UPDATE:

Hit us with a comment below, and enter to win one of 10 Prima Strategy Guides for Ghostbusters: The Game, courtesy of the publisher!

This Review is SPOILER and GHOST FREE with a dash of Evil for the 360/ PS3/ and PC Versions.

“No Sense In Worrying About It Now…”

When you fire up Ghostbusters: The Video Game, its hard not to get that same lurch in your stomach that millions had when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace first premiered. Fans have expectations beyond measure when dealing with time-honored franchises and I feel like I have been waiting for this game/movie/hybrid for longer than I care to remember. In fact, many thought Ghostbusters 3  would never happen. Well, I got news for you: It hasn’t. Atari and Terminal Reality’s new release “Ghostbusters: The Video Game.” is more like “Ghostbusters 2.5” because by the end you’ll feel it was entirely too short in length and scope. That’s not to say it doesn’t start with a bang. You are thrust into the world of the Ghostbusters with such panache and excitement I found myself smiling for the first two hours of the game; You almost can’t believe you’re participating in the new supernatural comedy because you’re too busy paying attention to your famous teammates. Unfortunately, that feeling ends later in the game as you become the team medic and whipping boy. But more on that later. Terminal Reality was expected to deliver the game last October, burying the ugly past attempts of Ghostbuster games and creating a memorable, cinematic and playable experience for fans old and new. And then they lost their backing from Vivendi Universal and it seemed all hope was lost, until Atari and Terminal Reality resurrected the franchise. It was this tumultuous development cycle that forced me to pay particular attention the noticeable dips in presentation, level design and story. Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which starts off with a feeling of inexplicable joy and awe, ends with the quiet thud of a smoldering trap hitting the floor. Does that mean it’s not worth a ride in Ecto-1? Absolutely not. In fact, A-list voice work and a nostalgic sense of yearning can do supernatural wonders for a game.

“Fire It Up!!!”

While the multi-million dollar game is being heralded as the 3rd Ghostbusters movie written by Ramis and Aykroyd (including in the opening credits, liner notes and press release), they have both recently acknowledged they didn’t pen the script.  Once you play through the game, you can’t blame them for correcting this accreditation- While the dialog is spot on, the story lacks polish. Regardless, the contributions by the original cast are significant; I can’t remember the last time we had some many comedic legends and A-list co-stars pounding away on a game. And after playing through the entire game, I was pleasantly surprised at how dedicated both Aykroyd and Ramis were to the work. Whereas Murray and Hudson play ancillary parts that weave in and out of the story, Ray and Egon do all the heavy lifting conversation wise. You take on the role of the adorable anonymous character known simply as “The Rookie” aka “The Recruit” aka “Scooter” aka “The New Kid” aka “The Intern.”, etc. Your role as the noob who has experimental equipment strapped to his back is a desirable one, and even your silence is a welcome change seeing as the Ghostbusters are almost constantly talking (except in frustrating instances when you’re wondering what to do next). In fact, there is so many zingers and paragraphs chock full of science and occult, I turned on the subtitles just so I wouldn’t miss an off-camera comment. The only drawback is that the second-tier characters are lost in a flat story line that makes none of them either threatening or compelling. Those responsible for writing Alyssa Milano’s character (Venkman’s “love interest/ surrogate Dana” Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn) and watering down the tyrannical Walter Peck should be held accountable for their sins, along with whoever synced the voices to the mush-mouth animations found in both the in-game cut scenes and fully rendered CG. It can be disconcerting listening to well known actors and watching slow waxy versions of them try to keep up with the dialog. Couple that with NPC zombie moments that occur at awkward moments when you are waiting on them to tell you what to do and you have the makings of a messy game. Especially when too many ghosts get on screen or you turn too quickly- Then you have to deal with the scary ghosts of “Screen Tearing” and “Frame Rate Slowdown.” Fortunately, the good outweighs the bad and the pure delight of hearing Bill Murray channel Venkman next to you or in the Firehouse, albeit seldom, is worth pounding away at all the meanies in the sky.

“Shorten Your Stream!”

