|
Release Date: June 16, 2009
Genre: Action
Rating: T for Teen
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Terminal Reality
Although my mother would probably disagree, I am the biggest fan of the original Ghostbusters movie. When I found out, a couple years ago, that there was a Ghostbusters game being developed I almost needed a tissue. But then Activision Blizzard decided this game was not in their future plans and that broke my heart. Luckily Atari came along and determined it had enough promise to make it to store shelves after all.
This is a third-person action game, which is better then first-person considering all the information you need is located on your proton pack. Third-person eliminates the need for a heads-up display. Both your health and your temperature gauge appear as colored bars on the pack. The controls are pretty strong, aiming is the hardest because these ghosts move fast but the game allows you to turn on target assistance, so that helps a little. The sounds are wonderful, the original soundtrack from the movies transfer perfectly into the game. Also shots from your proton pack are great, as well as crashing and burning objects when you accidentally miss your target. The graphics, however, are only average, they’re a decent combination of cartoony and realistic. The environments are alright and the burnt trail that your proton laser leaves looks pretty cool.
Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and starring the movie’s original cast; The Ghostbusters consist of Aykroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson, as well as Annie Potts (who played Janine, the Ghostbusters’ receptionist) and William Atherton (who played the environmentalist Walter Peck, also known as Dickless). There are also a few other familiar voices including Alyssa Milano and Brian Doyle-Murray (Bill Murray’s brother).
The game takes place in 1991, just shortly after the second movie. You sign on as the 5th Ghostbuster to alleviate some of the excess work the troop has taken on. This concept works perfectly in the video game since the first hour or so is spent training both the rookie Ghostbuster and the player on the in’s and out’s of ghostbusting.
At first I found a majority of the game way too familiar. The ghosts and locations were all from the first movie. I understand that diehard fans would love to do battle with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, but not in the first couple hours of the game. You’ll also recapture Slimer from the same hotel he was first caught in during this time-they should have spread out these characters or made them appear later in the game. With his massive size, Stay Puft would have made a great final boss again. Then the longer I played the more I understood why they explain why all the same entities keep appearing, but I still could have gone for original enemies appearing more often.
I don’t know how these guys ever captured ghosts without me. They have a hard time aiming their blasters, let alone wrangling ghosts overtop of the traps. Its no wonder they needed another person when their skills have diminished this much.
One cute addition that all big fans will love is the names of the achievements. A lot of them are named after a popular line from the movie. My favorites were; “The flowers are still standing,” “I looked at the trap, Ray” and “You gotta try this pole!”
Depending on where you buy the game, most retailers offer some kind of code you can enter to unlock unique character avatar for use when playing online. I’ve looked on the internet to try to find codes to unlock them, as well as a list of which retailers have which skins, but could not find either. I believe these codes are unique so that everyone cannot unlock every avatar. If you plan on playing the game online I would recommend doing some research before purchasing the game.
Ghostbusters The Video Game is available for most major consoles; PC, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, however there are four different developers behind the game depending on which version you buy. The version I played was by Terminal Reality, who also did the PS3 version. This is such a good game, with pretty strong replay value. Chances are if you’re a fan of the movies you’ve probably purchased the game already. If not this game is still a pretty safe purchase. The strong gameplay and humor around every corner make it a wonderful addition to any gamer’s library.
The Gaming Savant, Ryan Smith-MuzikReviews.com Video Game Review Staff Team Leader
July 2, 2009
|
Title: 
