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Developer: Terminal Reality
Publisher: Atari
Game: "Ghostbusters"
I'm an '80's brat. I grew up on He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jem... wait a minute... But, one cartoon and two movies caught my interest more than anything. I'd borrow the book from my school library and stare at the pictures wishing I could be one of these guys. I mean, how cool would it be to drive around in a modified hearse with a siren and flashing lights, catching evil ghouls and ghosts. And the cartoon had everyone of them from vampires to werewolves, to Samhain, and even Cthulhu (he was in a cartoon, but not a horrendous movie based on his mythos). If it weren't a fictitious franchise, I would apply for it right now, just to hunt ghosts with Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, Egon Spangler, and Peter Venkman. And someone stepped up to the plate with "Ghostbusters: The Video Game."
The opening scene has a new Ghostbusters commercial (based on the one from the first movie), and exposes that Gozer is threatening to return. The credits roll, and the nerds of the world rejoice; Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Murray all are in it, with Akroyd and Ramis writing. The plot starts of with Gozer trying to return (still stuck as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man), but turns to something more sinister. New York is being used as "spiritual labyrinth," with nodes that lure ghosts to another, more powerful ghost. The more ghosts that show up and stay in the node, the more powerful their leader becomes, and can eventually become a minor Gozerian Deity. But, with Gozer down (again, in messy, marshmallow-y pool of tasty, tasty goo), who is trying to cause the apocalypse?
I'd be lying if I said I had high expectations for the game. I really didn't have any for it, but needless to say, the story surprised me. The humor is still there (STANTZ: We're talking blood flooding in the streets, demons and ghouls walking the earth, fire in the sky--! Venkmen: And Disco will come back... and be even BIGGER!), but the plot is, considering the material, pretty deep. The one would be set back is that you don't play as a Ghostbuster, but as a new cadet, with no name (Peter didn't want to get attached because you're testing out the experimental gear), and no voice. Surprisingly, it works, especially when you over hear the banter the other guys have to say to each other. It helps with pulling you in to the world, and excels in a huge way.
The gameplay has a huge learning curve. To catch a ghost, you must drain its energy. Then, set a capture stream on it by holding one button and pulling the trigger (on ghosts, it does this automatically). Then, you throw a trap. Then you "wrangle" the ghost to daze it, pull it to the trap, and keep it in side the light the trap emits. The first few times, this is a pain, but once you get used to it, you'll be busting more ghosts than the older guys (who'll notice this, and compliment your work). This goes if you slack off, too... but most of the time, you'll be knocked down before that happens. When you, or any other ghostbuster, is knocked down, the remaining ones will rush to save you. I'll be as bold as to say this: if Gears of War 2 did their system this well, I wouldn't be shocked. Only one time did I fail a mission due to all Ghostbusters dying, and that was because we were swarmed.
Finally, the presentation of the game. I'll start with the voice acting. All four of the Ghostbusters are excellent (especially Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd, who sound like they've never lost a step of playing these characters). Annie Potts and William Atherton return as Janine and EPA Jerkwad Walter Peck, and fill their parts well. Alyssa Milano sounds too much like a valley girl to be taken seriously as a scientist, though. But, the props goes to whoever did Vigo's voice for the talking painting of Vigo. I spent an hour of the game screwing with that painting, making it say weird, horrible, apocalyptic things... then "Your fly is down." Wow. Just amazing.
Next, there are collectables in the game, called "Cursed Objects." When you snag one, it ends up in the firehouse, and they can be found in various locations. Among them are: a death clock that, since its around so many dead souls in the firehouse, the hands spin out of control, and Peter uses it as a desk fan and a pair of cursed bellbottoms that follow you through the firehouse, blasting out disco music. Most of them have funny stories behind them (my favorite is still the "Ghostbusters Movie DVD"), but some don't have stories that make any sense at all. For the most part, its worth going after these.
Finally, the graphics. They characters look like the people they're modeled off of, but not to the point were its disturbing. It is a little cartoonish, but it works extremely well. The one bad point would be the lip synching. I have yet to see a cut scene were any of it matches. But, with the rest of the game, that's very minor.
I had low expectations for this game, but I'm glad I did. By playing this, I found that, even if it is very short, the fun you can have with something that is new, yet, nostalgic, can be some of the best fun you can ever have. And what better way to show this to an '80's kid than by busting heads with some of the best average guy heroes of that time?
Overall: B+
+ Generally fun game
+ Fantastic writing and story
+ Ghostbusters... but new!
+ Great voice acting...
- Except Alyssa Milano
- On the short side
- Missed Lip synching
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