Posts tagged ps2

I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!

Consoles: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PC, DS.

The Ghostbusters were everywhere in the 80s. It went from movies to even video games! The games that they did release came out for multiple systems but all revolved around the same concept and gameplay. They were mainly on the NES. The first game, Ghostbusters, was horrible and just down right awful. Their second game, Ghostbusters II, had been improved yet it still failed to grab everyone’s attention. Now, the year is 2009 and a new game has released. Ghostbusters: The Video Game is what it’s called. I must admit, it isn’t a very creative name but that’s alright. You also get to fight the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. In this review I will give you details on the story, graphics, and overall gameplay.

In a game with the title “Ghostbusters,” I bet you all can guess as to what the object is. Yeah, that’s right. Catching (or “Busting”) ghosts is your main priority. The story takes place after Ghostbusters II. You play as a new recruit, he has no name other than Rookie. You fight along side of Ray, Peter, Egon, and Winston. You go to numerous locations such as the Hotel, the Library, and the Museum. You will encounter a few familiar ghosts such as Slimer and the Grey Lady. Your PKE meter will be very essential in this game. It’s used to detect spiritual entities, cursed artifacts, and take samples. In a few scenes, you will have the Ecto-1 to assist you. You can also upgrade your different streams which I will get into further in the review.

The graphics are solid and nice. You will notice that the cutscenes have a smoother look as well as a nice framerate. At times the framerate will drop and it is usually due to too many things going on at once. The effects on the proton streams are flashy and definitely captures the feeling that you would see in the movies. The only complaint that I have is that there will be an occasional graphical glitch but it isn’t enough to ruin it.

The voice acting is very well done. You will notice that they put in some comic relief at random times. Everyone loves a good laugh, right? The Rookie doesn’t speak at all, giving it the feeling that you are actually in the game. The music in the game will get repetitive. It may not bother you at all but if you pay attention to the little things then it may. Sound effects are spot on and you will recognize many of the noises from the proton pack that are in the movie.

One of the cool things that they added in was the ability to upgrade your weapons and your ghost trap. There are 4 weapons. They are the Proton Stream, Stasis Stream, Slime Blower, and Meson Collider. Each upgrade for the weapons will reduce recoil and increase the amount you can use it before overheating. Upgrades for the ghost trap consists of increasing the capture speed and making it so you can slam dunk a ghost into the trap, thus bypassing the capturing phase.

The cutscenes look good, sound good, have some humor, and even load the next level while you’re watching them! In turn, it creates what looks to be, seamless gameplay. There isn’t much more I can say about them.

While playing online, there are two ways you can play. One way is to join a single match were you play only one of the six jobs. The second way is to play one theme which then chooses three jobs out of the six available for you to play. You can play online with 1-4 players for multiplayer, or 2-4 players for co-op. The jobs are Survival, Containment, Destruction, Protection, Thief, and Slime Dunk. Each one has their own unique objective.

I’ve noticed a few bugs near the end of the game. Such as Ray disappearing and the story continuing to go on. This causes the game to glitch out and making it impossible to continue on with the story without using a Revert to Checkpoint. Another one I discovered was when I went to smash a stone ghost into the ground, it went through the level, and one even went outside of the level where I was barely able to destroy it because it was on the other side of a way. These bugs aren’t that big of a deal and it doesn’t kill the game in any way that I see.

In the end, Ghostbusters is a fun game for all and it may not have too much of a replay value but it does give a lot of fun for the whole family. Whether you’re a casual or hardcore gamer, it’s still for all. The Ghostbusters live on with this marvelous game. As for me, all I have to say is that “We came, we saw, we kicked it’s ass!”