Ghostbusters: The Video Game Review
- Posted June 16th, 2009 at 20:53 EDT by Steven Williamson
- 8,618 views
- 37 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 7.5
- Avg. user review score:
- 7.3
Summary
Captures the Ghostbusters spirit without taking too many gambles.
We like
- The familiar soundtrack and voice work
- The enjoyable ghost-trapping mechanic
- How the developer has captured the Ghostbusters vibe
We dislike
- The weak upgrade system
- The unexciting boss battles
- The repetitive gameplay
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
We hate to say it, but we’re nowhere near as excited now that we’ve finished Ghostbusters: The Video Game as we were prior to its release. Inevitably, taking on such an iconic brand as Ghostbusters comes with huge expectation, and when they're not achieved we're bound to feel a little despondent. That’s exactly the case with Ghostbusters: The Video Game. It’s good, but it’s not as brilliant as we thought it would be. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of positives to tell you about, and overall it’s a game that deserves attention, particularly if you’re a fan of the movies. If that is the case, then you’ll certainly get a kick out of joining the familiar figures of Spengler, Stantz, Zeddmore and Venkmann on their ghost-busting antics, as you chase Slimers through hotel corridors and dash across Times Square to escape the towering figure of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
The brand new storyline of Ghostbusters: The Videogame takes place two years after Ghostbusters II, during Thanksgiving 1991, when paranormal activity has increased to unprecedented levels. This leaves a nice opening for you, the new rookie, to join the ghost busting team, investigate the ghoulish goings-on and eradicate the threat. Armed with a proton pack, a PKE meter to search for mischievous spirits, and with your ghost busting buddies at your side, you “zap, cap and trap” any ghouls that cross your path. As well as attempting to save New York City’s citizens, you can earn money to spend on upgrading your equipment, which comes in handy when trying to capture the bigger ghosts you encounter at the end of each of the levels.
The gameplay in Ghostbusters incorporates a number of third-person shooter elements, but it’s the ghost capturing mechanic that makes up the bulk of the action and drives the game along. Disappointingly, the proton pack is your only weapon, though it can be modified so you can use it in different ways, like as a shot-gun or machine gun. The proton pack produces a stream of energy that allows you to grab hold of ghosts. It’s challenging and satisfying to use the three-pronged attack to zap a ghoul, then throw him around, smashing him into objects to drain his energy, and then finally throwing down a trap and enjoying an aerial tug of war to suck him into the small device. There’s a large variety of ghosts to trap, with some familiar appearances from the likes of iconic Ghostbusters characters such as Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and the Slimers, in addition to appearances from Opera singing and fishing ghosts, and apparitions masquerading as Chefs and Librarians. The majority of ghosts have to be caught using the trapping mechanic, but some, in typical shooter style, must simply be blasted to pieces.
That’s all there is to it, really. We knew we'd be busting ghosts throughout the game, but we hoped there would be a bit more to the gameplay. You're generally partaking in "arena-based combat" around every corner, where you're cornered into a section until you can get rid of all of the ghosts. There’s a few cool upgrades such as ‘Slam dunk,’ which speeds up the process of capturing a ghost and allows you to dispatch him in a visually impressive manner, but the upgrade system is generally a weak one. You unlock items during the game automatically as you progress, so there seems to be no real point in buying them. With the shallow upgrade system and lack of variety in the gameplay, it feels like the developer has missed a trick somewhere along the line. Even the big boss battles rarely generate much excitement. They’re impressive to watch, but not very exciting to play. You’ll see what we mean when you tackle the Marshmallow Man head-on while dangling from the roof of a skyscraper. It should have been an awe-inspiring moment, but it all comes to a disappointing conclusion. Nevertheless, there are still some great moments to enjoy, and the impressive trapping mechanic and the Ghostbusters vibe keeps you plugging along despite the repetitiveness of the gameplay.
You are given occasional respite from the combat with some exploration-based gameplay. When activated the PKE meter switches your view to the ... (continued on next page)
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Comments
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BOZTRADAMUS |
BOZTRADAMUS- 8:56pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 1
Who u gna call?
Dont look too bad, may invest when the P goes down. -
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solidsomething83
- 9:21pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 3
gotta strongly dissagree with PSU on this one, this game should at least get an 8.5, i mean what did you expect PSU, sniper scopes and laser guided missles comming from the proton packs? get a grip, its a fun game with a funny story line
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steviej
- 9:24pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 5
Here is a quote from "ign usa" It's for all those who recently balked at teh power of the 360. Keep, in mind this game was developed on the ps3 first and sony holds the licence for ghostbusters.
