Ghostbusters The Video Game

"It's true when they say 'busting makes you feel good."

Ghostbusters the Video Game has been looming on the horizon for some time now. It often found itself being dropped for no good reason by publishers only to eventually be picked up and saved from obscurity by Atari. As a kid that grew up during the years when "busting" ghosts was first introduced, I felt more than a few tugs on my heartstrings when I went to purchase the game on launch day. I was ready to love this game whether it was great or whether it was terrible. I hurried home, and over the next few days, two or three hour sessions a day, I was immersed in the business of trapping ghosts and causing way too much damage to public places.

You will be playing as a new recruit to the crew and your character is very nondescript. Egon claims you as his guinea pig to try out some new attachments to the old-school Proton Packs. In any other game this would be the most boring character ever, but it works here because the real star is the dialogue and game play. The story is typical Ghostbusters fare; a lot of trouble and restless spirits are surrounding a museum curator that has been stuck with (what would seem to be) the unfortunate task of looking over the Gozer exhibit. If you have no idea who Gozer is look no further than the first movie. Gozer was the antagonist that the boys had to topple. Now he gets his own exhibit. As the story unfolds, the Ghostbusters come into possession of a book that outlines everything for them. The ghost world is pushing through, and the occurrence has something to do with the strange mandalas they have been finding scattered about. The only thing that the boys know for sure is that they are the only thing standing between New York City becoming a playground for poltergeists, and that someone they know aren't quite who they say they are.

As I said earlier the real star of the game are the other Ghostbusters, you are more or less sitting backseat to their conversations. The audio and graphics do not disappoint at all. Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis penned the script for the game, and it really shows. If they had gotten all of this together a few years back it would have made for a fine addition to the movie series. The authenticity given to Ghostbusters the Video Game by the original actors bumps everything up to the next level. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), Ray Stantz (Dan Akroyd), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), and Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) - they all share exchanges and barbs through every twist and turn throughout the crumbling and at times downright creepy landscapes of a bustling city on the brink of a paranormal holocaust. Just when you think you have found peace you will hear the chattering of barely audible ghosts; both hostile and friendly.

From start to finish you are battling ghosts and ghouls of all shapes, sizes, and viscosity. Usually it breaks down to blasting a fleeing phantom with your proton beam until it is tired. Then you are able to slide out a trap and then wrangle it into the capture cone of the trap. I dare you not to giggle the first time you do it. Along the way Egon introduces new additions to your proton pack (usually conveniently right before you need to utilize them) which adds some flavor to your fights. You will gain access to a slime blower, a stasis stream, and a meson collider, all which have secondary firing actions as well. The Slime blower is particularly fun as you need to learn to use its slime tether ability to solve a small assortment of puzzles in the later levels. While the additions to your proton pack are neat and they all serve a specific purpose, that is unfortunately as varied as the game play gets during the campaign. It's rather repetitive, but everything surrounding you will keep you entertained.

My chief complaint is that the adventure seemed like it was over before it even began. On my file (on Casual difficulty) I finished the game in nine hours. I'm sure it is entirely possible to finish it even faster than that, as I spent a lot of time walking around blasting the environment with the proton ray. In closing I would like to say that if you were a kid of the era, or you reflect fondly on the movies then this game is worth at the very least a rental. Riddled with Easter eggs if you care to poke around for them, it's fan service from beginning to end. Slimer and Stay-Puft in particular all make their appearances. And it's cheesy fun for the whole family.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/09

Game Release: Ghostbusters The Video Game (US, 06/16/09)