Ghostbusters gameplay has its ups and downs, but the Infernal Engine-based shooter eases you in to the game with some jaw-dropping opening levels in some familiar territory from the first film. Between training at the Firehouse and a friendly stop to the ol’ Sedgewick Hotel, Ghostbusters’ first few hours illicit plenty of nostalgia and smiles thanks to some fluid game play and the not-so-trusty experimental proton pack attached to your back. The control scheme is mapped out with nuances of Gears of War having both triggers assigned to each mode of any of the four types of Proton Pack weapons (Blast Stream, Stasis Stream, Slime Blower, and the Meson Collider) and the right bumper as your exhaust (or reload). The D-Pad is your weapon wheel for quick stream switching. There is no cover system, but your running bursts come in handy escaping the relatively lethal, yet patterned attacks of the Ghost World’s mini0ons. By “relatively lethal”, I refer to the fact that Ghostbusters is not a difficult game as a whole. While there is a noticeable difficulty spike midway through, the majority of the game can be completed with ease thanks to the buddy recovery system, which eventually becomes a burdensome crutch of poor AI. By the end of the game, I referred to myself as “Ghostbuster Medic” rather than “The Recruit.”  And seeing as the completion time is well under 10 hours, Terminal Reality was smart to incorporate the ability to return to any level from your career to gather collectibles and unlockables for trophies and achievements, ensuring a second look from fans and enthusiasts who want to collect all the groovy ghostly info for Tobin’s Spirit Guide and the always hilarious Artifacts.

“Well There’s Something You Don’t See Everyday….”

This brings us to another significant gameplay element: The PKE Meter. Nearly half the game is played from a first person perspective as you don the famous goggles found on Ray’s eyes to gather spectral information and find otherwise invisible clues and prizes of the supernatural realm at the touch of a button. Kind of a “night vision”, the PKE goggles and meter confine you into a claustrophobic FPS mode where you attempt to gather the best scan on each ghost and your environment. This has immediate benefits, as every scan results in discovery of the phantasm’s weaknesses and attacks, allowing you to roast them with the proper stream before slamming them into the traps. Most ghosts operate with a certain pattern and colored aura which allow for quick recognition later in the game when the difficulty ramps and you are in the thick of a multitude of otherworldly baddies. Also, your PKE scans result in a hilarious compendium to the game, with most descriptions of the ectoplasmic evildoers being laugh out loud funny. Did I mention the upgrades for your proton pack? Probably not only because the depth of the equipment upgrades was fairly shallow (Though there was a visual change in everyone’s gear once you improve it);  I had everything by stage 5 (out of 7) after accruing a massive amount of money from my aggressive roping and trappings of the astral menaces yet I still had a thirst for more. I felt the pangs of my childhood gaming days, recalling when I would buy upgrades for the Ecto-1 in Activision’s original Ghostbusters game in 1985. Oh yeah, if you have your heart on driving Ecto-1, forget it- The old ghost mobile is as much absent from gameplay as a realistic New York City. There is little resemblance or effort to flesh out the movies’ supporting vehicle and city in any cut scene or level, contributing to much of my disappointment for such a short game. Sure, you walk next to the Ecto-1 several times, but that just doesn’t quite get your neck hairs raised. Its things like those that made me yearn for a Grand Theft Auto-esque level (or even game!) complete with Ecto-1 driving and ghost hunting across a fully rendered NYC. Especially after completing the game and yelling at the my console “That’s it?” Rest assured, the ending has some closure, just it cuts out on such an awkward note that I’d rather focus on the good slime.

“The Choice is Made.”

Ghostbusters: The Video Game has plenty of great moments that gamers will never forget. For one, it delivers the goods when it comes to battling the bad guys and creates some great arcade moments with pattern-based boss fights. While I might have mentioned the relative ease of the game, that isn’t to say you won’t die. In fact, I guarantee you’ll die enough times due to poor AI from your teammates or from a massive swarm of ghouls that you’ll scream in frustration at least once or twice. (NOTE: Pay particular care to the Final 2 big boss fights, in which learning the pattern will get your Contra mode running.) Also, there’s some subtle variations to the art of trapping ghosts; Had I studied the manual or read the achievement list before my run through, I would have realized that you can trap the ghosts with Slime Tethers and freeze rays, offering some challenge and style to your ghostbusting abilities. And then there’s the fact that all of the skills you pick up carry over into a surprising well-made Mulitplayer mode, which creates a career based ranking system that pits you and 3 other online ghostbusters in a myriad of gametypes that are both cooperative and competitive. This is the time to finally get your role playing groove on as any of the other Ghostbusters as you proton blast your way through any of the six job types: Survival (Think “Horde” mode in GOW2), Containment (Hunt down as many ghosts as possible), Destruction (Blow shit up. Everywhere), Protection (Face impossible odds while activating 3 PKE meters), Thief (Stop the burglar ghosts from taking your artifact) and Slime Dunk (Compete to capture Slimer the most times for cash). I wasn’t fond of every game type, but can’t wait for everyone to pony up and play Survival this week.

“Grab Your Stick!”

Terminal Reality has delivered the first worthy Ghostbusters game in 20 years filled with laughs and screams thanks to top notch voice-over work and a sincere effort from the developers. Despite some rather rushed and sub-par execution throughout the middle, it will certainly still please old and new fans from this plane and beyond. A great addition to the franchise overall.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is available on every platform in the known universe.