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Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Available on: Xbox 360 - PS3 - PC
More information: Wikipedia
Cover scans: MobyGames - CoverGalaxy: 360 - PS3
GameFAQs.com: Xbox 360 - PS3 - PC
Press: IGN: 8.0 - GameSpot: 7.5 - Metacritic (average): 79

Pros & Cons:
Pertaining to My short list below.

(Xbox 360 version was used for this review)

The graphics have a surprisingly solid engine, with nice physics driving an impressive level of destruction, as your Proton Pack's stream of energy tears at the environment, flinging things left/right and gradually crumbling and/or breaking up anything in sight, from furniture to shelf-lined pastries—even tablecloths disintegrate—and the damage, including fine debris and the deep scorch marks from your pack, lingers. The fantastic particle effects add to ruins believability, like the aforementioned scorch marks (with bits of glowing embers at their center) plastered over the floors and walls, along with your pack's dynamic, multi-colored stream of energy; thick smoke, sparks and flame coming from destroyed objects; and ghosts' gooey ectoplasm lacing the area—or your body, after especially messy encounters. Lighting is moody, convincing and accurately bounces off the characters and environment, as it lights up the ghosts and fuels their nifty transparencies; and the majority of the textures are noticeably normal-mapped, with secondary details like grime, scratches, sheens, etc.

The level of environmental destruction and number of particle effects is impressive.

The four Ghostbusters (detailed down to Proton Packs, jumpsuits and hair), along with Peck, their secretary, Janine (and even Stay Puft), are dead ringers for their real-life counterparts, with eerily realistic expressions and natural animations—but still with a slight hint of caricaturistic stylization; levels are meticulously rendered, from the posh Hotel Sedgwick to Stay Puft devastated Times Square, New York's vast Public Library, and the Museum of History (with amazingly detailed exhibits); the CG cutscenes look awesome; the framerate stays solid throughout; and load-times are brief. Negatively, there is a moderate amount of distracting screen-tearing and aliasing in the fine lines; the framerate will infrequently chug in more enemy-and-effect-heavy sequences; the pre-recorded, in-game cutscenes are jittery, washed out and compressed, and reveal character limitations—like awkwardly off lip-syncing, especially in the side characters, who look more generic than the main cast; checkpoint reloads are long; and textures on smaller objects (text signs, rugs, etc.) are quite undetailed. But this still does little to negate the overall graphic's above-average quality.

The controls are responsive and simple, with smooth aim and only a handful of button commands, which consists of a trigger to shoot the Proton Pack's beam, another for a secondary blast or to "Slam" ghosts, one button to toggle your PKE Meter, toss traps, reload your pack, and one for a dodge with a quick hop in any direction—hold it down for a sprint reminiscent of the roady-run in Gears of War. The gameplay is also quite simple, with a formula (that feels very similar to Luigi's Mansion, especially the soon-to-be-explained wrangling) of using your (fun-to-use) PKE Meter to home-in on ghosts' trails, your Blast Stream to wear them down, and "wrangle" to pull them in opposition of their struggles until you can "slam" them over to your floor trap (which sucks them in); and because of the sheer variety introduced as you progress (more on this later), not only is it satisfying, it doesn't get old. You start out with Blast Stream, which acts as a continuously streaming gun—complete with the necessity to reload as it begins to overheat. However, you'll soon begin to gain more nozzles, if you will, for your pack, thanks to a Ghostbuster, Egon's, constant tinkering...

These include its secondary fire, Boson Dart—a missile-like burst; Shock Blast—ejects shotgun-like blasts—and Stasis Stream—a freezing beam; Slime Blower/Slime Tether, along with Meson Collider—a long-range energy burst—and Overload Burst—a homing missile-like energy. Nearly anything can be grabbed, flung and/or destroyed; it never gets boring to watch your weapons tear up the environments, and since the city picks up the tab on your constant (and excessive) collateral damage, there's no worries—it's a destructive playground. The ghostly enemy is extremely varied, and each take their own strategy to defeat; you'll have to capture some and destroy others with a slightly different approach—which makes good use of your multiple nozzles—including bosses, where you have to switch between nozzles mid-battle. The Slime Tether is creatively used and adds some light puzzle elements, as you use it to pull at things by attaching their sticky ends to objects, which balances out the straight-out action just enough to mix things up—there's a use for each gadget; no gimmicks.

