Ghostbusters

[Jimboxy]

Been playing this all weekend (PS3 version) and i've got to say, impressions are very very good. Firstly i should state for those that don't know, I'm a massive fan of Ghostbusters, they we're my favourite movies and cartoon when growing up, i had all the toys, so basically i've been waiting over 20 years for this game. Needless to say, all the way through production i had mixed feelings about it, and this trepidation stayed with me up until sliding the disc in for the first time.

After a lengthy install, you are greeted with a big hi res ghostbusters logo, you press enter and see the Ghostbusters HQ with all your various options, with the original GB music in the background (not THAT music, the other music from the film). It is obvious from the very start that a lot of love and attention to detail has gone into this, to make it the most authentic Ghostbusters experience possible.

Loading up the single player for the first time, you get some FMV which feels like an opening to the movie. Gozer is back, and he means business, and then THAT song kicks in. I had a smile that streched from ear to ear.

The first part of the game retreads key scenes from the original movie, that have been reworked into the story (pretty effectively i might add) I won't spoil too much, but if you are a fan of the first film, you'll have a blast.

The game feels like the movies, it has all the sound effects, music, the majority of the original cast (only notable absences are sigourney weaver and rick moranis) and the voice acting on the whole is top notch. Visually it looks great as well, not the best looking game of this generation but it certainly holds up well. The backpacks, beams and traps looks very good, with great use of lighting and particle effects.

I won't spoil the story too much, it is a continuation from the first film, but set after the second. Apart from a few references it doesn't really mention the second movie. The script writing is great, you can tell that it is written by akroyd & ramis, and all the dialog is excellently delivered by the original cast. The characters all have the right mannerisms as well, Venkman is sarcastic, and strolls along casually, Egon is skitish, Ray is enthusiastic about everything, Winston is cynical.

The game play is typical third person run,gun,cover that is so popular at the moment, it controls well. Your character feels like he has sufficient weight behind him when he is running and shooting. The shooting mechanic is handled very well, everything feels like its in the right place. Each gun has a main and secondary fire, although the classic beam is the one that gets used most. Catching the ghosts is particularly satisfying. YOu have to lay down your trap, zapp your enemy long enough to deplete his health, then "wrangle" him in, your beams will automatically wrap around him, then you can bash him around and pull him over to the trap. Once over the trap you have to guide him, the further into the game you progress the more twitchy the ghouls get.

However, as fun as the game is, it isn't perfect. It does feel a little linear and guided through. It doesn't allow you to stray off anywhere, and the goals are some times a bit generic and similar. There are four different types of weapon, classic beam, slime, a slow down ray and a proton machine gun. The one you'll use most the time is the classic beam. The slow down gun slows enemies down but doesn't do damage, the slime gun is used on "Black Slime" basically to open doors. The proton machine gun is handy, but can't be used to wrangle enemies so you have to revert to the classic beam anyway. The AI of you team isn't to great either. In some battles, especially boss battles, you will spend half your time fighting and half resuscitating the rest of the gang, also they don't seem to trap ghosts, they leave that to you.

I've not finished it yet, been playing for approx 6 hours and it feels like i'm nearing the end. Feels about the right length really. Because of the linearity of the games, if it was much longer, it would feel a little drawn out.

I would say if your a Ghostbusters fan, you have to get this game, its the game you have been waiting for since the 80's. If you like games like Gears of War, then you will enjoy it as well, it just isn't as polished as similar games of this genre.

[stoobie]

I'm going to get this when I get back from my hols. All the games that I have bought recently have been huge 40 hour epic type games and I need something a little more lightweight and this sounds perfect.

Im not as much of a fan as you - but I did love both the films back in the day and all reports I hear about the game are good. Hopefully it might come down in price a bit as well

[retroed]

Awesome write up there, Jimbo. I definitely want it, but I want it on 360 out of principle and apparent superiority. I should have got an order in on eBay when they were cheap. Now they're £45+ and not shipping until early July.

[Dunkster]

I'm afraid mines been traded in after less than a week of ownership - I couldn't even be bothered to finish it. I think I've been so spoilt recently with the open playgrounds of Infamous & Prototype that some linear games are starting to feel far too claustrophobic. I did watch the film again recently & whilst it was enjoyable in some parts, I can't claim I'm a devotee of it.

[DANGERMAN]

I played the demo of this tonight, it's not too bad. I think you should be able to drop out of the pke view right into attacking (i.e. press attack) instead of having to come out of pke mode manually. I died at one point too, though it wasn't clear how much damage I'd taken or how much health I'd lost, it was also largely down to small debris on the floor that my character couldnt manage to step over.

The camera doesnt do a huge amount of work itself either, it controls like a FPS but it's 3rd person, if they just zoomed out a bit more you'd have no problems, but as it is I felt liek the camera should be cornering for me. You get used to it though, there's a few too many controls going on, but it was pretty good fun all told

I'm not in any rush but I'll buy it at some point

[Hendo]

I played the demo too. It's alright, not worth importing though. I still wait on the Wii version.

