360 Review: Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Categories: 360, Games, Microsoft, PS3, Reviews, Sony | one response

Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters! Well, maybe. Depends on whether you’re a fan of the film franchise or not. As a lover of all things Ghostbusters, I was almost giddy when I first saw the test footage from Zootfly. So were many other people as the internet was all abuzz about it. Unfortunately for Zootfly, they hadn’t secured the rights to the game. During all the excitement, Terminal Reality approached Sony about making the game. They managed to get the rights secured, while Zootfly kept development on their project, renaming it to TimeO. Over the last few months I had heard that this game is what a 3rd film was supposed to be (now, cast member Dan Aykroyd is talking about making a 3rd film anyway). While I highly recommend this to any true Ghostbusters fan, those who don’t care for the series (all 3 of you) may want to give this a rental first.

The game begins in 1991, 2 years after the events of the 2nd film. We are greeted with a cut scene showing the Museum of Natural History in New York. A new exhibit based on Gozer is being prepped (Gozer is the baddie from the 1st film) by Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn (played by Alyssa Milano). A bright blue pulse of light emits from the exhibit & thus begins a new round of hauntings for the city of New York. Skip over to the firehouse (the home office of the Ghostbusters) where we are introduced to the players character. He’s a new recruit to the Ghostbusters (all of which are voiced by the original cast), who is supposed to be hired to test new equipment for the team. That illusion is broke early on in the game as you will see your fellow Ghostbusters using some of the same stuff you do. Anyway, as the 5th team member, you become the “go to” guy as the team gets themselves in trouble during the story. This is where my only issue with the storyline comes into play. Throughout the entire game, the whole ‘recruit/cadet/new hire’ thing felt forced. It didn’t seem very natural to me & I think it would have been better to have a whole new team. Maybe to save the original team or something like that. Or give me the original team & forget adding a new member? I’d be fine with that. Beyond that, I thoroughly enjoyed it & I didn’t see the twist at the end of the game until it was revealed to me. Very few stories fool me all the way through the game.

First, if you liked the characters from the films, you’ll be happy here. All your old favorites are present, from Stay Puft to Slimer. As a Ghostbuster, you get the requisite proton pack along with the Ecto Goggles, PKE Meter & the Ghost Trap. You’ll also be able to unlock 3 other add-ons to the proton pack (Slime Blower, Stasis Stream, etc…) & buy upgrades for everything with the money you earn from…what else…catching ghosts. The add-ons aren’t just for looks either. Some of them will be used to defeat certain ghosts or solve some of the games puzzles. One thing I did notice that kind of took the fun out of the puzzle solving was most of the time, your teammates will actually tell you what to do. There were a few instances where they didn’t or were vague enough that I still had to think about it, but most of the time they just told me what to do next. Another issue I had with the gameplay was the level design. It might have been just me, but when imagining a Ghostbusters video game, I always imagined an open New York, sand box style, where I can cruise through the city in the Ecto1 (you don’t get to drive it at all in this game) busting ghosts as I choose. Not here though. The level design is very linear, meaning that you only have one way to go throughout the entire game. There are a couple of areas that have a bit more to them, but certainly no multiple paths to the objective. I also found a couple of areas where the voice-overs were out of sync with the cut scenes & a few times were my character apparently can’t step over a broken picture frame on the ground (I had to walk around or move it with my proton pack), but none of that happened often enough to really make it a deal breaker or anything.

I can say this much though, the visuals & sound are fantastic. The level of detail is so well done, you can actually see the pock marks on Bill Murray’s face. If you explore the firehouse before leaving on your next mission, you’ll see everything from detailed living quarters to notes left on the desks & workbenches to a couple of arcade games sitting in the corner (Q*bert is one of them, but alas, you don’t get to play them). I bet I spent 20 minutes just walking around the place, checking everything out. Also, what’s a game made in this day & age without in-game advertising? Ghostbuster’s primary sponsor for this outing is Doritos. You’ll find billboards, vending machines, & signage aplenty. In addition to all of that, everything looks to be correct from a time period stand point. All the detail appears to be accurate for what you would find in 1991. Just when I thought the visuals were the best part of the game, the sound wowed me even more. From the sweeping theatrical soundtrack to the haunting noises from the various ghostly beings, I was swept into the moment in every mission. I truly felt as if I was playing a movie. Whoever had creative control over the sound design in this game, I applaud you!

There is a multiplayer component in the game, but it isn’t what you would expect. Online storyline co-op would be a no brainer here, but instead of that we get a campaign mode with co-op that doesn’t follow the story. What you do get is several mini missions grouped together & called a campaign. One mission has you & 3 others (choosing from any of the 4 Ghostbusters or the new recruit) defending yourselves from 10 waves of ghosts (similar to a hoard mode). Another had you defending several PKE meters as they deploy. It’s fun to an extent, but I’m not convinced I will be going back to play it 6 months from now. It definitely will be more fun with you & 3 of your buddies vs jumping into Quick Play with complete strangers like I did.

So now the burning question. How is it? Is it worth a buy? If you are a fan of the franchise, I give you a resounding YES! Even with the flaws, the game is still a fanboys dream come true. If you aren’t a fan or if you don’t know anything about the series, I can’t say there is enough here to keep your attention. The story mode is about 6-8 hours long & the novelty of wielding a proton pack will wear off quickly if your not a fan. You might want to rent it. Or better yet, rent the movies & the game & make a weekend out of it…

Ghostbuster: The Video Game is available now on pretty much every platform imaginable. This version (Xbox 360) is selling for $60 at a retailer near you.

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