In 1984, the Stay Puft Marshmallow man terrorized the streets of New York. Saved by the Ghostbusters, they were sadly put out of business due to property damage. 5 years later, they managed to re-open their business and save New York once again, from Vigo the Carpathian. Now the city is in trouble once again, and it's up to the Ghostbusters to step up to the challenge.
You play as the newest addition to the Ghostbusters team, an experimental technology tester, known only as the Rookie(and plethora of other names relating to his status). After a paranormal shock wave travels throughout the city, strange occurrences begin to happen around the city. Have no fear though, the Ghostbusters are on the job! Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis managed to deliver all the charm and humor from the films and more. You'll see old apparitions from the films as well as new ones. The characters will make references of their past adventures and you'll even get to visit some of the locations the Ghostbusters previously visited. Any fan of the films is bound to enjoy the shenanigans provided by the team in their latest paranormal adventure.
As the experimental technology tester, you'll get to play with all kinds of fun gadgets, like the shock blaster(shot gun), the stasis stream slows ghosts down making them easier targets, and the meson collider, which fires a homing beacon at the enemy and rains powerful beams down unto them. However you'll find that you use the proton stream mostly. Most ghosts you encounter are weak to it, and it also helps you wrangle ghosts into traps with it's capture stream. There's also the slime stream which eliminates that sticky black goo you'll come across throughout a level, seals ghosts portals shut and knocks them out of possessed humans. It even comes with a slime tether you'll frequently use to solve puzzles. Those of you who search every nook and cranny of a level will discover plenty of cursed artifacts, and identify numerous ghost with their handy dandy PKE meter. As you collect artifacts and defeat ghosts, you'll be able to upgrade your gear with the cash you earn. Soon enough you'll be slam-dunking ghosts into traps while staying in the fight longer.
You'll encounter a wide variety of enemies, which at first are fun to fight and wrangle into traps(or destroy completely), but eventually becomes a bit stale and monotonous. Fights are filled with knock backs and downs that at times, are unavoidable. It only takes 3 or 4 hits for the rookie to be rendered unconscious. Your teammates aren't always quick to help you up either. The AI is a bit finicky, they'll use the right equipment on the right monsters, and put up a good fight from time to time. Other times they'll stand there and get pummeled by ghosts. Ghosts may even glitch into objects, making it nearly impossible for them to be captured.
There's also a rather enjoyable multiplayer feature. It doesn't feel tacked on at the last minute like so many other games. There are six modes to choose from. Containment has players capture and destroy as many ghosts as they can; Protection makes you defend disruptors from ghosts; Survival is a wave after wave of progressively stronger ghosts; and while you get attacked by ghosts, you must destroy as many relics as possible within the time limit in Destruction; Theif makes players recover stolen artifacts from ghosts and Slime-Dunk leaves you trying to slam dunk the most Slimer's into traps. Modes can also be strung together into small campaigns with upgrades or played by themselves. Taking your busting skills online is fun and more often than not, chaotic.
The graphics are fairly good, though it hit's an occasional bump here and there throughout the game. Objects will occasionally disappear and some times the entire room, leaving the rookie standing around in a black room for a split second. There are a surprising amount of various environments as well as some fantastic looking boss encounters. You'll go to libraries, sewers and the ghost realm. The audio is enjoyable for the most part. The original cast of the Ghostbusters returned and have added their likeness and voice to their characters. You'll also notice bits and pieces of the soundtrack from the films made it into the game as well. These additions add onto the charm of the game, making it feel more like The Ghostbusters. It's too bad the lip-syncing is off, or else the nicely done CG cut scenes would look a lot better and cleaner. And while the rookie doesn't seem to have a name, he also lacks a voice. Oh, but he can scream and grunt.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game isn't a game that any fan of the film should pass up. It delivers the solid, Ghostbusters experience that the game should. It may have it's problems and the jokes may not be as great as the ones made in the films, but it will definitely bring you a fun, seven or so hour, campaign with a grin.
You play as the newest addition to the Ghostbusters team, an experimental technology tester, known only as the Rookie(and plethora of other names relating to his status). After a paranormal shock wave travels throughout the city, strange occurrences begin to happen around the city. Have no fear though, the Ghostbusters are on the job! Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis managed to deliver all the charm and humor from the films and more. You'll see old apparitions from the films as well as new ones. The characters will make references of their past adventures and you'll even get to visit some of the locations the Ghostbusters previously visited. Any fan of the films is bound to enjoy the shenanigans provided by the team in their latest paranormal adventure.
As the experimental technology tester, you'll get to play with all kinds of fun gadgets, like the shock blaster(shot gun), the stasis stream slows ghosts down making them easier targets, and the meson collider, which fires a homing beacon at the enemy and rains powerful beams down unto them. However you'll find that you use the proton stream mostly. Most ghosts you encounter are weak to it, and it also helps you wrangle ghosts into traps with it's capture stream. There's also the slime stream which eliminates that sticky black goo you'll come across throughout a level, seals ghosts portals shut and knocks them out of possessed humans. It even comes with a slime tether you'll frequently use to solve puzzles. Those of you who search every nook and cranny of a level will discover plenty of cursed artifacts, and identify numerous ghost with their handy dandy PKE meter. As you collect artifacts and defeat ghosts, you'll be able to upgrade your gear with the cash you earn. Soon enough you'll be slam-dunking ghosts into traps while staying in the fight longer.
You'll encounter a wide variety of enemies, which at first are fun to fight and wrangle into traps(or destroy completely), but eventually becomes a bit stale and monotonous. Fights are filled with knock backs and downs that at times, are unavoidable. It only takes 3 or 4 hits for the rookie to be rendered unconscious. Your teammates aren't always quick to help you up either. The AI is a bit finicky, they'll use the right equipment on the right monsters, and put up a good fight from time to time. Other times they'll stand there and get pummeled by ghosts. Ghosts may even glitch into objects, making it nearly impossible for them to be captured.
There's also a rather enjoyable multiplayer feature. It doesn't feel tacked on at the last minute like so many other games. There are six modes to choose from. Containment has players capture and destroy as many ghosts as they can; Protection makes you defend disruptors from ghosts; Survival is a wave after wave of progressively stronger ghosts; and while you get attacked by ghosts, you must destroy as many relics as possible within the time limit in Destruction; Theif makes players recover stolen artifacts from ghosts and Slime-Dunk leaves you trying to slam dunk the most Slimer's into traps. Modes can also be strung together into small campaigns with upgrades or played by themselves. Taking your busting skills online is fun and more often than not, chaotic.
The graphics are fairly good, though it hit's an occasional bump here and there throughout the game. Objects will occasionally disappear and some times the entire room, leaving the rookie standing around in a black room for a split second. There are a surprising amount of various environments as well as some fantastic looking boss encounters. You'll go to libraries, sewers and the ghost realm. The audio is enjoyable for the most part. The original cast of the Ghostbusters returned and have added their likeness and voice to their characters. You'll also notice bits and pieces of the soundtrack from the films made it into the game as well. These additions add onto the charm of the game, making it feel more like The Ghostbusters. It's too bad the lip-syncing is off, or else the nicely done CG cut scenes would look a lot better and cleaner. And while the rookie doesn't seem to have a name, he also lacks a voice. Oh, but he can scream and grunt.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game isn't a game that any fan of the film should pass up. It delivers the solid, Ghostbusters experience that the game should. It may have it's problems and the jokes may not be as great as the ones made in the films, but it will definitely bring you a fun, seven or so hour, campaign with a grin.
