Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a title that is a long time coming. Past Ghostbusters games have been ungodly horrible, and it’s about time the franchise got a face lift.

It is meant to be the long-lost final installment of the Ghostbusters movie trilogy which began more than 20 years ago. With an all-star cast of voice talent and none other than Dan Akryod himself working on the story, there is only one doubt cast: Does the game live up to the expectations of the die-hard fans and seasoned gamers?

As a member of both parties, I invite you to join me on my quest of ghost-wrangling and experimental science to find the answer.

The best interactive movie since Final Destination 3

It is said that the Ghostbusters game was originally written as the final part in the Ghostbusters movie “trilogy.” If you play through any level (besides training) this becomes painfully clear. The story progression and gameplay are almost completely disconnected. The level will start off with a cutscene explaining some part of the story which will lead you to your next destination. Then, you arrive at said destination and fight your way past ghosts to the end of the level. When you reach the end of the level, you will get another cutscene where you obtain some new information that leads you to a new location.  Sometimes there are extra cut scenes in the middle of the level, but the general format seems to be action/gameplay and cutscene/story.

While I’m sure there are other games guilty of this same crime, in Ghostbusters it’s downright sad. The plot itself is actually very well-written, and fits in perfectly with the tone and overall Ghostbusters “universe.” However, this separation of gameplay and plot prevents the player from really connecting to the plot. At times it was difficult to remember why I was chasing down the Grey Lady, or fighting my way through the Civil War museum exhibit.

This also makes it diffucult to relate to the characters. In a sense, the game accomplishes your place well: you are the new guy, an outsider to the group. But by the end of the game, you won’t feel like you’re a real part of the team. There are no events in the game that reveal anything new or personable about the familiar characters. There are very few parts of the game where teamwork is required, and the areas were team work is optional just left you scrambling to revive your teammates so often that it felt a little hectic.

The overall feeling you get from playing the game is that you just watched many small bits of a movie that you had to earn by capturing ghosts. You end up feeling more like a spectator than a participant, and the game does suffer a bit for it.

Online campaign mode IS A TRAP!

One of the things I was most excited about for this game was online co-op. What could be cooler than running around each level with your own team of Ghostbusting friends, saving New York City from certain paranormal doom? I was completely psyched to try it out.

So imagine my surprise when I found out that the “Career” mode in single player is not playable online. The campaign mode included is more like a series of tasks in the form of minigames such as “survive nine waves of ghost attacks” and “protect this spot from ghosts.” While this is still fun to play with friends, it’s still a bit disappointing that career mode cannot be played co-op. It would have been nice to go through the game with human players instead of A.I. who generally give you as little help as possible.

You may need an offroad vehicle for the difficulty curve

The difficulty curve is more like a bit of lumpy terrain, then a brick wall, then a bit of lumpier terrain. The majority of the game plays fairly easily, with boss battles offering a good amount of challenge to pick up some of the slack. You won’t find yourself dying very often if you an experience gamer of any sort playing on the “normal” difficulty.

However, in the graveyard level of the game you will find yourself smashing headfirst into a brick wall. There is a point where a few stone angels come to life and attack you repeatedly, and you need to sling them into the gate hinges to exit the area. This part took me (and a few others I spoke to) close to an hour to complete. It is stupidly difficult to get past for no real reason.

A few other points worth mentioning:

• The first hour or so of the game tries to cram in as many locations and characters from the two movies as possible. While this is happening, the plot is lost and the whole feel is a bit tacky.
• The controls could use a little tweaking. Ghosts can be moved with the proton beam up, down, left and right, but not forward or backward which can be the cause of some frustration.
• Weird glitch: There was an area where I had two team members with me and one was on a floor above us. We needed to clear the room of ghosts then take an elevator to reach him. Once the area was clear, one of the other Ghostbusters stationed himself on the complete opposite side of the room and would not get on the elevator. I had to re-do the entire process of clearing the room out.
• The control system is a bit unorthodox and takes a little while to get used to.
• The game is not very long. Frustrating flaming angel area aside, you could probably finish the game in 2-3 sessions, making it feel more like a $40 game than a $60 game.

The story, though somewhat disconnected, feels perfectly in tune with the Ghostbusters movies. While it has a few small annoyances here and there, the levels are well crafted and there is a much appreciated attention to detail.

You should play this game if’¦

… you’re a fan of the Ghosbusters franchise, and are looking for an good action/shooter game.

Final Score
Overall a solid game, if a little short for the price.

(What does this score mean?)

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