Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Ghosts in the Big Apple

We Be Fast

Let me just say this right off the bat, anyone who was going to buy Ghostbusters already bought it. This review is simply for the Gamers still unsure of making the leap to this game. If you are one of those people who are still unsure if you should make the purchase, read on, and put aside about $60.

First things first. No, Ghostbusters the Video Game is not as good as the movies. I am a self proclaimed Ghostbusters fan. I even loved the second movie almost as much as the first, so I do consider myself somewhat of a fanatic. That being said, you should put your expectations in check right away, because this game is not going to be the coveted 3rd movie of the series. What this game is, essentially, is a half retelling, half new adventure.

All the old crew is back, as I am sure you already know. And thankfully, each one puts forth some great voice acting. Everyone sound almost exactly like they did 25 years ago in the first film. Special credit needs to be given to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, who really sunk back in to their characters and gave it everything they had. Even the music, which was pulled directly from the first film, will bring shutters to your spine as you fight countless ghouls while Dr. Raymond Stantz is screaming in your ear.

The Graphics are a bit of a mixed bag, but they certainly get the job done. Cutscenes often look stiff and badly compressed. The voices are also out of sync, and this can be a bit annoying. However, the in-game graphics are where this really shines. Everything has been designed and textured with love, and it shows. The Developers smartly never make you stay in one place for too long. You are always on the move and the environments are always changing, which really helps build the games scale. The combat does end up getting a bit repetitive toward the end of the adventure, though.

If you are lucky enough to have a few buddy's who also own the game, you can hop online and bust some ghosts with friends. I can not stress enough how fun this is, since there is nothing quite like it currently available. I never experienced any lag, though I did find I got booted from some games because of faulty programming.

The bottom line is this. Although this game does not compare to the original movies, it still managed to live up to expectations. Everything from the Voice acting, to the script, to the music, to the Environments do an excellent job of capturing most of the magic that made the films so great. There are some drawbacks, like your teammates insistence on always dying, and a severely out of whack difficulty scale. But none of this manages to take away from what is, essentially, a fantastic Adventure with our Favorite group of Ghostbusters. Do not hesitate anymore, I promise you will not regret it.