If there’s something strange, in your neighbourhood, who ya gonna call?

Well, if you’re under 30, probably the police, but for those older than three decades it’d have to be the GHOSTBUSTERS. Twenty-five years ago cinemas were spooked by the arrival of three men, their vacuum cleaner-like weapons and a host of ghouls including a rather large man made out of marshmallows.

And now they’re all back, this time in virtual form, in an exclusive PlayStation 3 title that ticks pretty much every entertainment adventure box.

We got the Talent

What makes this game so special, against many other lame movie tie-ins, is that the authenticity is second-to-none. Comedians Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Akroyd and Ernie Hudson all lend voices to their respective characters from the films and Akroyd and Ramis wrote the script.

They treated it like creating the final part in a big screen trilogy, setting the action in 1991, two years after Ghostbusters II. New York is once again in the grip of ghosts with residents being scared out of their wits by a series of spooks which need capturing – by YOU! As the newbie on the team, you’ll need to learn how to fire beams of light from your proton backpack to lock onto the ghouls, before dragging them into traps thrown along the floor.

It takes a fair amount of skill to hold them amid the light, especially during times when the screen is filled with critters and flying objects. Each ghost is vulnerable to a certain type of beam from your pack so pay attention.

And while firing gooey slime at some of the others might seem childish, honestly, it never gets boring.

We're exterminators. Someone saw a cockroach up on twelve

However, not every apparition needs trapping; many must be blasted to bits, which is just as enthralling. All the while you have to scan them to see who deserves what treatment, creating a complete list of the ghosts with background information on each one.

Essentially this is a third-person shooter, played with your back to camera, and the presentation is very clever. All the info you need, from health stats to weapon in use, is displayed on the rear of the Proton Pack so you can see it at a glance. As this was designed to feel like a movie, you can tell a lot of care has been taken over the graphics and script. The likenesses of the four main men are excellent, the environments have an air of mystery and suspense around them and there are plenty of gags to make you laugh along the way.

I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"?

One downside is you are restricted by the linear story that has set missions to complete and won’t let you veer off of them. Massive open arenas would have given Ghostbusters some GTA-style gameplay, taking it to another level of difficulty. Sometimes it can be a little easy and occasionally difficulty arises through quirks in the production like bad camera angles which prevent you from seeing exactly where you’re shooting. The other Ghostbusters are used primarily to create atmosphere and comedy. They help bring down hard-to-fight spooks and revive you if your health drops.

Crucially, this works well as a standalone adventure for anyone who has never even seen the movies. The ideas, story and weapons are different enough from anything you’ll have played before. But for those adults who saw the films when they first came out, or teenagers who’ve caught up on the DVDs, the experience is a satisfying mix of nostalgia and pleasure.

Ghostbusters, what do you want?

There are nods to the two big screen adventures, you can mess around in their Firehouse office and Murray’s character Peter Venkman even gets some romance in the shape of a lovely lady voiced by Charmed star Alyssa Milano.

Once you’ve played it though there aren’t many reasons to replay the story, although the multiplayer battles more than make up for that. If this is the end of the Ghostbusters story then that’d be a real shame. The makers have played safe with this version but another gaming spin-off could really push next-generation boundaries. Until then, this will keep your spirits up when stuck indoors on a rainy summer’s day.

GAME's Verdict

• Brilliant Script
• The overwhelming nostalgia
• Feels great to bust some ghosts.

• No real replay value.
• Online Campaign was a wasted opportunity.

Review by: Jonathan Weinberg
Version Tested: PlayStation 3
Review Published: 25.06.09

Who ya gonna call?

Ghostbusters isn’t just a film … it isn’t just a cartoon series … it’s a cultural phenomenon with one of the most memorable lines in movie history. Which makes it all the more incredible that fans have been kept waiting for a follow-up to Ghostbusters II for twenty long years.

The good news is that as Ghostbusters gears up to celebrate its 25th birthday, Atari have picked up the rights for the Ghostbusters video game. Set two years after the events of the second film Ghostbusters is, in some ways, the sequel fans have been waiting for.

Everything feels Ghostbusters authentic

Not only has the original scripting team come back to write the story, but the original actors have dusted off their Proton Packs and resurrected their Ghostbusters roles in order to bring the video game to life. Lets face it wouldn’t be the same without Bill Murray delivering the punch line.

So twenty years after Venkman and Co last got slimed, what’s changed for the Ghostbusters? Well, not much actually. Now recognised as a legitimate business, the Ghostbusters are expanding their business and are looking for recruits. That’s where you come in. Players take the role of a rookie, fresh on the team and eager to bust some ghosts.

Welcome to spook central

As the recruit you are using experimental Proton Pack upgrades developed by Egon and Ray. One of the upgrades is the Shot Blast, which is the Proton Pack equivalent of a shotgun blast used to wear down ghosts and destroy the scenery (we’ll get on to the destruction in a moment). Another new trick is slamming the ghosts to really weaken them, which sounded a little odd at first but as it turned out was incredibly fun.

As you would expect when you’re carrying around a device that could potentially level an entire city, you’re going to damage a few bits and pieces along the way; it happened in the films. This has not been overlooked by the developer, as the environments do have elements of destruction. Walls can be burnt, tiles will shatter and glass will explode in a rather cool rippled effect.

Not only can the environments be damaged, but so too can the contents of the environment. Chairs, tables, books, lighting …they’re all at the mercy of your Proton Pack. In fact, destroying your environment is part of your strategy. Seeing as the ghosts can pick things up and throw them at you, it makes sense to destroy any potential missiles before they get chucked in your direction.

The ghosts don’t just throw objects at you. Ghostbusters features a physics engine called Golem Tech. This engine allows the ghosts to build bodies out of the debris, so they have a physical body to attack you with. As the body moves around you can see the individual pieces that have formed the paranormal body.

Ghostbusters the video game also reunites you with other Ghostbusters characters; some welcome some not-so-welcome. The welcome additions are Janine the secretary, Slimer and of course the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The not-so-welcome include Walter Peck the environmental agency man who caused more problems then he resolved in the films.

Although you are playing the role of a Ghostbuster, your character doesn’t actually speak, which is a relief. You are able to focus on the game while the other characters interact (and entertain) just as they would in the films. So essentially you are a fly (complete with Proton Pack) on the wall.

The readings I'm getting on this are off the charts

Some feared that Ghostbusters would fall into the bad game adaptation based on good film trap. But as the Ghostbusters video game isn’t actually based on the film (it’s more of a third chapter) it seems to have escaped that tag.

Scripted by the original writers, voiced by the original cast and developed by fans of the films, Ghostbusters the video game is a worthy third instalment. With so many staunch fans of the Ghostbusters movies, it could all have gone horribly wrong for Atari. Instead, they can hold their Proton Packs high and proudly say: We came. We saw. We kicked its ass.

Preview by: Tom "Proton-Packing" Daly
Preview Published: 19.03.09