'Ghostbusters' captures spirit of films

• By JOSHUA WASCOM
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Jul 2, 2009

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“Ghostbusters: The Video Game,” despite arriving 25 years after the release of the original film, takes place in 1991, two years after “Ghostbusters II.” You play as a newcomer to the squad, recruited to test new equipment. When a massive explosion of paranormal energy rocks and distorts the city, though, your first day turns into a long one.

“Ghostbusters” is unusual among movie-based games in that it is greatly improved by its cinematic background. The presence of most of the original cast (including all four of the Ghostbusters themselves), working from a script created by the original writers, creates a feeling of continuity and cohesion that goes well beyond the gameplay. The actors all return to their roles perfectly. It’s nice to hear all of the characters again, and it’s also nice to hear voice actors that, unlike those in most games, actually seem to understand and care about the lines they’re reading.

Not that the gameplay is bad. The developers have done a great job of hitting the key notes of ghostbusting, from the turnabout nature of trying to wrangle a ghost into one of the iconic traps to scanning for different sorts of paranormal energy with your PKE meter. The variations on the Proton Pack and the purchasable upgrades inject some needed variety into the game as it progresses.

The near constant presence of the other Ghostbusters is also a welcome touch. When you fall in combat, there’s almost always someone there to help you up, provided that you do the same for them. This creates a nice sense of camaraderie. Also, while there aren’t many actual laugh-out-loud bits, the near constant stream of discussion, bickering and pseudoscientific chatter provided by your teammates is almost always entertaining.

The multi-player component is also well-designed. Playing in groups of four, you work your way through either quick levels with simple goals or slightly longer mini-campaigns. The same basic game mechanics that work well in single-player hold up pretty good here, as does the fun of teamwork.

The game’s main problem is simple repetitiveness. Despite the quality of the script and the introduction of new weapons and upgrades, by the last few levels you start to feel like you’ve seen and done most of this before. The puzzles that aren’t really simple usually involve you using one particular tool, and while it’s interesting the first time, the next five or six start to wear.

Overall, though, the game is great, setting a new standard for movie-game relations. A warning, though: It might not resonate so deeply for those unfamiliar with the series. That’s not to say you shouldn’t play the game if you haven’t watched the movies -- just go watch the movies first.