The return of Stay Puft—aka Gozer; one of the more epic (and fun) boss battles.

But what succeeds most is that it makes you feel like a Ghostbuster; they could have just put you in the shoes of one of the original cast—instead, you're introduced as the Rookie, a nice touch, as it brings a level of immersiveness there would not have been otherwise; the team ends up relying on you, and along with the fact that you have to revive them when they're down (and they you, with a system very similar to Gears of War's—complete with the face-icons and pointing arrows), you really feel as if you're playing a vital role in the Ghostbusters team. The inclusiveness extends to in-between missions, where you can explore headquarters and interact with random objects, like arcade machines, slide down the pole, or listen to answering machine messages. And it's even furthered by the situations you're put into, as you return to Hotel Sedgwick to recapture Slimer (in the same ballroom), or the library, to end what you started with the Librarian. And the boss battles are an epic blast, especially Stay Puft's, as you run along Ecto-1 through ruined streets, in an even more action-packed sequence than the movie's—the gameplay captures Ghostbuster's universe perfectly.

On the negative side, although there's a system to upgrade equipment through money earned, it feels too shallow and tacked on; it would've been fine if they had made the upgrades solely little optional things, but making you have to upgrade to some of the larger mechanics, like a device that allows you to slam ghosts directly into the traps, would have made earlier ghost-catching much less tedious. And even with the upgrade in place, later ghosts can be a bit too tiresome to work down and capture (even basic ghosts), and some encounters will last in upwards of twenty minutes (like two certain library mini-bosses) before you can finally get them sucked into your traps, which, if you don't have just in the right spot, won't go in. As for AI, your allies do an adequate job of wearing enemies down (even catch a few), help guide/hold them, and promptly revive you—early in, that is; they later can't handle greater enemy numbers, causing needless deaths, especially in boss battles. Enemy AI seems overly easy, even staged early on, as they fly around waiting to be trapped, or mindlessly rush you—but they'll later give a good—almost overwhelming—challenge from there on.

The storyline is everything you would expect from the third Ghostbusters movie, from its soundtrack to voice acting (performed by all of the original cast) and a script done by the original writers—it shows. Everything is here, the tongue-in-cheek humor, the wise-cracking one-liners, needless collateral damage, Slimer, Stay Puft, the Librarian and even Walter Peck. The story follows the same formula of the first, with a damsel in distress and a long-dead bad guy, starting with their classic commercial in CG form (a plus; no aging, same timeline—you can't do that with a movie). The cutscenes are full of witty, entertaining dialog, with Ray's technical jargon, and Venkman's usual dry-humored, womanizing persona in place, and the plot is well-structured, with a natural progression of unfinished plotlines from the first neatly tied up. But, although it isn't a simple rehash, real character development and major plot-points are lacking, and the awkward pre-recorded scenes should've been replaced by the far superior CG format instead. Otherwise, this is the third Ghostbusters done right, and is the best it's going to get, especially for a video game—fans should be happy.

Everything from the soundtrack to the game's main menu "screams" Ghostbusters.

The difficulty on default (out of three) starts out on the easy side, but gradually steps up to a more moderate level, as the enemy becomes much harder to wear down and wrangle into traps, in addition to stepping up in number and type. Later enemies, like the Possessors—which inhabit nearby bodies (including teammates), and prevent you from damaging them until they can be exorcised—can be a challenge to dispatch; the strategy needed to defeat bosses becomes more complex, with more protecting them, including swarms of ghosts that come from summoned portals (hurriedly close them, or risk their endless numbers), which become more common in normal gameplay and overwhelm you later in. Enemy ghosts come in non-stop droves in the last two levels (including several resilient golems in a row) and in great variety, meaning you'll have to frequently switch between weapons to successfully combat each. And while the last boss is somewhat of an anti-climactic (although adequate) push-over, in all instances, checkpoints are far and few between, and you can die quickly if you don't make sure to keep your fellow Ghostbusters revived, and in turn, they you.

