Ghostbusters the video game (XBOX 360 review)

Let's face it the 80's SUCKED. Nu Romantic music,crap fashion, cheesy sitcom after cheesy sitcom...a few things did however stand out and have stood the test of time and that brings me onto today's review. Back in 1984 the first of 2 Ghostbusters films hit the big screen and became the most successful comedy of the decade followed by a less well received sequel 5 years later. Now 25 years after the original movie the gaming world FINALLY gets a Ghostbusters game that accurately represents one of the most iconic comedies of all time.

You take control of a 5th unnamed and unvoiced member of the team who has been recruited as more of a guinea pig for Egon's technology than a fully fledged and accepted member of the group. While this can be seen as a bit of a cop out or let down it's an idea that does work extremely well. While your actions are what drives the action forward it allows for the wisecracking and interactions you'd expect between the 4 main members to feel more natural and not draw away from what you are trying to achieve.

The story itself revolves around a psychokinetic shockwave that rips through New York from the museum's new Gozer exhibit donated by the estate of one Ivo Shandor....sound familiar Ghostbusters' fans? It should!!! As both names are an integral part of the original movie's plot. The movie references don't end there either. The whole game is a balanced blend of things that will be familiar to fans and new areas and equipment that keep the story and feel of the game fresh and not just a rehash of either of the 2 80's films. From the incredibly detailed and accurate looking firehouse HQ to levels in such places as the Sedgewick hotel which housed Slimer, to the pursuit of the grey lady ghost in the library that started the boys in the business. There is even the talking Vigo painting in the HQ which is impossible as fans of the second film will note. However rather than trying to change the movie's history it feels like more of a nod to it's roots and have enough to keep long time fans and people new to the franchise both happy. To this end having Ramis and Akroyd writing the story has helped move the game along in the
right direction by having the right feel and keeping the characters personalities absolutely spot on even 20 years later. ALL of the original members are voiced by the original cast even down to Annie Potts voicing Janine Melnitz again aiding the truly immersive experience.

Onto the gameplay.The game itself is a 3rd person shooter but rather than being constantly in your face with wave after wave of ghosts the levels are paced beautifully with action sequences broken up with investigation and exploration sections leading to each "fight". This is usually done by pulling out the instantly recognisable PKE meter in order to pinpoint exactly where the next ghost will be or to find the hidden doorways or entrances that lead you from section to section.

The fights themselves aren't just a case of proton stream throwing and then trapping of ghosts instead blending actual trappable spirits with animated objects or minions that when damaged will lose power and disintegrate. Trapping does however play a big part although it's not a simple case of firing your proton stream and throwing a trap. Proton streams or any of the other 3 pack modifications, as I will touch on shortly, weaken the ghost's energy which is represented by a circular health meter projected over each enemy. Weakening them enough turns this gauge red allowing a capture stream that holds the ghosts and sets up the trapping part. While in the capture stream ghosts then need to be "wrangled" into a position over the trap. Wrangling is much like mid-air fishing where the ghost will try to move in a direction and you counter it in order to get it into position. While doing this you build up a "slam meter" which allows you to smash the ghosts into walls or the ground temporarily dazing them and making the whole capture process easier. To this point the controls are executed perfectly from the point of firing you proton stream for the first time you feel in total control and the wrangling and trapping process actually feels like a struggle between you and the entity.

