Games based on movies simply don’t live up to the heap of expectations placed on them and are almost always sure to let the avid gamer down. But Ghostbusters: The Video Game does not fall in that category. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The game not only provides a very entertaining and gripping story, but it also packs in loads of humor and a completely unique experience. Ghostbusters: The Video Game makes use of many elements from the Ghostbusters history and gives fans a once in a lifetime chance to join the four independent businessmen friends and get a taste of the action, up close and personal.
The year is 1991 and New York is once again hit by a huge burst of paranormal energy. A new Gozer exhibit seems to have sparked it all. Like some sort of twentieth century Pandora’s Box, the exhibit begins to channel a whole different nether-worldly dimension through a number of wormholes, straight to NYC. The Ghostbusters rush to close these portals to the other dimension.
Playing as a new recruit brought in to test experimental equipment, players follow the spirit capturing team as they trap all kinds of paranormal entities. A whinny Bill Murray adds a little color to the game at times. But overdoing it makes you just want to slime the cranky guy right in the face. Probably the only time your character, the recruit, makes a sound is to scream like a little girl when the blistering hot shower scolds him, which brings us to the interactivity in the game. You can interact with a variety of objects in the game including water fountains, showers, arcade machines, which you often find Dr. Venkman playing, and many more. The Ghostbusters’ answering machine plays back the various panicky and sometimes humorous and downright silly messages from people of the city. There is even a gigantic portrait besides the Ghostbusters’ office which says all kinds of amusing stuff such as, “My sword will taste your flesh!” and “May an army of demons devour you.” There’s nothing funnier than sliming your colleagues though. And doing so will get you an amusing response each time.
The graphics in the game are inexplicably clear. At every point and everywhere you go, you get one of the best graphical deals that you’ll probably ever get on a console today. It is as if each tiny particle has been detailed to near perfection. Every drop of slime, every fold in the fabric of your characters clothing comes alive as if it is just there in front of you. The graphics in the game get a 9.8 on ten, even though the loading screens are absolutely abysmal, and almost completely pixilated.
The environments in the game are constructed to perfection with many non-movable objects in addition to a variety of movable and destructible items. Every miniscule detail is taken into account. And a lot of the environment is changeable, if not destructible. You can burn the surface of practically anything using your pack. And breaking and destroying things in the surroundings brings up the cost that the city must bear for allowing the Ghostbusters to run wild around the neighborhood. The environments in the game have to be given 9.3 out of 10, and it is obvious how much work has gone into them.
The Ghostbusters controls are quick, responsive and easy to grapple with. But at times you find that holding down the appropriate buttons for the necessary duration of time gets a little difficult. Not to worry though, as all the buttons can be completely remapped. It’s just so difficult to successfully dodge oncoming attacks from ghosts or fast moving objects hurled at you. And while running gets you places faster, it reduces control over your character. Plus, with the heavy pack, the new recruit can only sprint for short distances.
The game is all about the story. And although it is based on the Ghostbusters franchise, it does deviate from the norm. Rich and integrated into every aspect of the video game, the story brings out the personalities of not only the ghostbusting team members, but also of every ghost “boss” featured. One thing leads to another and the story is very fluid taking the Ghostbusters from one haunting to the next. Integrated with comic lines from the four, and the mischievous silence from the recruit, the story doesn’t just take you to the end. It gets you there in grand humorous fashion. The game story deserves its 8.9 serving out of 10.
The gameplay is one thing that you can count on. And never, at any point, does it get dull. Even though you may be negotiating a street corner blocked by a huge unassailable pile of ice, or blasting away at the fat glut of a green blob, the game seems to keep finding new ways to bolster excitement. At one point you are even hanging from the top of the Sedgewick hotel while blasting away at the gigantic chunky Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Gameplay is very versatile and also makes use of minor and subtle puzzle elements. The slime tethers can fasten objects together for a short period of time. They prove helpful when pulling down counter weights to open doors, or getting a live wire out of the water. Versatility meets excitement as the Ghostbusters gameplay gets an 8.5 out of a ten.
The music score in Ghostbusters: The Video Game is near perfect. Spooky just when it needs to be, and deathly silent at times, it really puts the player right in the shoes of a professional ghost hunter. The well placed but awfully pixilated cut scenes give the sense of continuity while moving from scenario to scenario. The music is always there at the right time and is guaranteed to make you jump out of your seat at least a few times. The Ghostbusters music score gets a well deserved 9 on 10.
There are several artifacts lying around the environments, just waiting to be collected such as paintings, urns and even a remote control model of the Ghostbusters’ classic car, the Ecto 1. There’s not much you can do with these artifacts except revel in the fact that you have acquired them in the course of your various ghostbusting exploits. Trophies in the game can be earned for a wide variety of accomplishments, such as capturing a ghost. You can even pick up a trophy for such silly things as sliding down one of those fireman-styled poles that you find back at your home base.
The Final Word: An amazing game graphically, and from the perspective of re-living an adventure one can only dream of undertaking. Great for any fan of the franchise, Ghostbusters: The Video Game might feel a little tiresome to the more extreme gamer. But, undoubtedly, a game unlike any other.
Graphics: 9.8/10.
Environments: 9.3/10.
Story: 8.9/10.
Gameplay: 8.5/10.
Music: 9.0/10.
Overall (not an average): 9.4/10.