Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Note: I played the XBox 360 version. I don't know if there are any differences with the PC or PS3 version. I read that the Wii, PS2, DS, and PSP versions are a completely different experience so read another review to learn about those.

In the last year there were two franchise games that I feel really capture the feeling of being the character. The first is Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. The other is Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Although it's a third person "shooter" it doesn't feel like any other shooter. This feels like Ghostbusters. Whether you're blasting ghosts with the proton pack, sliming possessed people, searching for spirits with the PKE, or just running around you feel like a Ghostbuster.

The gameplay is entertaining in itself. None of the controls are complicated. The enemies are varied enough that you're never getting bored or repetitive. There are several problem-solving puzzles so the whole game isn't always point and shoot. It has its difficult parts without ever feeling impossible. And nothing's quite as fun as slam dunking a ghost into the trap.

The graphics are pretty good looking. The character models look real enough. The ghosts look like the movies where they're almost like a muppet. The environments are well done, it's worth several walks around the firehouse to notice all the details. The graphics aren't boundary pushing but they're still pretty good, just take a look at the Stay Puft level.

The atmosphere is really what makes it feel like Ghostbusters. There are times when it's laugh out loud hilarious. Others when it's edge of your seat scary. For example, in the library level Ray is great to listen to as he desperately hunts down the Library Ghost from the first movie. But there's one part where you approach a table in the corner and turn around to find yourself surrounded by book stacks. It creeps you out but Ray chimes in with some quip, you laugh, and move on. It captured that great Ghostbuster dark humor feeling.

The best part of the game is how authentic the game feels. First, all the actors return to voice their characters again. No Lorenzo Music or cheap sound alikes. This is the real deal. Everyone's back in perfect form, plus some great appearances by Alyssa Milano, Brian Doyle-Murray, and even Max von Sydow. It's a shame that Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis didn't return but the story works well without them. It really sounds like a movie. The environments are detailed enough. The firehouse is exactly like the films as are the hotel and the library.

The story is grand enough to be its own movie. It follows the usual film plot device of a powerful ghost trying to take over the world. However, it's not like Ghostbusters II where it's just the same plot over again. This time they added a mystery aspect. There's a question about just who the villain is and what he is doing, and in every mission you find clues to help solve it. The story itself builds off the first movie with respect towards the second.

My one and only problem with the game is that it is too short. It seems like once the story really got me hooked I was finishing it. It's not that the levels are too short or the story is lacking in any way, though it could have been expanded a bit. I finished the campaign in just three days. But maybe it was so entertaining I couldn't put it down until I was finished, and like the movies I enjoyed it so much I just wanted more. It is entertaining enough to warrant more than one play through.

This is a must for Ghostbusters fan. Whether you've watched everything Ghostbusters a hundred times over, love the first and refuse to acknowledge the second, or simply grew up on the cartoon show(s). It has everything you could want from another Ghostbusters film. Even non-Ghostbusters fans who are gamers of any level should check it out. It may not be the must-have game like Halo, Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty but is definitely worth a rent at the very least. Simply put: every gamer should play this game.

It could be the greatest thing at the time of getting a Ghostbusters 3. Usually a script on Ghostbusters could go 140 pages of script. This game goes over 300. When this game was originally introduced I was very much excited for it: But to have that chance that relive my childhood, this game has a solid storyline backing it, and the greatest gift would be to have those original voices back the characters. As true fans, we wouldn't want anything else. It should be noted with this great game comes a remastered version. Hey, group behind the remaster try to make it 4K ready. Minor improvements on the multiplayer, after that good to go!

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.

Hi, I'm from the 80s and I have played Ghostbusters games before.... none I really enjoyed to be totally honest.

This one I liked. I really didn't want to be "The New Guy" character the saves the day because that always felt a bit Mary Sue for movie based video games. I was sort of hoping to be Winston, at least, since he was the new guy in the first film. Or, switch off between the four.

I got the Mary Sue instead and... a little disappointing. But some of the expressions on his face are pretty priceless. So it was cool that they took the time to convey a sense of humor through facial expressions.

The story is pretty good, and the gameplay, well, don't play it on casual, there is ZERO challenge... and my wife is the gamer of the two of us. So, I figured if she was playing the medium level I should go down to a handicapped level.

And then we both upped it to the maximum difficulty because, the game is a bit too easy otherwise, and you end up just playing out the story.

But, once you find that happy OK this is a bit of a challenge setting (the most difficult one they offer) the game becomes a lot of fun. You really get the feeling that you are a Ghostbuster, and that you are hanging out with them. And really, that is all I wanted out of this.

I've been a fan of ghost busters since i was a kid. i saw the movies, watched the cartoon, i was even a ghost buster for halloween when i was 8 years old.

well i was looking through game demo's on xbox live and saw that there was a Ghost Busters video game. so i downloaded the demo and played it. at first i wasn't too impressed. catching the ghosts were fun and awesome but i felt the demo showed it as more of a puzzle game. well 2 years past since then and i was in the store looking for a cheap game to entertain me and i saw it on the shelf and it was pretty cheap. so i decided oh well i guess ill get it. it will entertain me for a while.

while playing it i actually got into it. the characters were just as i remembered. especially Bill Murray's character. and i got really excited to fight the Stay Puft marshmallow man lol.

well yea it is sort of a puzzle game and it seems even more ridiculous than the ghost busters movies but you got to remember Ghost Busters is not supposed to be a horror movie or game. its supposed to be a comedy and this team of misfits just gets into this kind of trouble while investigating and catching the paranormal.