Tuesday August 11, 2009
Who ya gonna call?
Grab your proton packs because we’re taking the Ecto-1 for a ride into Ghostbusters: The Videogame.
VIEW FROM THE BACK: You might think they're just pretty lights, but the lights on your proton pack indicate how much heat your weapons are packing and how much health you have left. IS THERE something strange in your neighbourhood? Is there something weird and it don’t look good? Well then... who ya gonna call?
That’s right, one of the most popular and beloved franchises from the Eighties is back! The Ghostbusters make a return to our screens — albeit not as a film, but as an action game/third-person shooter.
Ghostbusters: The Videogame features pretty much everything that made the original two movies so fun and memorable, including the original cast and the comedic dialogue. Heck, this game makes you feel like you’re starring in a third Ghostbusters movie!
Party like it’s 1991
Ghostbusters: The Videogame takes place in 1991. It’s been two years since the Ghostbusters slimed Vigo into oblivion and seven years since Gozer the Gozerian got (deliciously) roasted. The Ghostbusters are doing good business in these peaceful times, but a mysterious psychic shockwave soon throws New York into spectral chaos.
GHOSTS IN THE CITY: You battle it out with spirits in real-world New York City locations. You play an unnamed rookie who’s only recently been recruited into the Ghostbusters. Together with the original crew — Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) — you’ve got to put a stop to these spooks before things really get out of hand.
Fun with nuclear accelerators
From start to finish, the game plays as a third-person shooter. Sorry, there are no vehicle driving missions, so don’t get your hopes up about going all GTA in the Ecto-1.
As a Ghostbuster, you get access to the series’ signature proton pack and its beam o’ destruction. (Hooray for unlicensed nuclear accelerators!) The proton stream will be your primary weapon for blasting ghosts, but you’ll unlock more as the game progresses. These include the shock blast (shotgun), the overload pulse (gatling gun) and the slime tether, which has the fun little effect of sticking to two objects and then pulling them together.
However, some ghosts just don’t know when to die, (wait, isn’t that by definition what a ghost is?) and you can’t just blast them into pieces. When you run into these kind of ghosts, the fun begins. You’ll first have to weaken them with your weapons and then use a capture beam to wrangle them into a deployed ghost trap.
Ever tried to desperately wrangle a struggling ghost into a trap, in the middle of a firefight, while its many friends try to kill you? You should, it’s good fun.
PEW PEW PEW: Some ghosts just don't know when to stay dead, so once you've knocked them around a little you've got to capture them in ghost traps. Don’t get too crazy with firing your weapons, though. The collateral damage you cause to the delightfully destructible environments might be covered by the city’s insurance policy, but you risk overheating your proton pack if you don’t vent it (i.e., reload your weapon) often enough.
Interestingly, the third-person view lends to an interesting design choice — there’s no HUD in the game. Everything you need to know — from your current heat level to your remaining health (don’t worry, it regenerates slowly) — is displayed on your proton pack itself.
The only time you ever go into a first-person view is when you take out your PKE meter to scan for ghosts or artefacts (secret bonus items).
Aside from the entertaining information gleaned from scanning ghosts and uncovering artefacts, these activities also add to your funds. Bust enough ghosts and discover enough secrets, and you’ll eventually earn enough cash to upgrade your equipment.
We be fast, they be slow
Being a Ghostbuster is all about teamwork. As you stop spooks around New York City, you’ll be glad to have the original crew — Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston — at your side. And it’s not just because they provide hilarious dialogue exchanges and witty comments as you stare death (and undeath) in the eye, either.
You get into some really frantic fights, and that’s when you’ll appreciate having teammates to provide you with cover fire as you attempt to trap ghosts. And if you get knocked out, you’ll have to rely on them to revive you — so that’s one more reason to make sure they stay alive.
I FEEL SO FUNKY: Getting knocked out will be a pretty common occurence, especially in the later fights. Fortunately, Ghostbusters can always help revive each other. Your teammates’ independent AIs are pretty skilled, and it really feels like you’re playing as a team instead of simply babysitting NPCs.
