JackFetch Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Looks like the delay was a good thing: It's hard to believe it has taken almost 25 years for someone to make a good Ghostbusters game. Thankfully, Atari came to the rescue and picked up this stranded title for us to finally enjoy. What It Is Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a 3rd-person action game written by none other than Dan Aykroyd (Ray) and Harold Ramis (Egon). The story takes place two years after the events from Ghostbusters 2 and sees the return of the original main cast, which is fully voiced by their movie counterpart. This essentially makes the game like a third movie in a trilogy, only it's in video game form instead. You take control of The Rookie, a new recruit to the team who's not only there to help, but also to be the guinea pig for testing new equipment. What We Saw One level split into two parts on the showroom floor at The New York Comic-Con. Senior Artists Glenn Gamble was on hand to first show me an entire playthough of the demo before handing me the reigns to get hands-on. The level takes place in a fictional architect building located in Times Square, and ends right before the final showdown with Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. It's said to be the 4th or 5th level in the final game. This was played on the Xbox 360. How Far Along Is it? The game is done, well, kind of. Once Atari finally got a hold of it, they've spent the last while simply adding polish and making tweaks, and will continue to do so up until the game's release in June 2009. What Needs Improvement? No Squad Commands: Throughout the game, one or possibly all of your teammates will join to fight alongside you, and there's no way to tell them what to do. They attack on their own. I was told the decision not to include a squad command system was to make the game control a bit more casual-like. Now admittedly it wasn't missed during the demo I played, but I'd still like to have just a bit more control over my A.I. buddies, even if it's something simple as Attack, Retreat, Follow, etc. Who Am I?: So I don't get to play as Peter Venkman or Egon Spengler, but only as The Rookie? Yeah, apparently that's his name. It's supposed to be you, the player, playing as yourself. But unfortunately there no character customization options to actually make it look like you. So you're just "a guy" along for the ride. Multiplayer Details: The game has multiplayer, but Atari is still silent on what it is exactly. Co-op? Deathmatch? I'm assuming it's some sort of co-op mode, as deathmatch with Proton Packs doesn't seem to make much sense, let alone seem as fun. What Should Stay The Same? Details, Details: This game is detailed from head to toe. Your Proton Pack alone, which doubles as your HUD, is just gushing with all sorts of tiny animations and intricacies. Using your PK meter while scanning enemies or items reveals background information and history. Characters will even get covered in marshmallow and slime. Lots of little things I'm sure were added with all the extra polish time. Destruction: None of the environment pieces are really nailed down at all. Everything can be destroyed, or at least knocked around. I was told each and every book in the library level, which totals over 1000, can individually be shot off the shelf. Paintings will fall off the wall. Air conditioners explode into pieces. It really adds another layer of visual flair and realism. It's like Ghostbusters 3: It's rare for a game to not only have the original writers from the movie series, but the original voice actors, too. That, to me, makes the game seem and feel very authentic. The characters not only sound like they should, but act as well. There's also plenty of story references and nods to the original two movies, some so minor that only hardcore fans will pick up on. Big Bosses: Stay Puft is only a mid-sized level boss. Hopefully this means most of the rest are just as large and engaging. Final Thoughts I came away really impressed with Ghostbusters: The Video Game, even in this short 20 minute demo. It plays sorta similar to Gears of War – it even includes its own "rodie run." When you add solid, fun gameplay with terrific writing and voice acting, it usually means good things will happen. http://kotaku.com/5148654/ghostbusters-the...oss-the-streams Since it takes place two years after the second movie, and has the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in it, I see a few possibilities for it to make sense: 1. Time travel...........................I hope not 2. Flashback.............................Wouldn't really make sense because your character wasn't there 3. Virtual reality simulation.........Sounds like one of Egon's inventions to me 4.Stay Puft comes back.............Weak, and does that mean Vigo and Gozer are in it also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted April 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 Proving once and for all that pricey collector's editions don't have to cater exclusively to cat helmet enthusiasts and fans of replica weaponry, publisher Atari has revealed the contents of their Amazon-exclusive Slimer Edition of the Ghostbusters videogame. Along with the game itself, the $129.99 bundle ($109.99 for the Wii version) will include a treasure trove of exclusive swag. Listed on Amazon's product description page are an appropriately gross-looking bust of Slimer designed by the movie's original sculptor (including a signed certificate of authenticity), a light-up Ecto-1 keychain, a pack of Ghostbusters Minimates, and a set of Ghostbusters-themed console skins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 A video feature including a cinematic from the