After you complete the 6-8 hour campaign (which, while not lengthy, is substantial; it doesn't feel overly short), there's a good amount of replay value, with "Extras," which has a concept "Art" gallery, "Videos" (re-watch CG cutscenes), and a full level select; if you like the campaign, it's varied enough that you'll probably want to play it through again. Additionally, you can go back through and scan every enemy, collect all of the hidden Cursed Artifacts and keep track of your stats through a comprehensive screen, which shows total money earned, damage claimed, time played, ghosts defeated, etc. There's also an online multi-player, where you can jump in as any of the Ghostbusters with three other players, and then fight alongside each other in six modes to rank up with your earnings—modes: Survival (survive waves of ghosts), Destruction (destroy relics spawning ghosts), Slime Dunk (compete against players to get the most Slimer captures), Protection (defend target areas from ghosts), and Thief (keep ghosts from stealing targeted artifacts), along with "Campaign," which merges the modes together in three straight rounds—matches are fun and lag-free.

Closing comment:
So overall, other than the sometimes tiresome ghost wrangling (which could have still been challenging without being boring—like less resilience, more number) and slightly reliant AI allies, there is little to complain about, with well thought-out bosses, varied weapon use and enemy type and plainly fun gameplay. Best of all, the presentation is as authentic as it can get (ever), with the original actors' voices and likenesses, along with a story by the original writers—even if you're not a Ghostbusters fan, it's a very solid game for its genre, and if you are a fan, all the better for you.

Pros & Cons review posted: 08/22/09

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Content review for this game:
Pertaining to the ESRB rating.

Comic mischief | Fantasy violence | Mild language | Mild suggestive themes

Content sum up: While the incredibly destructible environments give a chaotic and intense quality to combat, many of the ghosts and overall atmosphere can be mildly disturbing, and there's light overtones of a somewhat morbid, "occult" nature; language is far and few between, there is no blood, and because of the Ghostbusters light-hearted take on even the most creepy situation, and ghosts' most often goofy, cartoony behavior, it ends up being more "Scooby-Doo" than "Poltergeist." So, I recommend this game for ages 13+.

Comic mischief: Ghosts (like gluttonous, green blob "Slimer," who's seen eating cake as it passes right through, etc.) behave in an over-the-top, cartoony manner; morbid issues like death, murder, possession and the occult are observed and commented on in a matter-of-fact, tongue-in-cheek manner by the Ghostbusters as they haphazardly destroy everything in site without a care; a few Cursed Artifact and Ghost descriptions tell of morbid deaths and murders in a light, comical fashion (a haunted chair kills its owner in a wood chipper accident; man dies choking on a fish stick and is eaten by a shark; a haunted toilet drowns its users, etc); and there is brief crude humor: ghosts will often vomit slime at you; an artifact's description tells of the Seat of Vapors Foul, a haunted chair created by a prankster wizard—those who sit in it will make flatulent noises; and in a brief scene, a civilian in an elevator, reluctant to let the Ghostbusters on, states, "He uh, just passed gas (referring his friend)." Ray, a Ghostbuster, replies, "Relax sir, we handle foul vapors all the time."

Fantasy violence: Taking place a couple years after Ghostbusters II, the story begins as you find the Ghostbusters training a new recruit, whom Venkman insists on simply calling "Rookie." During Rookie's training, Slimer is accidentally released, and as they revisit the Hotel Sedgwick to recapture the gluttonous ghost—because of a recent PKE shock wave that hit the city—they get more than they bargained for, like the return of Gozer in his Stay Puft Marshmallow Man form, and a slew of ghostly activity. As they deal with a new paranormal mess, they're burdened by meddling of the major's newly formed P-COC (or, Paranormal Contract Oversights Committee) headed by Venkman's mortal enemy and all around obnoxious guy, Walter Peck. To top it all off, the teams' new acquaintance, Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, helps them discover that Ivo Shandor—the man who built the complex that summoned Gozer the first time—retrofitted more buildings in order to harness the power to break the barrier between our world and theirs', and unleash more like Gozer—time for some Ghostbustin'...