On the other hand, if you’re in one of those sections where you’re forced to go solo... well, just be prepared to restart at checkpoints frequently. After all, you’re the new guy, so you get the dubious honour of going first into any dangerous situation. I hope you have a good life (and afterlife) insurance policy!
Spirited sequel
If you have no inkling as to the movie references I’ve been making, then whoah. You may want to step back from this title until you’ve watched the films. Ghostbusters: The Videogame was created with the franchise fans in mind. (Also, might I ask which planet you’re from? Everyone on Earth knows about the Ghostbusters, dang it.)
GOZERLICIOUS: He's big, he's mean and he's delicious. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man makes a series comeback, but with your proton pack you're going to make sure this is a farewell tour. The game is literally filled with elements of the past movies, including a boss fight with the iconic Stay Puft Marshmallow man and a Slimer-hunting mission at good ol’ Hotel Sedgewick. Sure, there are new ghosts, new locales and an all-new plot to keep things fresh, but for the fans, the game’s like a trip down memory lane. Conversely, for the uninitiated, a lot of the plot, the dialogue and the setting is going to be lost on them.
And that would be a problem too, since the plot, the dialogue and the setting are the main attractions of the game. Strip it of these elements and you’re going to get just another shooter game. (This is particularly noticeable near the end, where there’s less emphasis on trapping ghosts than just destroying them outright.)
Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis and Hudson get into their roles so well that you almost forget that it’s been nearly two decades since the last film was released. Oh, Aykroyd and Ramis had a hand in writing the game too, which might explain why the comedic script is among the best I’ve seen in any game.
IT'S SLIMER: If you're a bustin' fan, you're going to be happy to see some familiar faces. That said, while you're wielding that proton pack, those familiar faces will not be happy to see YOU. The only thing that bothered me about the story was that, towards the finale, it lost a bit of its steam. Still, the thrill of the ride was enough to make me want to see the game to its finish.
Crossing the streams
Alas! The PS3 offering does not offer co-operative gameplay, which comes as a blow to me. I was gleefully hoping that Ghostbusters’ multiplayer segement would allow me to journey through the campaign with a (human) friend by my side — perhaps crossing our streams just to see if it would implode the TV — but such adventures were not meant to be.
Instead, the multiplayer component of the game puts you in online matches, where up to four ghostbusters must work with or compete against each other in a variety of game modes. It’s pretty much the standard FPS multiplayer offering with a ghostbusting twist, such as a survival/endurance mode against waves of ghosts.
The multiplayer is an enjoyable distraction, but it’s not the main reason you’d want to buy this game.
Conclusion
As I’m typing this review, I can look back and think, “huh, the gameplay was fairly linear, and while it was fun, it wasn’t particularly innovative.”
MEET RAY STANZ: The game does a great job at capturing the likeness of our favourite characters. But that thought never actually occurred to me when I was actually playing the game.
When the PS3 controller was in my hands, I wasn’t a game reviewer. I was a co-star in a Ghostbusters film, kicking spectral butt alongside the original Ghostbusters crew, and it was awesome.
If you loved the movies, then you owe it to yourself to start up your Ecto-1 (or whatever the Malaysian equivalent is — the Proton Hantu?), drive to the nearest store and get yourself a copy of Ghostbusters: The Videogame.
Believe me, bustin’ is gonna make you feel good.
Pros: It’s like co-starring in a third Ghostbusters movie with the actual cast; the game’s a treat for any Ghostbusters fan.
Cons: Can’t say much about the replay value; the game loses a bit of momentum towards the end.
GHOSTBUSTERS: THE VIDEOGAME
Action game for the PlayStation3, PC, Xbox360 (also available on PS2, Wii, PSP and NDS)
(Terminal Reality/Threewave Software)
Website:
www.ghostbustersgame.com
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