For all the fanboys out there who want to beat their chests about which system got it right, there are some differences between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of this game. The PS3 features an eight-minute, 4 GB install that apparently doesn't do much seeing as how it takes both games about 30 seconds to load after a death or load a mission from the main screen. Although the PS3 has exclusive videos about refurbishing Ecto-1 and the Blu-ray trailer, the graphics seem to be a touch dumbed down on Sony's system. When you proton stream burns a wall on the 360, there's a black gouge in the wall that features smoldering embers and bits of fire. On the PS3, you get the fire and black gouge, but the little embers embedded in the cut don't make it. Similarly, when you attack Stay Puft on Microsoft's console, you're making dramatic changes to his puffy exterior. On the PS3, these changes aren't as severe -- it's almost like a bruise rather than a fiery cut. Still, I'll save you the suspense and tell you both versions are getting the same score for graphics because the overall package is solid on each platform.
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redleaf66
- 9:44pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 7
wow steviej! you should be proud that theres "embers" on the 360 version. why dont you pedal your schwinn to your cooler, smarter friends house that has a ps3 and have him put in metal gear solid 4. or grand turismo5. or heavenly sword. 360 couldnt hold their jock. i know, i used to have a 360 before i bought a ps3, there's no comparison. sorry kid
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molendie |
Molendie- 9:52pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 9
Not a fan of this review. Sorry. To me it sounds kind of like he's saying, "There are a 100 awesome things about this game but lets focus the majority of these 2 pages on the 3 or 4 things I don't like which is enough to warrant dropping this down into the 7's."
Totally agree with solidsomething.
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snapped-banjo
- 10:19pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 12
well if the game ain't that great neither is the blu-ray transfer of the film, i have to say i'm pretty dissapointed by how much grain ther is on the blu-ray version. i'd bet the dvd version on an upscaler is better quiality!
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radgamer420 |
mistercrow- 10:46pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 14
PS3 version was confirmed to be sub HD running at 960 x 540 as well as having lower resolution textures.
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joeymetalgear7 |
joeymetalgear777- 11:10pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 16
@steviej why are you on this site, i dont go over to the xbox sites and start talkin crap about how the ps3 is better than the 360, thats just spreading hate, anywho i think the game is lookin pretty good but i aint played it so i cant disagree with the score
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HeavyD-Love
- 11:59pm BST - June 16th, 2009
- 18
Multiple websites are now posting PS3 version of Ghostbusters is not HD as box claims...
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2009/06/16/ghostbusters-not-really-hd-on-ps3/
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BloodReign |
newolman- 12:10am BST - June 17th, 2009
- 19
I'm getting this for sure, but first I will have to finish all the other games I haven't played yet. But this game looks greate, I hope the gameplay is as good as it looks
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PSU_fail
- 12:34am BST - June 17th, 2009
- 22
The game on the Wii and PS2 are completely different graphically, the art direction kind of reminds me of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon from the 80's/90's. I have played and beaten this game and I hardly believe that the PSU writers are even old enough to remember the nostalgia and appreciate the comedy genius that The Ghostbusters films were. While I agree this game is not a 10, I believe due to the lack of appreciation on the writers and editors parts, that alot of modern crap comedy bias comes out.
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KZ3000
- 12:50am BST - June 17th, 2009
- 23
ppl!!!! why soo serious with this game??
Its a ghoustbusters game!!!! what do you except from this?
summer blockbusters usually arent very good games at all (just for short fun thats all)
Its true that InFamous,RFG,Prototype (MGS4 in 08) are great exceptions.
Usually like most always the best games come this fall.the not so good come in times like this because there isnt much new games around.
its a game for fans thats all.
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C0SM0NECR0
- 4:16am BST - June 17th, 2009
- 25
Alright, for everyone out there. Here's my honest opinion. I own the game, just picked it up today and I have to tell you guys so far, I'm loving it. Bottom line, if you love the movies of the Ghostbuster franchise and have been waiting for a chance to get as close as you can to the feel of the movies then......BOOM. Here ya go. These minor flaws at least to me are hardly noticeable. Great game. Definitely deserves at least a 8.5. Fun and innovative game. It deserves more recognition.
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Dasimpse
- 6:59am BST - June 17th, 2009
- 26
this is laughable! the game looks really bad on the ps3 compared to the 360 and theyw ere hyping the ps3 version sooooo much! i havea feeling sony was telling them to hype it due to them owning the rights on the film.
ITs basically twice as many pixels on the 360 and the stay puffed battle looks considerably worse on the ps3. its a darn shame that this is still happening! How far are we into this consoles life!? 3 years?
what a joke!
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michaelcorleone
- 11:06am BST - June 17th, 2009
- 28
if sony hold the licence to this game then why is it gonna be on 360........am i missing something?
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markwesker
- 1:39pm BST - June 17th, 2009
- 31
@ 5 yes and prototype has got the best graphics on the ps3 so whats ur point fool
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residentevilrocks91 |
videogameman6- 1:16am BST - June 18th, 2009
- 32
I hated the movie so i know i wouldnt like the game
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HeartAttackKid
- 9:17pm BST - September 5th, 2009
- 36
Game was awesome through the first 3 levels. Then the novelty wore off. Still, a must rent for fans of the movie.
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