Review: Ghostbusters The Video Game (PS3)

Almost everyone loved, loves or will love the Ghostbusters films. Certain iconic elements will never be forgotten, such as the gooey luminous green chap, slimer, and the ever so cuddly character known as Stay Puft. If you are one of the many that was a fan of the motion pictures, then you are more than likely going to love the video game adaptation. Conversely, if you have somehow missed out on Ghostbusters, or it just wasn’t quite your thing, then Ghostbuster The Video Game probably won’t have the same appeal to you.

Ghostbusters The Video Game (referred to as Ghostbusters from now on) retains many of the qualities that made the originals a smash hit. From the moment you put the game in your PlayStation 3 (I could only review the PS3 version, sorry), you get hit by the brilliance of Ray Parker Jr. on your XMB, I simply let it play through for a few minutes before I even booted the game itself.

Unfortunately, this is where you hit the first wall on the PS3 version. The dreaded hard disk drive install. Outside resources say the install size is 3.9 GB, but I didn’t actually check. All I know is there is 7 minutes of staring at that recognisable “no ghosts” logo, with nothing else happening during the full duration of the installation.

After the install, there is very little load time between the XMB and the games menu, roughly taking about 30 seconds. The menu is live view of the outside of the Ghostbusters fire house headquarters, with menu items listed down the side of the building. There are two ways to play from here; Career or Multiplayer. For this review I am simply taking the single player (Career) route. This was partly down to the fact the multiplayer mode was (unsurprisingly) empty.

The game itself plays really well, as it should being scripted by Mr. Ghostbuster himself, Dan Aykroyd. Just don’t buy Ghostbusters expecting a complex story or gameplay style. The general objective is usually to use your Photon Pack and attached gun to weaken pretty much any ghosts you see, once the health receptacle for the ghost reaches a certain point you “slam” them and chuck out the good old fashioned ghost trap. This rule is followed pretty much to a thumb throughout the game, with the dialogue, animations and scenery keeping the game varied.

Graphically, Ghostbusters comes lower than a great number of games, but is by no means ugly to look at. Texture resolutions seem to be lower than expected, making decorative objects a blurry mess when you view them up close. The game is rumoured to run in 480p, so it’s not even in HD, but if that’s the case, it upscales quite well. The frame rate can be a bit erratic, while usually sticking around the 30 fps mark, don’t be surprised to see noticeable slow downs during action packed periods.

Following on from the graphical look of the game, the physics of the Infernal Engine seem to work to a point, although it can be funny to watch 10 ft high shelving units bounce off your characters head as if made from foam. But in terms of the path projectiles and debris follow, the physics are well calculated.

All in all, we get the feeling that Ghostbusters The Video Game is saved by some great script work by Aykroyd, backed up by the likes of Ramis, Hudson and, of course, Murray. The characters are believable reincarnations of the film counterparts, with spot on personalities and – thanks to great modelling, animations and motion capture – body actions. However, some parts feel like a significant let down, like the lack of freedom in the world. The game seems too on the track, forcing you down a straight path throughout. Even in the few places you can deviate from the path to explore, the AI waits by the next step of the official path, cycling through a speech bank until you return to their side. The game length was also somewhat of a let down, lasting roughly six hours, even when taking time to look around and admire the sights. Despite all these downfalls, the game does what it says on the cover, letting you play as one of the renowned Ghostbusters and it does the feeling just right.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10