[retroed]

I played the demo too. It's alright, not worth importing though.

Same. I tried the demo on 360 earlier, and I'm glad I didn't end up paying the £45 or whatever I almost paid to import it. It's OK, but it's just your basic third-person shooter at heart. I did feel a bit of nostalgia though when I heard that song, though.

[illdog]

This is finally out on the 360 today, got a little cash bonus yesterday so fuck it, im going to find an excuse to go into town later and pick this mutherfunker up. Cant wait!

[Jimboxy]

you'll enjoy it Mr Dog. I still need to finish the last level

[illdog]

I pretty much played this all Saturday and a bit of Sunday morning till it was done. I opted for Casual so i could just enjoy my first playthrough, i was right to do so i think.

I really enjoyed it overall, i was smiling from the beggining as there is sooo much music from the film. And if you like the film, there's no way you wont get some enjoyment from this game. You get to fire your very own Proton Beam, melt Stay Puft and get slimed. I wish Rick Moranis was in it tho .

Fanboy ranting aside, the game does have prolems. Its very clunky, more clunky than Gears. Im aware that the main character (some nameless Rookie thats very unrelatable) is wearing a 100 pound unlicensed Nuclear Accelerator on his back, but he just feels a little heavy and slow at times.

It doesnt help the clunkiness™ that scenery gets in your way. For example in the Time Square level, I was making my way through a building to get to the roof and I came across a thin corridor. At the entrance of this thin corridor was a table top that had fallen off its legs during a minor battle with a class 5 full roaming vapor (sorry, thats not true). Anyways, my life experiences thus far have taught me flat tabletops are no obstacle and can easlily be overcome by simply walking overthem, but Ghostbusters the Videogame has taught me a valuable lesson because this is just not true. In future when you arrive at something flat thats in your way make sure you burn it bacuase otherwise there's no way past. I shant go into too much more detail but there are other times when painfully bollocks things like this show up.

Another thing i didnt like so much was the frantic fights when there were quite a few ghosts around flying here there and fucking everywhere. Your trying to weaken one ghost when another will knock you over having come, seemingly, from nowhere. Its irritating becasue you fall down like you dont have bones in your legs and it takes about half hour to get up, then sometimes it happens again.

Oh, and there's too much talking in the game that your forced to listen to.

Otherwise its brilliant.

As with all games with minor faults you can make it sound way worse than it is, but its a good game. Not great, just good, defiantely worth £20 if you find it that cheap in a few months. A big compliment i can pay it is that i wanted to go through it again as soon as i finished it. And loving the oringinal cast (except Ernie Hudson, and no its not racist, his lines just seem less natural and more forced than the others).

[RivaOni]

You've pretty much covered everything I'd noticed about it, apart from the talking I don't have a problem with that, although sometimes Venkman's lines feel a little forced and phoned in at the same time.

[illdog]

I started this on Proffesional difficulty this morning and so far im enjoying it more than Casual. You die alot quicker obviously and the ghosts are much harder to trap, plus the fact im going for an achievement that requires you to finish the game with less than $100,000 damaged caused and it all makes for a much more tactical affair. Your forced to hang back alot more and let your teammates take down some of the scenery (the game only logs what you damage toward the cost) and take quick blasts at the spooks when they are up high or in a corner.

It kind of feels like the step from Normal to Heroic in Halo, its gone from running through the levels to a catious step by step approach. Good stuff.

[DANGERMAN]

Pretty much agree with illdogs first post. (bump btw) It's a slow clunky game at points, especially as it takes about 5 seconds for your character to jump or dodge, and the way the scenery gets in the way sometimes should really have been sorted out. There's also a PC exclusive issue regarding the mouse, which is nice and smooth on the title screen, but the second you've got a proton pack on your back skits around like a mental.

It does look way better than I was expecting though, for some reason I'd got this in my head that it was a bit cheap, but it's clearly had a bit of work put into it.

the only other complaint I've got is that the first 20 mins are shirt scenes then loading, the scene then loading. But the past 30 have been longer, allowing me to work my way through the level and actually play a bit of the game

[DANGERMAN]

yeah you know what, actually starting to piss me off a bit. The worlds deadliest lamps litter the hallways of the hotel, seemingly appearing from nowhere, and thanks to your Hawkins esque movement they're on you and behind you before you know it. Add to that pushing debris through water is beyond the rookie and you're faced with death repeated deaths from some very minor enemies. To top it off there is only a checkpoint system, although these checkpoints arent after every pre-ordained fight, instead they're 10 minutes previously

[dante76]

This is awful. Strip away the licence and you have a bad third person shooter with slow controlls, awful AI, clipping issues and difficulty spikes all over the shop, You all lied. Like that time you said I should boil milk in a kettle....