Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Few video games are based on a movie that’s over 25 years old, but that’s no bad thing when the movie in question is Ghostbusters, one of the most iconic films of the 1980s, and the game reunites all the key cast members from the movie.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a completely new episode of supernatural tomfoolery, set a couple of years after the events of Ghostbusters II.

The voiceovers are all provided by the film’s original actors: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson, and as with the films, the humorous script is penned by Akroyd and Ramis.

Unfortunately you can’t play as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz or Egon Spengler. Instead, the game sees you assuming the role of a new rookie Ghostbuster, just as another paranormal threat hits New York City. The plot involves the re-awakening of Gozer, the malevolent entity from the first movie, which is how the game manages to bring some familiar situations, environments and bad guys from the films, such as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, during the early levels.

Ghostbusters is essentially a third-person shooter with a slight twist; all the shooting involves using the famous proton pack, with a variety of different modes and as expected, the streams mustn’t be crossed. The game’s control system is easy to pick up, but those used to the pinpoint accuracy of most modern shooters will find wielding weapons like the Blast Stream and Slime Blower fairly clunky in comparison. This is the point of the game, though, and as with the movies, the best situations in Ghostbusters are the most chaotic and silly.

As a game, Ghostbusters is far from perfect. In addition to zapping ghosts as part of the plot, you also have to deal with the game’s irritating gremlins that pop up now and again to spoil the fun. For example, characters occasionally seem to get ‘stuck’ for no apparent reason. The game’s visuals are also inconsistent, with some noticeably bland textures.

However, Ghostbusters is witty, fun and captures the spirit of the films well, and that in itself is worth the admission price.

PEGI age rating: 12+