The Ghostbusters franchise got its start with the classic comedic horror film of the same name in 1986. The success of that film allowed the creators to make a sequel, two cartoon series, and a number of video games. However, the franchise has been lying dormant since the cancellation of Extreme Ghostbusters in 1997. This new game brings the Ghostbusters back to life, complete with the original cast and a script written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game for the Xbox 360 takes place in 1991, the ghostbuster have practically become a household name and are looking to expand their business. They start by hiring a new recruit to mainly to do all the grunt work. The conveniently take places at the same time that there has been an explosion in the quantity of haunting in New York City, even defeated enemies are making a come back, such as Slimmer and Stay Puff.
You play as this new recruit as you fight a wide variety of ghost, spirits, and monsters as you and the Ghostbusters try to discover the source of the resurgence. Over the course of the game, you obtain three weapons in addition to the standard proton beam. These weapons include paralysis beams, rapid fire blots, and of course slime. All these weapons have strengths and weakness that can be used to defeat monsters and solve puzzles. Your weapons can also be upgraded with the money made by catching and scanning ghost. These purchases improve your equipment by mainly increasing its damage or duration. One problem about this system is that almost all of the upgrades can be purchased in just one play through. This leaves the game with little replay value.
The levels are pretty linear and only allow the player to venture where the game wants them to. The backgrounds can also be a tad repetitive, which can cause a player to lose their way. Fortunately, the game effectively employs the use of the PK meter which helps to point the player in the right direction and also to find ghost and hidden objects. Despite a little repetitiveness, the background and the environments of the game are fantastic. They are really creepy and sometimes downright scary. They are all very believable and really suck you into several well designed surroundings.
Between these levels, you can hangout at the station house and mess around with several interactive objects including some that you'll find hidden in certain areas of the game. While this is amusing for a short while, the novelty where off quite quickly. As even bigger problem caused by these little intermissions occurs when you turn off the console while at the station. Upon returning to the game, you'll find that you will be starting and the beginning of the next level rather than the station house. This causes you to miss the cutscenes that take place at the end, which usually provide key plot points.
However, the greatest thing about the game has to be seeing cast back together again. This could easily have been a simple check casher, but the writers and the actors put a lot of effort t into making the game as loyal to the original film as possible. The entire cast is completely in character the interaction and chemistry between them is as good as it was in the movies. The only thing could have been improved is the recruit. Even though he is has no lines, a little more interaction between him and the rest of the cast would have been nice. There are even some points in the story where a major event occurs and he is barely even seen.
Aside from these problems, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a ton of fun, but has a limited lifespan which may not be worth the games self price. Unless you are a hardcore fan of the series it may be better to take the rental route or wait to buy a used copy at a discount price. This game is said to be a precursor to an additional film which is to be released in the next couple years. If this game is a sign of how good the movie will be than I am indeed looking forward to it.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game for the Xbox 360 takes place in 1991, the ghostbuster have practically become a household name and are looking to expand their business. They start by hiring a new recruit to mainly to do all the grunt work. The conveniently take places at the same time that there has been an explosion in the quantity of haunting in New York City, even defeated enemies are making a come back, such as Slimmer and Stay Puff.
You play as this new recruit as you fight a wide variety of ghost, spirits, and monsters as you and the Ghostbusters try to discover the source of the resurgence. Over the course of the game, you obtain three weapons in addition to the standard proton beam. These weapons include paralysis beams, rapid fire blots, and of course slime. All these weapons have strengths and weakness that can be used to defeat monsters and solve puzzles. Your weapons can also be upgraded with the money made by catching and scanning ghost. These purchases improve your equipment by mainly increasing its damage or duration. One problem about this system is that almost all of the upgrades can be purchased in just one play through. This leaves the game with little replay value.
The levels are pretty linear and only allow the player to venture where the game wants them to. The backgrounds can also be a tad repetitive, which can cause a player to lose their way. Fortunately, the game effectively employs the use of the PK meter which helps to point the player in the right direction and also to find ghost and hidden objects. Despite a little repetitiveness, the background and the environments of the game are fantastic. They are really creepy and sometimes downright scary. They are all very believable and really suck you into several well designed surroundings.
Between these levels, you can hangout at the station house and mess around with several interactive objects including some that you'll find hidden in certain areas of the game. While this is amusing for a short while, the novelty where off quite quickly. As even bigger problem caused by these little intermissions occurs when you turn off the console while at the station. Upon returning to the game, you'll find that you will be starting and the beginning of the next level rather than the station house. This causes you to miss the cutscenes that take place at the end, which usually provide key plot points.
However, the greatest thing about the game has to be seeing cast back together again. This could easily have been a simple check casher, but the writers and the actors put a lot of effort t into making the game as loyal to the original film as possible. The entire cast is completely in character the interaction and chemistry between them is as good as it was in the movies. The only thing could have been improved is the recruit. Even though he is has no lines, a little more interaction between him and the rest of the cast would have been nice. There are even some points in the story where a major event occurs and he is barely even seen.
Aside from these problems, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a ton of fun, but has a limited lifespan which may not be worth the games self price. Unless you are a hardcore fan of the series it may be better to take the rental route or wait to buy a used copy at a discount price. This game is said to be a precursor to an additional film which is to be released in the next couple years. If this game is a sign of how good the movie will be than I am indeed looking forward to it.