Busting Ghosts with a Proton Pack – What More Could You Ask For?

Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Available for: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and DS
Genre: Action Comedy Horror
Developer: Terminal Reality
Publisher: Atari
Players:1 Offline 1-4 Online (Xbox 360 & Wii)
Rating: Rated T for Teen

After seeing the hit 1984 film, what kid hasn’t wanted to bust ghosts for a living, or wield the formidable proton pack against the supernatural? Come on, be honest! We know for a fact that back in the mid 1980’s we wanted to ride the Ecto-1, suit up in our white jumpsuits and bust some ghosts back to the afterlife. After more than two decades, our wishes have finally come true in video game form.

Forget ghouls, specters and ghosts—what really haunts gamers are the memories of hundreds of terrible video games based on cherished movies. Fortunately Ghostbusters: The Video Game isn’t one of them.
In the game, you’re the fifth Ghostbuster, a nameless recruit who’s been tasked with testing out Egon’s latest inventions. The other Ghostbusters don’t bother to learn your name, knowing that you probably won’t be around long enough for it to matter. You prove them wrong by mastering the game’s ghostbusting weapons and its third-person, over-the-shoulder perspective.

The former can be a bit tough; the opening tutorials blast by, and you’re out in the field fumbling with your particle thrower and trying not to get slimed before you know it. Once you conquer ghost wrangling, things move along much more smoothly.
It wasn’t long before our nostalgia meters were picking up readings that were off the charts. Visually, the game is a faithful replica of the Ghostbusters we know and love. The developers, Terminal Reality, wisely set the game in 1991, two years after Ghostbusters 2, which means they didn’t need to explain what the boys in gray have been doing all this time. They also didn’t need to update their vintage 1980s technology to the new millennium (while Egon does introduce a bunch of new gadgets, secretary Janine Melnitz is still using a beige PC with a CRT monitor).

The year is now 1991, and players find themselves picking up the story a few years after the events of the second movie. You will play as a new recruit who is named “rookie” and basically your role is to test out all the new gadgets that may or may not explode or implode on you. Sounds like a lot of fun right? Well, indeed it is. You are quickly welcomed back to the world of Dr. Peter Venkman and the city of New York, which is once again under siege by forces of the paranormal.

The Game was directed with input by Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis, which gives you an idea of how faithful the tone of the game is to the original films. They also brought in Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Artherton—and new to the series, Alyssa Milano who plays the love interest of Peter Venkman and is the cause of the new ghost activity. Overall the story is fantastic and ties in nicely with the humorous nature of the classic movies.

The first secret to being a Ghostbuster is to know your equipment. Actually, the very first thing is to try out the fire house pole in the headquarters—trust me, you will love it. Your debut mission kicks off when Slimer escapes his personal containment unit. Of course you being the “FNG” (Freaking New Guy) you have to strap on the newly design proton pack, which comes equipped with a nice venting feature when you overheat. Now the whole snagging, trap ‘em, and bag ‘em scenario will come in to play with this tutorial. With the newly added features to your proton unit you not only trap them, you also have to snare them which will hold them down once you have them weakened. Now, to weaken the ghosts just blast them a few times then ensnare them with your beam and you will then be given the option to rock them or slam them on objects to weaken them faster. However, make sure to watch your proton meter because you will lose your stream if you do not vent your pack!

While the opening scenes may seem overly derivative—Slimer escapes back to the Sedgewick Hotel, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man returns to terrorize Times Square—the game manages to do something that even Ghostbusters’ own sequel could not: build on and expand the film’s mythology in a meaningful way. It does this by revisiting familiar locations while at the same time introducing creepy-but-fun extra-dimensional twists. Particularly effective areas include a haunted children’s playroom, an offworld library haunted by books, and a ghost-powered Civil War re-enactment.

The single-player game is short, lasting 8-10 hours, but there are enough multiplayer options—including the ability to hunt down unique ghosts that only show up in multiplayer—to keep you playing the game. Unfortunately, there is no co-op mode (unless you’re playing the Wii), which is a shame given how much the game relies on teamwork. Multiplayer provides some team-based ghostbusting opportunities, but it’s not the same. The boss fights are also problematic; they’re challenging enough, but they tend to follow the same “identify a weakness, exploit a weakness” formula.

Your damage meter will also show on your proton pack in the form of three green blinking lights, so keep that in mind when you need to regenerate your health. If you do fall down or if any of your teammates fall down, they will come to the rescue and revive you. So far the A.I. and especially the commentary from all the actors is well done and not repetitive. Once the ghost is at the catatonic stage, throw down your trap and lead them into the beam. The only problem is keeping them ensnared inside the beam long enough for the trap to consume them and here is wear your roping technique comes in handy with the right analog stick. Keeping them steady inside the lighted area will earn you the victory you need and of course the money earned with every ghost caught.
Let’s take a moment to discuss the money feature in Ghostbusters. You can use all the money you earned while fighting ghosts to upgrade your equipment and combat skills. Having the steady stream and upgraded trap options will help a lot during the long battles against evil specters. Which brings me to other equipment: for example, your PKE (Psycho Kinetic Energy) meter which detects ghost and collectibles that are haunted. When hunting the ghost you will need to pull out the PKE which puts you into a first person mode having a goggle scanner on your face. Each time you scan a ghost or haunted object, you get the facts on said object and it is added into your collection, which turns into money. Basically, this encourages players to go on a ghost/cursed artifact mission while on the job. However, I also had fun burning my name on a wall, but causing a lot of damage and racking up bills.

The locations of New York City are well detailed - especially if some of you remembered how times squared looked back in 1991 and before the State Puffed Marshmallow Man invaded. Visiting the Sedgwick hotel from the first encounter with Slimer was a nice touch; however they didn’t have the original actor that played the owner of the hotel which is disappointing. I know what you all are interested in knowing more about, and that is multiplayer options. Sadly there is no split screen or online campaign co-op. Yes, I know that many will be deeply disappointed by that factor. Do not be too discouraged because in the 360 version there is multiplayer—just not story based multiplayer. 

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that the BIG negative side of Ghostbusters is of course no campaign co-op. Honestly, that was a bad move even if we are using a fifth Ghostbusters character that only means five player co-op which should have been easily done. In addition for the PC version, there is no online anything! Terminal Reality really screwed the pooch by stripping all online aspects completely, bad move.

The controls could use a bit of fine tuning, as well and a dodge roll button. It also would have been great to have a crouch button for those ghosts that like to do fly bys or slime-bys which knocks you on your butt. Not being able to drive the Ecto-1 was similarly very harsh and a big tease since many of us would have loved to take that vehicle out for a spin.

Pros: It is the Ghostbusters and you get a Proton Pack what more do you want?

Cons: No Online Campaign Co-op, Can’t Drive the Ecto 1, controls are a chore.

Rating: 4 out of 5

- Ian Simmons

Posted by admin on 07/01 at 10:27 AM
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