Wow, it’s 25 years, a quarter of a century since "Ghostbusters - the movie" was released and now it’s time for "Ghostbusters - The Video Game". Now Ghostbusters holds a very special place in my heart for several reasons. Firstly I still have vivid memories of queuing up to see the original movie. I have never seen or felt crowds like it. We were rammed so tightly into the queue that we were able to lift our feet off the floor without falling down. Secondly the first ever record I purchased was the seminal Ray Parker Jr. classic, the Ghostbusters theme. Therefore when I heard the original rumours and saw early screenshots I was pretty excited to say the least. Then with after a number of legal wranglings I become disheartened and expected the whole thing not to happen.
Surely the original cast would not be bothered to lend their vocal talent and writing abilities to a videogame? They'd much rather cruise the cocktail lounges, tread the red carpets and soak up a few more movie deals than get involved in kids stuff. However I can confirm they did get involved and to their credit this makes the game a far more plausible movie tie-in game that the majority of pitiful cash-ins that have precluded it.
For hard-core aficionados of the original Commodore C64 classic I can confirm the game still has the presence of Ecto 1, but the game doesn't say "Ghostbusters" when you press the spacebar (in 1984 that was the game’s killer feature!)
Setting
The game is still based in Manhattan, 2 years after the sequel Ghostbusters 2. You play the part of a rookie ghostbuster joining the existing four on their battle against the spectres. Life begins in the familiar Ghostbusters HQ (a converted fire station) and you are introduced to your equipment by Harold Ramis (Dr. Egon Spengler) and Dan Ackroyd (Dr. Raymond Stantz) themselves. The single player career mode starts off with a simple bit of ghost entrapment in the basement of HQ.
Wrangler Jeans
You are taught how to "wrangle" the ghosts into the traps and it is really well implemented. You use your backpack to gradually wear down the ghosts’ energy to the point where he can be controlled in your photon stream. Once you have grabbed the ghost you slam it around a few times further so it is weak enough to get into a trap. Simple as it sounds this process can get pretty hectic when you are surrounded by multiple swirling ghosts and objects. The main premise of game play is teamwork, and you are often torn between wrangling a ghost into a trap and reviving one of your fallen team mates. Undoubtedly reviving a team mate is always the best option but not always the easiest one to take when you are "oh so close" to catching one of the slippery b@st@rds (that’s “ghosts” or “spectres”).
You must also compete with an overheating backpack, so you cannot just keep blasting, it has to be occasionally vented or will stop working. As you progress you are able to upgrade your weapons and equipment using the cash you accumulate from your captures. Upgrades include more powerful weapons, faster recharge, better scanners etc.
Making sure you revive your team mates eases your progress through the game. It means that when your time comes to be slimed and thrown to the floor they'll be around to give you a hand and revive you too.
Familiar Faces
Throughout the game you encounter familiar faces from the films, starting with that old favourite Slimer, Mr Stay Puft and the oh-so-spooky librarian. These have been realised really well and the quality of graphics throughout the game is top notch. The cut scenes are almost cinematic with a nice use of subtle depth of field effects and Hollywood camera angles. It shows they have been scripted by film directors. The in game graphics are pretty good too giving an air of spookiness in the low lit library corridors, but not quite Resident Evil "sh!t-your-pants" scary so the kids can still enjoy it.
Some of the internal locations are a little sparsely decorated with very little interaction in the environments though. A lot of scenery such as furniture is destructible but with only a cursory water fountain or arcade machine to interact with, it is a little sterile. However once the shiznit starts going down with a barrage of ghosts the scenery becomes secondary to the game.
Very Familiar Faces
The real thing that helps you feel you are really "in" a Ghostbusters movie is the quality of the image capture of your 4 comrades. They have really got to town with the look of the players and the mannerisms in their animation. Bill Murray even has his ruddy skin complexion and recognisable swagger. Getting the original actors in to do the dialog makes the game feel vastly superior to enduring the knock off sound-un-likes of so many other movie tie-ins.
The only complaint about the in game audio is that some of the samples are overused and begin to grate a little. If Bill Murray asks once more for "a little help over here" or I am warned to "not cross the streams" I am likely to go postal. The final grating sample is that you are constantly referred to as "rookie" during the game. I just saved all their asses and they are calling me the rookie, pffft!
Some cinematic swooping audio also accompanies the game to help build on the experience and hammer home the "ghostbuster-li-ness" of it.
Thankfully the game auto saves after each significant checkpoint so when you do fail you won’t have to rework massive swathes of a level.
Storyline
As the storyline progresses you are led through the various locations with only one real path to consider. There are no alternate routes through the levels. Sometimes you are left simply wandering about for a while until you obviously cross the "virtual" piece of string that triggers the next animation/door opening etc. This tarnishes the experience a little, I guess we've all been a little spoilt by other free roaming games that we expect too much these days.
Tension
At some points in the game you need to use your spectral meter to monitor for psychic activity. This switches the perspective to an infrared-type view. Whilst the meter is engaged you are unable to access your weapons so feel totally exposed if something leaps out. This helps to create an air of tension when sneaking around the darker levels.
Multiplayer
The game also has a multiplayer component where again interestingly the focus is on teamwork, not total domination. Therefore you are encouraged to help fallen team members by reviving them. My connection experience was somewhat patchy so it is difficult to rate overall. There are ranked and unranked matches. I was only able to join an unranked match. The game style is very similar to a Quake type death match played out over a familiar location from the game, with the level peppered with weapons upgrades. A selection of spectres will adorn the level in sequence for you to destroy. All a bit “meh” really, and nothing to write home about, but I doubt anyone will be buying this game for the multiplayer mode anyway.
Summary
As stated before I was pretty excited about the prospect of this game and although I've had a few gripes I still think it has succeeded to deliver. I have repeatedly come back for one more go to progress a little further, as it’s a pleasure to play, rather than a chore to complete. My kids have loved playing it too and the "normal/experienced" skill level has the difficulty balanced just about right. Not too easy to breeze through, but easy enough so when you work out a ghost's weak points you'll get them in the next few tries. So if you're a fan of the series it’s not a bad blast. 25 years on and the Ghostbusters are still looking good!
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