Terminal Reality, that’s who because, after teetering on the precipice of disaster amidst the chaos of the Vivendi and Activision merger, they still managed to pump out possibly the best videogame adaptation of any IP in all of gamedom.
I just got done finishing the game last night about 4 a.m. and though it was very tight, and about the right length, I was still sad to be done with it in just under 10 hours. As good as the game controls, as much fun as it is to wrangle hordes of ghoulies and blast golems, the game would not be as good without the close tutelage and script writing of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, not to mention the complete voice cast of Ramis, Akyroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Bill Atherton. Aykroyd himself has said that he intended the videogame to act as the third movie. And it really feels that way. The banter between the Busters is music to the ears, especially to a kid like me who wore out the VHS of the first movie to the point of melting. Venkman’s soaking sarcasm, Stantz’s giddy wonder for the supernatural, Spengler’s monotone scientific foreboding and Zeddemore’s wry street smarts are all there. This dialogue could only be written by the original scribes and only justly performed by the original actors.
As always when I play a game, right outta the gate I started thinking about different gameplay elements the developers could’ve done or different directions they could’ve taken. Honestly, the IP is perfect for sandbox style. Taking calls all around the city, jumping in the Ecto-1 and hauling ass around NYC while the whole Ghostbuster crew cuts it up, taking the core missions as you please would’ve been sweet. I could sit here all day and spew out ideas that would’ve been cool to have in the game, but what’s different about this title is that my ideas wouldn’t have necessarily made the game better. If Ghostbusters the Videogame wasn’t a linear level-based affair, it probably wouldn’t feel right. It would likely feel more of an interpretation instead of a faithful progression of the series. It’s quite brilliant in the later part of the game how missions that start out in, say, the Sedgewick Hotel, end up warping you to an inter-dimensional catacomb ruled by a Spider Queen or the Museum of Natural History contains hidden stairwells to eerie catacombs and graveyards. Part of the charm of the game is the close-to-zero down time, the only breathers in the form of touring the firehouse, checking out where all the relics found in each mission are placed, talking to Viggo the Carpathian who’s hanging out in the basement or overhearing Janine’s phone conversations at the front desk.
Though it’s hard not to focus on the presentation of Ghostbusters, the gameplay is top-notch. Once you get past the slight learning curve of trapping a ghost, it’s all peaches from there. Terminal Reality made a wise decision to include, in addition to traditional ghosts that require laying down the trap to capture, physical manifestations of ghosts that simply require you to blast until their health bar diminishes. This changes it up nicely because I can’t help but think, even though trapping is fun, it could have easily become redundant, especially to gamers who aren’t that in to Ghostbusters in the first place. Using the PKE Meter was a cool addition, though it’s uses were negligible at times, other than finding secret doors and relics. One of the biggest flaws of the game is undoubtedly the health system. Think Gears of War. All-in-all a good model to follow, but through more of the hectic battles you and your teammates will go down dozens of times. In boss battles you’ll be reviving your teammates every couple 10 seconds. Also, more often than not the sides of the screen will be red with damage indicators making it seem like your always about to die.
But, few games are perfect. Ghostbusters is a near perfect adaptation, though. If you have any love for the film, this game is a must-play. And if you don’t play games, go to someone’s house and watch it be played. It’s that entertaining. From what I heard the game sold very well, but I don’t know if we’ll see another one, especially with the rumors of a new movie in the works. I would love to see a sequel to this game, but even though they pulled it off this time around, I can’t see it being as easy a second time getting the entire cast back together. And if they can’t do that, than they just need to lay it to rest.
