Ghostbusters the Video Game (2009)
Back around 2007/2008 it was announced that the original cast of Ghostbusters was working on a video game. A video game with a script 3 times the size of a single film and one that would include all the major players with the exception of Sigorney Weaver and Rick Moranis. (Sigorney due to a mix-up, her agent failed to mention who exactly was working on the project and Rick who has been out of the industry since his wife passed.)
As more and more details emerged regarding this new Ghostbusters game my excitement grew. It had been a long while since anyone really took to the property seriously and knowing this was being handled with care was important. In fact, at the time it sounded like everyone involved was much more interested in this than working on a third movie. And to be honest, as far as I was concerned, this was as good as a third movie, if not much better.
I didn't buy it right away, I tried the demo on the Xbox 360, which looked fantastic. But I heard nothing but mediocre reviews from all angles regarding the full release and so I had put this game aside in my mind to purchase one day, but not right away. Then, one Christmas, my buddy Pete picked this up for me as a gift. Which was cool because I was definitely interested in trying it, just never got around to buying it. It didn't take me long to toss this in the tray and when I did, I couldn't believe that I hadn't bought this on launch day. I really should learn not to listen to anyone when it comes to negative reviews. Because of course, I love everything when it comes to games.
In Ghostbusters, they smartly wrote the player's role as a silent one. Not forced silent either, it's perfectly well written. You're the new intern-slash-recruit who ends up with all the dirty jobs and generally someone to dump on. It's not like you don't try to talk, but instead, everytime your pudgy character opens his mouth someone usually cuts him off. He's well animated (as they all are) and therefore shows a lot of character, whether he talks or not. Having the player as a new character who isn't too invasive means that the game can still focus on the original cast and their witty interactions, which come close to equaling the dialog from the early movies.
Story-wise it's pretty great as well. Things get pretty dark at moments and to be honest, the whole thing feels like perhaps they drew from not only the early movies but also the animated series. Which is something I adored since there were some fantastic elements in that show that really opened up the original material.
Graphically the game is great as well. The character models are more than decent and all the surroundings, including New York and the otherworldly dimensions really capture the movies about as good as I could ever imagine. And of course, the Ecto 1, proton packs and PKE meter all look like the movie props, bringing with it all the nostalgia you could hope for.
In the end, as far as I'm concerned, Ghostbusters accomplished exactly what it set out to do. It was brilliantly written, gorgeous and brought back everything I would have wanted to see in a Ghostbusters video game. I'd love to see another game done by the same team, but I know that the work that went in to this game could never be duplicated. On the bright side, the Wii version is actually slightly different. Different enough that I may pick it up sometime to play through it. It's the same story, same writing, but redesigned with much more cartoony, stylized characters reminiscent of the animated series. It also has you playing from a first person view instead of third so you can take advantage of the Wii-Mote as a light-gun. It would definitely be a different experience.
As more and more details emerged regarding this new Ghostbusters game my excitement grew. It had been a long while since anyone really took to the property seriously and knowing this was being handled with care was important. In fact, at the time it sounded like everyone involved was much more interested in this than working on a third movie. And to be honest, as far as I was concerned, this was as good as a third movie, if not much better.
I didn't buy it right away, I tried the demo on the Xbox 360, which looked fantastic. But I heard nothing but mediocre reviews from all angles regarding the full release and so I had put this game aside in my mind to purchase one day, but not right away. Then, one Christmas, my buddy Pete picked this up for me as a gift. Which was cool because I was definitely interested in trying it, just never got around to buying it. It didn't take me long to toss this in the tray and when I did, I couldn't believe that I hadn't bought this on launch day. I really should learn not to listen to anyone when it comes to negative reviews. Because of course, I love everything when it comes to games.
In Ghostbusters, they smartly wrote the player's role as a silent one. Not forced silent either, it's perfectly well written. You're the new intern-slash-recruit who ends up with all the dirty jobs and generally someone to dump on. It's not like you don't try to talk, but instead, everytime your pudgy character opens his mouth someone usually cuts him off. He's well animated (as they all are) and therefore shows a lot of character, whether he talks or not. Having the player as a new character who isn't too invasive means that the game can still focus on the original cast and their witty interactions, which come close to equaling the dialog from the early movies.
Story-wise it's pretty great as well. Things get pretty dark at moments and to be honest, the whole thing feels like perhaps they drew from not only the early movies but also the animated series. Which is something I adored since there were some fantastic elements in that show that really opened up the original material.
Graphically the game is great as well. The character models are more than decent and all the surroundings, including New York and the otherworldly dimensions really capture the movies about as good as I could ever imagine. And of course, the Ecto 1, proton packs and PKE meter all look like the movie props, bringing with it all the nostalgia you could hope for.
In the end, as far as I'm concerned, Ghostbusters accomplished exactly what it set out to do. It was brilliantly written, gorgeous and brought back everything I would have wanted to see in a Ghostbusters video game. I'd love to see another game done by the same team, but I know that the work that went in to this game could never be duplicated. On the bright side, the Wii version is actually slightly different. Different enough that I may pick it up sometime to play through it. It's the same story, same writing, but redesigned with much more cartoony, stylized characters reminiscent of the animated series. It also has you playing from a first person view instead of third so you can take advantage of the Wii-Mote as a light-gun. It would definitely be a different experience.
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