world-beaters, game-changers, or even terribly original experiences, but at least entertaining fan service rather than simply fan service for the sake of itself.
Ghostbusters is just that and we love it.
If you missed all of the pre-release hype, the reason why there was such hope for this videogame adaptation of the classic 80′s franchise was because Atari actually nabbed just about all of the original stars (Ramis, Aykroyd, Murray, and Hudson) to reprise their roles. Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd even picked their pens back up to write the script just as they did for the films. To put that in perspective, they’re not even writing the script for Ghostbusters III. The end result is wit and humor not as uproariously hilarious as the movies, but certainly good enough to don the Ghostbusters name. It sometimes draws so heavily on film references that it doesn’t feel like a genuinely new adventure, but that’s also not necessarily a bad thing.
The story picks up in 1992, shortly after the events of Ghostbusters II. Abnormal and inexplicable events are happening all over New York City and your adventures begin at Hotel Sedgewick, where you have to recapture Slimer. In a move to keep the sanctity of the cast intact, you play a nameless, mute new recruit who serves as a third-wheel of sorts for the crew. It’s a brilliant move as it allows you to go along for the ride while not forcing your presence into the dialogue. You’re simply a Ghostbuster, and that alone is enough.
What’s most admirable about the game is that it doesn’t take a long time holding your hand through the mechanics. It gives you the lowdown and throws you into the action as frenetically as the city is engulfed by paranormal mayhem. Hell, within an hour you’re facing off against the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man. Cars are flying by your head, you’re capturing ghosts, buildings are crumbling, and Venkman’s saving damsels in distress; it’s everything a Ghostbusters fan could hope for.
All isn’t perfect however, as combat can be frustrating even though the core mechanics are simple enough. You blast enemies while a green circle indicating their health slowly depletes until it turns red, at which point you can rope the ghosts in by slamming them against walls and ceilings until you can gain enough control to hold them in your capture beam.
There are four different gun modes you unlock as you make your way though the game, though you only really use two. The first is your primary gun, the proton pack, which is the one you’re certainly most familiar with from the films. It also includes a boson dart, which is a burst of energy that overheats your pack but delivers a hell of a punch that you’ll need against bosses. The second gun type you’ll use unleashes a green goo that is both effective against a variety of the game’s later enemies and is a ton of fun to watch in action. It also has a handy goo-tethering secondary fire option, which you can use to pull enemies toward a capture beam or tie together pieces of the game’s environment in interesting, if infrequent, puzzles.
Where the combat gets frustrating is in the decision-making of your computer controlled teammates. They often don’t evade flying objects or enemy attacks, and most of the time run right up to enemies resulting in their quick demise. Ghostbusters employs a Gears of War-styled teammate recovery system, so there will be times when you’ll not only have to worry about taking care of yourself in battle, but also recovering your fallen squadmates. Such babysitting eventually happens a bit too often and it not only takes away from the experience but from the idea that you’re the “rookie.”
Still, there’s just way too much to like about Ghostbusters: The Video Game to be too critical. The pacing of the action and the story is great, there are some legitimately spooky scenes, and the amount of paranormal insanity going on is absolutely wonderful. Entire floors in Hotel Sedgewick flood, the Museum of Natural History comes to life, and foes familiar and foreign capture your attention at every turn.
What’s most surprising about Ghostbusters: The Video Game, aside from its overall quality, is how damn good its multiplayer is. There are six multiplayer modes: Survival has you face off against waves of ghosts which get progressively more difficult, Protection has you defend disruptors, Containment has you capture as many ghosts as possible within a time limit, Destruction has you destroy as many artifacts as possible, Thief has you try to recapture artifacts as ghosts steal them from you, and lastly Slime Dunk has you face off against your opponents in a competition to see who can slam dunk the most slimers into capture beams. All of them are fast-paced, chaotic, and completely worth trying out. Not to mention human teammates are far better than the AI-controlled teammates from the single player.
Additionally, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is gorgeous. It’s one of the most colorful games you’ll see this year, but beyond that, the sound design is absolutely amazing. The score matches perfectly to not only the Ghostbusters style, but also to the on-screen action. The voice acting, the music, the ghastly sounds in the distance; they all add up to one hell of an engaging experience.
If you have any doubts about Ghostbusters: The Video Game, let your mind rest easy. If you’re even a modest fan of The Ghostbusters, you’ll certainly appreciate this game. It’s fun, chock-full of fan service, and bursting at the seams with interesting environments, twists, ghosts and visual splendor. If you don’t plan to play online much, then definitely rent it due to its short length, and while it’s not perfect, it’s better than most have ever hoped a Ghostbusters game to be.
Final Score: 8.3 | Recommendation: Rent It
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Comment by April on the June 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Pretty cool post. I just found your blog and wanted to say
that I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!
Comment by Amy on the August 12th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Love it. Excellent game (well, better than the past ones) and a write up to match, I often find people rave about games that I play and think are rubbish. It's nice to see honest reviews.
Comment by Marshmallow Man on the March 30th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
I've been meaning to buy this for about a year, I'm still waiting for the price to come down