As mentioned the proton pack is not the only method of attack. As the story progresses new modifications to the pack become available. Each variation of weapon has 2 attacks. The proton pack gets a powerful single shot. A shotgun style mod comes with a stasis beam, a machine gun style upgrade and last but by no means least the slime blower. This is dual purpose weapon, rather than having 2 offensive options the first "hose" option works offensively while the secondary option is far more interesting. A single shot fires a line of slime from the pack and a second shot then anchors and contracts allowing you to move obstacles or solve puzzles...I use puzzles in the loosest sense of the word when it comes to this game. The concept of slime tethering is fantastic but sadly it's practical uses are restricted to a few set pieces and the slightly trickier and optional task of slime tethering ghosts to traps. In addition to unlocking more weapons as you play through the story each ghost you trap or destroy earns you money which in turn can be used to upgrade your existing equipment. These upgrades range from heat reduction to allow prolonged firing without the need to “vent” the packs (Ghostbusters’s version of reloading) faster reloading for your PKE meter and a faster trap. While certain ghosts have weaknesses to certain types of weapons this upgrading allows the option to basically stick to one weapon throughout the entire game should you be struggling with a certain type.

There's no question this game is beautiful to look at. From the incredibly detailed and accurate character models, through the impressive proton streams and ornate interiors of buildings like the Sedgewick Hotel and the library everything is well designed and for the more destructive gamers out there pretty much all of it can be destroyed.Cutscenes are well rendered and thankfully not overused and in every case contain at the very least a wisecrack and it's here that the game truly shines. While most of the humour is in the form of slightly rehashed lines from the films they are given a fresh twist. For example Venkman's refusal to chase through the Hotel corridors in search of Slimer because he's "seen this one already and knows how it ends" only to end up slimed by Slimer anyway.

So how's the gameplay? Well it holds up EXTREMELY well. Each level feels just about the right length and while all of them are stuffed full of spirits to destroy or trap the pacing is perfectly balanced between searching and action sequences. The controls while a little awkward initially are very easy to master and with checkpoints being pretty free flowing should you fail at any point you won't feel harshly punished by having to re-do large sections of a level. The difficultly level is fairly balanced with casual level gamers only hitting a couple of potentially troublesome spots while the more hardcore gamers out there can choose professional and then deal with one of the few issues I have with this game namely team AI. While on an easier settings reviving or being revived by other team mates while attacking ghosts is pretty straight forward when the game is pushed into higher difficulty settings the Intelligence part seems to disappear as the team will point blank refuse to heal AI team mates and seemingly just stand there toe to toe with every ghost leaving you to run around healing. While this isn't a problem facing 1 or 2 targets when facing masses of ghosts in the later stages of the game major battles become a case of you spending potentially minutes solid just reviving team mates without being able to fire a single proton stream.

Multiplayer is highly enjoyable instead of your usual multiplayer modes taking the form of death matches or capture the flag Ghostbusters offers a series of fitting modes such as seeing how many ghosts you capture in a set time limit as a team, protecting artifacts from ghosts trying to steal them, simply trying to survive as many waves of ghosts as you can. Personally I've come across a few issues with the multiplayer which are apparently being addressed at the moment and hopefully when the game is officially released here in October there will be a patch available to correct them. The issues themselves while not game breaking have stopped a large number of people from earning certain multiplayer achievements and in my own personal circumstances money earned in multiplayer matches doesn't seem to ever count on my stats or levelling screen. Even with these issues the multiplayer is enjoyable enough to keep you going back for more and as it hits European release finding exactly what match type you want will be less of an issue.

So all in all is it worth the purchase? Well with Sony pulling the not so gamer friendly move of timed exclusivity in Europe where only 360 owners in North America got the privilege of playing Ghostbusters on the date that EVERYONE should have been able to play it Worldwide I had to get mine imported and living in the UK was then subjected to import tax and handling fees pushing the value over the £60 mark and I’ve not regretted a single penny. As a fan of the Ghostbusters from childhood I was over the moon with just how immersive the experience is. The wisecracks, the obvious nods to the films the well written story all lends itself to a HIGHLY worthwhile purchase. Even for those that aren't fans of the Ghostbusters there is still enough there to warrant buying the game.

Overall score a solid 8.5 and a must buy for all Ghostbusters fans. A few issues that can be dealt with by future updates and patches. Here’s hoping for a sequel with a drivable Ecto 1 and more practical uses for the impressive slime tether system