After you get trained in basic control and gameplay mechanics at headquarters, you'll make your way to the Hotel Sedgwick for your first mission. And the base gameplay consists of using the PKE meter in conjunction with Para-goggles to track ghosts' trails (red signal=ghosts, green=environmental, blue=Cursed Artifacts), flush ghosts out of hiding, and then use the Proton Pack's Blast Stream to first wear enemies down, your Capture Stream to "Wrangle" them in reverse of their struggles, and "Slam" to direct them into your floor commissioned traps. As you navigate the levels and fight through waves of ghosts (reviving downed teammates, reloading your pack, pressing buttons to activate objects/lifts, opening doors, etc.), you'll use later equipment (which can be upgraded with money earned) to solve mild puzzles, like Slime Blower to clear Black Slime from blocked paths, reveal hidden doors and close ghost portals; Slime Tether to attach at two points and pull open/in objects (platforms, bridges, gates, etc.); and Capture Stream to drag away objects blocking openings, all the while trying to reach the source of paranormal activity and destroy it: bosses.

You'll be combating a plethora of ghosts, all unique to their levels, starting with Hotel Sedgwick (most look as they sound): Bellhop Ghosts, Candelabrum Crawlers (crawling candlesticks) and Dead Fish Fliers (swarming fish heads). Times Square: Marshmallow Minis (Stay Puft's spawned minions made of it), Construction Worker, Opera Diva and Hobo Ghosts. Public Library: (flying) Book Bats, Book Centurions (with shields/swords) and Paper Constructs (humanoid forms shaped in paper). History Museum: Possessed Humans, Possessor Ghosts, Possessed Statues (with spears/shields), Confederate and Union Ghosts (with guns and swords). Hotel Sedgwick (revisit): Cook Ghosts, Kitchen Fliers (possessed utensils), (spiderish) Spider Crawlers, Venom Crawlers and Webbed Fiend (skeletal humanoids). Lost Island: Black Slime Fiends, Ghosts and Monsters (all made of slime). And Central Park Cemetery: Cemetery Crawlers (living gravestones), Grave Fiends (zombies) and Cultist/Summoners (that summon the above), along with ghosts that appear in several levels; (flaming) Stone Gargoyles and mini-boss golems made out of random objects (appliances, books, coal, etc).

The combat system is moderately chaotic and destructive, but little beyond that, with a very cartoony, over-the-top tone, and other than the fantastical particle effects that expel from ghosts as you dispatch of them in the form of green, blue and pink, gooey ectoplasmic slime, there is no blood. And combat consists of using your Proton Pack's continuous Blast Stream to wear enemies down; Boson Darts' missile-like burst to do more damage; Shock Blast to eject a short-range burst of shotgun-like energy; Slime Blower to damage Black Slime Ghosts or exorcise Possessed Humans; Meson Collider to shoot a long-range, sniper-like burst of energy; and Overload Burst to home-in on ghosts with machine-gun-like energy bursts. Most of the ghosts must be trapped, and will react in panic as they howl, flail and struggle from capture. But, other types can be destroyed, like the flaming Stone Gargoyles that can be smashed into objects, and the remaining enemy types will dissipate and/or explode into their original materials; marshmallow, Black Slime, books, paper, stone, webs, etc.

Your Proton Pack will also have a major impact on the surrounding environment, as it tears through wood, severs metal, shatters glass, crumbles brick and concrete pillars, breaks up furniture, disintegrates cloth, burns up foliage, implodes nearby electronics and scatters dozens of random objects left and right (from stacks of books to kitchen utensils)—almost anything is destructible, and after a scuffle, that area is completely ruined; all damage and debris (which can be kicked around) lingers, with deep, black scorch marks filling the floors and walls in trails—lit embers at their core. The ghosts themselves are very aggressive, and will attack from every direction, ambushing you in great numbers; flying ghosts (along with Swarmers; legions of ghostly skulls, fish heads and Book Bats) rush in a flurry, as they knock you down with force, fire energy and try to bash and/or throw random objects your way; grounded ghosts (along with Crawlers; possessed objects—gravestones, candlestick, etc.) take a form from nearby objects and rush in droves as they tear away up-close, or possess objects and attack with what's equipped (throwing spears, swords, etc.)

