Winston's corner....interrupted.
It’s safe to say many of us have waited a long time to get slimed again. In fact, many of us thought it would never happen on celluloid, let alone in a summer blockbuster game. But the marvels of technology that allow Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis to shed both 20 years and 75 lbs must have been a great negotiator when they signed on for Atari and Terminal Reality’s upcoming “Ghostbusters: The Video Game.” So what’s the real deal behind the tenth attempt to bring salivating fans a solid Ghostbusters experience?
For children of the 80’s who have dreaded pixelated incarnations of Ray, Peter, Egon and Winston since Activision’s 1984 video game ectoplasm, Terminal Reality is hoping to deliver the trap to the station on this one, burying the past and creating a memorable cinematic and playable experience for fans old and new. If you didn’t know already, “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” is voiced by the original actors, including the ever elusive Bill Murray, who hasn’t worked with Ramis since “Groundhog Day” due to artistic differences. The ability of today’s video games to portray the characters as they are so fondly remembered was reason alone for the actors to switch mediums, not to mention the fact that fans can finally immerse ourselves in the terror-stricken (and gorgeously rendered) NYC that the Ghostbusters try so hard to protect one proton stream at a time. While Ghostbusters is being heralded as the 3rd Ghostbusters movie written by Ramis and Aykroyd, they have both recently acknowledged the truth is that no one could pay them enough to write a 250 page script to match the magnitude of the feature films; They only broke down the vernacular of the Terminal Reality’s script to better fit the personas movie-lovers have quoted for 25 years. For all of us that wished we were Peter Venkman laying phantasms to waste and going home to a heavily permed Sigourney Weaver, we have some bad news: Both Rick Moranis and Sigourney passed on lending their likenesses. That’s not to say Ghostbusters: The Video Game won’t pack both the laughs and screams. With the return of characters like the lecherous Walter Peck, nasal voiced secretary Janine Melnintz and introductions of new ones like Alyssa Milano’s Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn not to mention a cast of thousands of ghouls, specters, malevolent slimers and phantasms, Ghostbusters: The VG is blurring the line between games and movies. So which star do we get to play?
The answer: None. Instead of playing as one of the wise-cracking, jumpsuit-loving original four Ghostbusters, you take on the role of the adorable anonymous character known simply as “The Rookie”. Despite fan protests to employ customizable characterization, the sole playable character (as of this post) is a mid twenty-something white male. That’s not to say it wont be anything but fun. Instead of propelling the Ghostbusters into today’s age, the game occurs during the week of Thanksgiving in 1991, two years after the events in Ghostbusters II. The local museum is preparing to unveil its new “Gozer” (uh-oh) exhibit and the team is summoned to examine it before the gala. Touted as “Gears of War Lite”, Ghostbusters is all about getting into the action. There is no cover system, but plan on seeing the “rumble run” make another appearance in this Infernal Engine based actioner. And should you choose to employ a virtual proton pack with the Wii version, expect a serious art change (The Wii version is being handeld by Red Fly Studios). The lifelike features will be replaced with a kid-friendly (read: simpler graphics) cartoon style of the actors, causing older fans to reminisce about ABC’s “The Real Ghostbusters” while laying waste to pesky astral pranksters. And being a Ghostbusters game, its all about the ghosts. As of press time, the lid has been kept shut pretty tight. We know that many familiar faces from the first two films will be serving as mid-level bosses and cameos, but we are biting our fingernails to discover who the real trouble maker is when New York is once overridden with the dead. Thanks to the demo and several industry leaks, we can confirm that Vigo, Slimer the library ghost, Gozer, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man all make an appearance. But until we get our hands on the review copy, we will just have to sit and wait, wondering what Ramis, Aykroyd and Terminal Reality have brewed up in their kettle of scary hilarity.
Slimer's taste always trumped his looks...
Ghostbusters: The Video Game releases on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Nintendo DS in North America on June 16th, 2009 and June 19 in Europe. (Sony has announced they are publishing the PS2 and PS3 versions in Europe granting the Sony consoles a timed exclusive release, while Atari will publish the game for other consoles later in the year.)
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