Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Xbox 360)

[SoulBlazerFan]

I've been a Ghostbusters fan since before I was born. (My mother took me to see it when I was in the womb- har har)

With that said and out of the way, I've been waiting for a new story to come this way. There has only been disappointment in the franchise over the last twenty years (Real Ghostbusters only became worse and worse, Extreme Ghostbusters tanked, and any books/comics haven't been all that great).

So when I heard this game may be coming out, I wasn't thrilled, mainly because I assumed (Like many others) Bill Murray would back out (Like he did with GB3) and it would fall apart. I'll give you a very brief history on the game, as I know it;

-Zutefly, a minor game company, created an early build of a Ghostbusters video game, with the hopes of attaining the license to make the real deal. This circulated the internet (And is still up on Youtube as of this writing). It'd be set in the future, with the older 'Busters taking on spirits with new equipment. It looked kind of like build of Gears of War, in a modern, city landscape.

-Zutefly was denied the rights to make the game, and Sony (The current property holder) announced that they had already had plans to make a game, working with Sierra/Vivendi. (The creators of Scarface: The World Is Yours)

-Dan Akroyd would occasionally discuss the game, citing that there may be one as well as (or) a CGI movie.

-The game was "Completed" in the spring of '08 and set up for a release in October of the same year.

-June, 2008: Activision drops Ghostbusters (Any many others) from it's release schedule, however the game wasn't officially "Cancelled." Later that summer the game was announced to being published by Atari, and the released was changed to June of 2009.

-Early 2009: A slew of new Ghostbusters merchandise is announced, including the Blu-Ray release of the original, new comics, Officially licensed props (Proton Packs), toys and more. The game is still on for the target release.

-June 16, 2009: The game is released EXACTLY twenty years to the day of the release of the second film, and close to the 25th anniversary of the original film.

With the history done, I'd like to make one thing very clear: This is a quasi-review, so if you're interested in picking up the game, I must warn you this may contain many spoilers.

Story:

The game is based in 1991, two years after the last film. The Ghostbusters are now working with the government. Their workload is getting heavier, so they hire a new recruit- and unnamed rookie, who doesn't speak for the entire length of the game. (This was apparently done so that you could be an observer of the other characters actions). The game starts you off in the firehouse, which you can explore right from the get go, which I'll get into later.

Your first mission is to "retrap" Slimer, who, during a shockwave blast which you see in the opening of the game, releases him from a cage. This is essentially the tutorial on how to work you pack, which in my opinion only feel's slightly forced upon the gamer.

You do get to trap your first ghost, but it isn't Slimer- he ends up escaping, to which you are then sent immediately into your second mission- at the Sedgwick Hotel, from the first film. I won't go into spoilerly details, but you visit several different places from the first film (Including the New York Library) and fight several memorable ghouls from the film (Slimer and Stay-Puft to name a few).

Controls:

The game handles incredibly well. If you've ever played Gears of War, the over the shoulder view works well for the game. The pack has all the information you need- the "Health Bar" and "Heat Level" are there on tiny bars, so the rest of the screen is open to see everything, which I liked. You can "crouch-run" using the B button, A to dodge. The trigger to fire your proton stream. They added a "Ventilation system" to the pack, which is essentially their way of adding a reload feature. You do that with the right bumper.

You also use the PKE meter with the Y button, which detects ghosts (And special objects). This is almost like a mini-game, as you need to have the target perfectly centered in a series of rings to get a "100%" scan on them. You receive a database entry, detailing the ghosts history, where it was scanned, and so forth.

The controls are overall very well balanced.

Content:

The game is short. If I have one major gripe, it's that. My first playthrough clocked at 10 hours- no strategy guide. My second runthrough was roughly 7:30 hours, this time not looking for everything. The game is sadly short, but throughly enjoyable. Another issue is the lack of things to do. Busting is fun, sure- but there's not a whole lot else to do.

The ghost scans are all right, and as I mentioned, there are items (Known as "Artifacts" that appear in the game and can be scanned. There are six per level, and upon finding them you unlock a database entry and money for them. They also appear in the firehouse, so you can check them out. Must don't do anything, but a few can be activated and do some silly stuff.

Some artifacts include a "Fearsome Toilet," which when you flush it a hand comes out of the bowl and tries to grab you. There's a haunted toaster, which dances when you touch it. There's a floating beard (I'm not kidding) and haunted disco pants, which follow you around.

There are also some hidden things for fans, as well. There's a computer monitor which shows the "Ending" from the old NES Ghostbusters game, and includes are grammatical errors as well. There's a drawing on the wall from "Ed," Egon's nephew. There were two fan films, "Freddy VS The Ghostbusters," and Return of the Ghostbusters, By Braxtonfilms.com, which feature a character named Ed, who says he has an uncle named Egon.

In different parts of the firehouse, you can find the car doors from the Ecto from GB2, a PKE meter styled from the RGB cartoon, and a proto-type trap from XGB. Vigo from the second movie is also at the firehouse, and he talks to you (And says some pretty ridiculous things). There's alot of cool stuff for fans, but for the average gamer I could see getting bored with the game extremely fast, as at times the fighting mechanics can get extremely repetitive.

There are online modes, too, which have several game types. It's fun, but much like the game itself, can get boring and repetitive as well.

Graphics and Acting:

The game looks amazing. The character models are so close to the film counter-parts it's frightening. Janine (Annie Potts) is the only one in the game who doesn't look like herself, and the graphics seem simplified. All four originals are back- Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Akroyd, and Harold Ramis. I have to say this game is funny because how well these four work together, and it's no wonder, as Akroyd and Ramis wrote the two films and this game's script. It plays heavily off the first film, and it works. I had people watching me play the game, and we would all laugh, because some of the jokes work so well, it's eerie.

Also in the cast is William Atherton, who plays Walter Peck from the original film. He's just as big a douche as he was in the original, but his time in the game is gravely short. Brian Doyle-Murray, who played a psychiatrist in the second film, is playing the mayor of New York. New to the cast is Alyssa Milano, playing Bill Murray's love interest, Ilyssa.

The four originals are fantastic and funny. Atherton and Potts are good as well. Everyone else is, and I don't know if you'll understand this, but they sound like their in a video game.

The secondary characters dialogue is weaks and falls flat. It feels forced- unlike the actors from the film, who if you didn't know it was a game you'd think it was a CG movie. It was a hit or miss here, and at least the people you're with for 90% of the game are fun and funny to listen to.

Closing:

The game is fun but fustrating at times. It's good for two play throughs and then your done. The online play has some stuff to do in it, but I haven't touched upon it too much. Definitely great for any fans of the series, and a solid rental from anyone else, and I would recommend it.

(On a last note- The Wii and PS2 versions are a slightly different game, and are more puzzle-based than the PS3 and XBox 360. DS and PSP I believe are also the same as Wii and PS2)

Last note: Oddly enough, Sony owns Ghostbusters. Yet, GB on Xbox 360 is in 1080P, whereas PS3, also Sony, only gets 720p. Go figure.