Ghostbusters Review

I think I can speak for all Ghostbusters fans when I say we’ve been waiting for a game worthy of having the Ghosbusters logo on it. Most people(myself included) are hesitant on film-games and grow a little anxious of a game based off a dear childhood film for fear of it failing like pretty much all of them tend to do. Worry not Ghostbusters fans, this game is good.

Ghostbusters
Developer: Terminal Reality
Platform: PlayStation 3 (reviewed)

The game is set 2 years after the second film and puts you as a mute rookie who signs up to be the experimental tester of all the Ghostbusters’ new equipment. Mysterious events tide to the Gozer exhibit cause a chain of events that lead you to battles against Stay Puft, The Gray Lady, and into the ghost zone itself. This game is actually made out to be the third film in the series and it doesn’t let down in that aspect. You’re character duded ‘Rookie’ doesn’t ever speak and that’s actually perfect since it allows you to listen to the voice-acting of the original actors. It’s made clear early on that they don’t want to know your name in cause something unexpected happens with your experimental gear and blows you into New Jersey.

Ghostbusters plays just like a third-person shooter. It does well by not having a HUD and instead keeps your health on the right side of your proton pack shown as a green bar. You also have a heat meter that shows how much you can use a certain weapon until your pack overheats and you have to ventilate it. It also changes to show which weapon you have equiped. For example when you have the slime gun equipped a green tank will come out and the lights will flash green.

There are four different modes you will attain to dish out some ghost pain. The starter is the Proton Pack from the series but now it has a secondary funtion called the Boson Dart that fires one big shot at your target for more damage at the cost of using more heat. The second is the Dark Matter mode which is your Shock Blast ‘shotgun’ style gun which has a secondary function Statis Stream that is a stream that when targeted on a ghost will slow them down and eventually freeze them allowing you to get a quick shot off to blow them to bits. The third is the Meson Collider which functions mainly as a ‘machine gun’ style mode. The last, and my favorite, mode is the Slime Blower which sprays green slime and can also be used with a secondary function called the Slime Tether that can bring to objects smashing into each other or slime dunking a ghost into a trap. Oh the times I spent spraying my fellow Ghostbusters with slime just to see them covered in the stuff and spit out a quick complaint on how they hate the stuff.

I can’t ever decide what I think of the AI allies in this game. At times it’ll be amazing having all of us work together to bring down some ghosts, but at other times they’ll just stand there getting hit and allow themselves to keep getting knocked out forcing me to stop wrangling a ghost and help them out. The ghosts are always keeping you on your toes and with each new level you get a new set of fresh ghosts to tangle with that range from swarms of flying books, marshmallow creatures, and to an epic battle between Confederate and Union ghosts in a museum. Speaking of ghosts you can also scan each one you encounter using your PKE meter to provide you with more in-depth info about them including their weakness. This game also boasts are varied amount of environments. Some are even downright creepy like the children’s section of the library. I haven’t played a game in so long that sent chills up my spine like that area did especially once you left you hear a child’s voice whisper ‘goodbye’ to you.

Your PKE meter plays a big role in the gameplay by helping you locate hidden ghosts and other story related events. The green meter indicates an object nearby that needs scanning, a red meter indicates a ghost, and a blue meter shows that an artifact is nearby. The artifacts are completely optional but they give some interesting information and can be found later in your firehouse.

One thing that deserves to be mentioned is the detail. The Proton Pack looks exactly how it did in the films and the firehouse is fully explorable. You can slide down the poles and even have a quick chat with the portrait of Vigo. Everything in there was faithfully recreated which fans of the series will enjoy. Another neat thing is that every artifact you scan in the missions end up in the firehouse for you to view while you’re there before the start of each mission.

Graphics graphics graphics. What to say about this that won’t upset the graphics fans. The graphics look amazing first and foremost don’t get me wrong. It’s just that after playing the 360 and PS3 version I noticed the PS3’s graphics were really dumbed down. Textures seem blurred and burning the walls with the Proton Pack doesn’t have the same ember effects the PC and 360 versions have. Now that doesn’t mean they’re bad, it’s just a little upsetting when the developers mentioned how the PS3 was the lead platform and how they knew how to work with it well. Nonetheless everything looks great on all 3 platforms and the effects are simply pure eye-candy. Seeing the chaos your Proton Pack will cause on the environment is simply amazing and the ghosts look just as good. Well the CG cutscenes the great as is expected from CG, but the in-game cutscenes leave something to be desired for. The animations are all stiff and the lip-syncing can be off at times especially when Peter is talking.

This game has a multiplayer portion that is actually pretty fun. You and 3 other players take the role of any of the Ghostbusters and take down ghosts for some sweet cash. There are leaderboards, 20 ranks to go up to, and the game also keeps a list of various things that you’ve done like which ghosts you’ve gotten. There are also 20 ‘Most Wanted’ ghosts that will appear in random games for you to catch. There are a few game modes offered. Containment tasks you with trying to capture as many ghosts as possible, Slime Dunk has you trying to dunk that pesky ghost Slimer, Protection has you guarding relics from ghost thieves, and these are just to name a few. Slime Dunk is probably my favorite since you can’t die in it and not only have to to focus on trying to get Slimer but also watch your back since your teammate might decide to knock you out to have the points all for themselves.

The Final Word
This game boasts everything a good Ghosbusters game needs. It’s got all the original cast members voices and so much fan service that the game pretty much oozes it. For Ghostbusters fan this is a great game to get, and for people who are new to the series or never really liked you’ll still find an enjoyable game that is tons of fun and will keep you playing after you’ve beaten it. With it’s fun online component and collectibles to acquire this game will keep you playing for quite a while.

– MonsterVine Rating: 5 out of 5 – Excellent