game. According to this video, the game is considered canon. http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40919 Also, here is the opening cinematic: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/48374.html?type=flv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DCAUFan1051 Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 A video feature including a cinematic from the game. According to this video, the game is considered canon. http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40919 Dang Jack ya beat me to it... the narrator of the clip is my good friend Mike "The Birdman" Dodd of This Week In Geek. woohoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 And Sony just Kicked the rest of the world in the nuts... Ghostbusters is now a timed PS3 Exclusive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothian Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 I don't have a Playstation, so if a PC copy isn't actually forthcoming to Europe, I riot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted May 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 It's still coming out at the same time on other systems for the US. Sorry Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 The game comes out next week, but before you decide which version to get listen up: The PC version is half the price of the console versions, but has no co-op multiplayer. It also has outrageous system requirements. MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS OS: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 or AMD Athlon X2 +3800 * Memory: 2 GB RAM Hard Drive Space: 9 GB free hard disk space DVD-Rom Drive: Dual layer, 8X speed or faster Video Card: ATI Radeon X1800-series 512 MB, Intel G45 Express Chipset, NVIDIA GeForce 8400 512MB** Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card Direct X: DirectX version 9.0c (included) or higher Input: Keyboard, mouse, or Xbox 360 gamepad Other: Internet connection required for first-time authentication (connection not required after authentication) * Dual core processors, such as the Intel Pentium D 805, are not supported. ** Video cards that have only 256MB of RAM are not supported. Even though it doesn't have any online play, it still requires the internet because of the DRM it uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 That made no bloody sense to me. That's why I steer clear of PC gaming, the details and specs are just too "You need this, before you can do that." Damn Europe not getting this for months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 I am really enjoying the game. It has a lot of shout outs to the movies. It does take a little while to get a hang of it (I spent a while figuring out how to fire my photon pack but I got it eventually.) Playing it on the 360 and I can honestly say that it's beautiful and there are few flaws. I have heard it's short but oh well, it happens. I'm only up to the second level that isn't a tutorial and I'll already say this is the best Ghostbusters game of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 The 360 version is the one to get: PS3 owners got screwed on this game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 I tried it at a freinds the other day and I just didn't think it was all that great, I didn't enjoy it as much as I would've hoped. The controls got on my nerves within ten seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxPower Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 The 360 version is the one to get: PS3 owners got screwed on this game. Well that just plain sucks! Where did you get that from Jack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Yeah, the PS3 version is a lot blurrier. I'm not sure if I mind it as much, because at full resolution some of the polygons in the 360 version look really harsh, whereas in the PS3 version they look more smoothed out, like an actual movie. The 360 has much better contrast, however, so depth perception is a bit easier to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 The devs said the lack of RAM on the PS3 made it so they couldn't have the full textures. I don't think it was the PS3's fault, but that it wasn't optimized for it. The good thing for those outside the US is that the 360 version is region free. This website has a lot of side by side comparisons that show huge differences: http://www.lensoftruth.com/?p=10974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 The devs said the lack of RAM on the PS3 made it so they couldn't have the full textures. That's usually why PS3 developers sometimes choose to put an install feature into the game. That way it can use the hard drive as VRAM. Ergh.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 The devs said the lack of RAM on the PS3 made it so they couldn't have the full textures. That's usually why PS3 developers sometimes choose to put an install feature into the game. That way it can use the hard drive as VRAM. Ergh.... It cuts down loading times, but nothing else. I finally picked up the game. I like the story and the script, but the gameplay is not that great. It really could use a map, and the controls for fighting the ghosts are really confusing. Using right trigger to hit them, but having to remember to hit the bumper to vent, then using another button to capture them, then another to slam them, then throwing a trap with another button and hoping they go in is a little much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Yeah, it looked nice, but when I tried it, the control was just to screwy for me to get into the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Bumped because a downloadable sequel is on its way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.