It just steps up further in, as ghosts later spawn in endless amounts from Black Slime portals; Possessor ghosts inhabit humans (and your team), as they levitate above the floor like ragdolls, bashing close-up; hulking Golems and Black Slime Monsters pound away and project damaging ectoplasm; bosses, like Stay Puft—who flings cars at you from ruins of the city, as he tries to stomp you out with his mammoth feet or peek in buildings and reach in—can be tense; and several of the ghosts have mildly grotesque appearances, like the Librarian's enraged, shriveled face, or the Slor's twisted flesh, akin to rotting meat. The atmosphere can reach a light, creepy level, as furniture and objects levitate, fly off shelves and abruptly slide to block your way. Lights flicker as you traverse dark corridors lined with gooey Black Slime—which let out the whispers of the dead, including the Library level's children's section, with faint sounds of crying children—and places like the Spider Witch's lair (a dank cave laced with webs—bodies hung upside down in the substance) and the ruined, dilapidating graveyard (filled with mist, graves abruptly rising to block your path) are mildly eerie.

If you take too much damage, the screen begins to redden/blur around the edges and allies can be downed; you'll lose their support until you can weave through the chaos and revive them. But ultimately, while it can get stressful, the tone present is always campy and light-hearted—you only ever feel as if you just have to tolerate the ghosts' overblown hissy fits. Cutscenes contain plenty of chaos, tongue-in-cheek reference to occult rituals, signs and demon worship; paranormal activity (levitation, possession); and its briefly heard on how the Spider Witch would lure men to her room, drain their blood and hang them from the ceiling. As for age, although the incredibly destructible environments give a chaotic and intense quality to the combat, several of the ghostly enemies and overall atmosphere can be mildly disturbing, and there's light overtones of a somewhat morbid, "occult" nature; language is far and few between, there is no blood, and because of the Ghostbusters light-hearted take on even the most creepy of situations, and the ghosts' most often goofy, cartoony behavior, it ends up being more "Scooby-Doo" than "Poltergeist"—it's well-suited to younger teens.

Mild language: There are four uses of d*mn, three uses of hell and God, two uses of p*ss, and one use of pr*ck (a play on an obnoxious character's name; "Peck"). Peter Venkman, a Ghostbuster, makes fun of Peck's name whenever he is within earshot, at one point coughing "Preck" under his breath, once calls him "Pecker," and simply uses his name in a derogatory context throughout. There's also a single use of shmuck; one use of hell and d*mned in context; one use of d*mn in a Cursed Artifact's description; and—although it is difficult to hear over the constant chaos—the Ghostbusters use the occasional (infrequent) "D*mn" when knocked down by ghosts.

Mild suggestive themes: (The ESRB didn't mention this in their rating; it is mild)

Venkman (a Ghostbuster) flirts with the main female character, Ilyssa (much to her annoyance), shamelessly throughout (example: "You know, I never forget a face attached to all the rest of that," etc.)—and they briefly kiss at the end.
It's mentioned that, in order for the evil "Collector" to procure a rare book from her library, he "seduced" Eleanor Twitty (now Library Ghost) and then killed her.
A collectable Cursed Artifact, "Pin-up Calendar of DOOM!", shows an illustration of a model wearing a bra made of broccoli; she holds undone ends of the back strap in each hand—as if she is gesturing to take it off; no details are visible.
Possessors are in mildly scant 20's-style dresses, and were escorts in life. But since they're grotesque, decomposed and try to possess you, it detracts appeal.
A later area shows a 20's ghost called the Spider Witch (who's dressed in a tight bustier/dress, revealing moderate cleavage); you see a flashback at a hotel as she escorts a man to one of the hotel's elevator; they walk arm in arm (a knife hidden behind her back) and then briefly kiss before boarding; in life, she was a professional "black widow," and would lure men up to her room to kill them.
After spotting a portrait of what seems to be Ilyssa in Shandor's castle, Winston states, "Ilyssa, I see her!" Venkman replies in a solemn tone, "You and me both. She's wearing just a simple terry cloth robe, and she's brought me coffee."
A Ghostbuster states, "I miss the bars, adult shops, and bookstores." (the ESRB listed this in their scant content synopsis for the game on their site; I've been through the game twice and have yet to come across this line).

Content review posted: 08/22/09

Content review

Pros & Cons