Ghostbusters
Bustin’ makes you feel good in Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 adaptations of this fun-loving spooky saga.
This summer marks the 25th Anniversary of the original Ghostbusters movie. But while yours truly remembers laughing at Slimer and gasping at the special effects (or maybe it was the young Sigourney Weaver), today’s audience could be forgiven for not giving a damn. However, just like Ray Parker Jr’s seminal song, the feel-good factor and enduring class acts of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Harold Ramis keep Ghostbusters as a firm family favourite. Atari’s mission, then, is simply to deliver believable proton packs into the hands of a zillion fans.
We were sold the moment Slimer was spotted hovering above the buffet table in the Sedgewick Hotel, and the Ghostbusters let loose with proton streams. Absolute chaos abounds against a movie-perfect backdrop of an ornate ballroom – tables overturned, scorch marks along the walls (you can probably write your name) and food splattering everywhere. Straightaway, the strain of 25 years waiting on a videogame moment exactly like this made way for a celebration. En route to the rooftop of an apartment building to battle Mr Stay-Puft, there’s no doubt that the Xbox 360 and PS3 editions of Ghostbusters: The Videogame are a dream come true.
This isn’t a game based within the first two movies, mind. It is being seen by members of the original cast as a third instalment of the classic franchise, so much so that Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis have co-authored the script. Original Ghostbusters humour permeates the whole experience, not just the dialogue that raises an easy smile, but materialising in the form of hilarious though still spooky adversaries. Many of the ghouls you’ll encounter in the videogame were considered for the movies, but impossible to realise in terms of special effects. One such creature is the Book Golem, a giant constructed of books torn from library shelves and a table lamp for a head. The scene in which the Book Golem takes shape in real-time is as memorable as anything from the big screen.
The Nintendo Wii version is similarly irresistible, although relinquishing Hollywood visuals and replacing them with caricatures against stylised backdrops. Haphazard handling of the ‘Neutrona Wand’ still results in random destruction of the environment – it uses the same basic technology driving the Xbox 360 and PS3 editions – and there are more imaginative ways of putting this to use. Chunks of slime, for example, can be picked up and used to plug holes blasted through walls to prevent e.g. molten marshmallow from seeping through. Players are also rated on the amount of damages inflicted on establishments, earning titles such as Zealous Zapper or Respectable Buster.
At this stage we can only guess at how soon the whole ghost wrangling process will get boring. Witty one-liners alone won’t carry the game. However the creators of both versions have introduced plenty of new gadgets, all handled by the player’s ‘Fifth Ghostbuster’ persona, to vary the tactics and mission objectives. There’s a Slime Tether to manipulate objects such as tables and chairs, and Proton Arrows that make short work of scampering hell beasts a la rockets in a first-person shooter. Playing co-op through the story mode in the Wii version works well in split-screen. Multiplayer modes for Xbox 360 and PS3 allow for specific areas outside of the story mode to be tackled as a team in pursuit of time bonuses and number of ghosts captured.
Ghostbusters: The Videogame is currently slated for a June release in the UK. Publisher Atari almost certainly has a monster hit on its hands.
