After “Ghostbusters 2” came out in 1989 earning less money and less critical success like the first one, a third installment of the “Ghostbusters” series was in development. Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis (may he Rest in Peace) penned a script titled, “Ghostbusters III: Hellbent.” The Premise originally featured demonic versions of the team reside from a dimension where New York City resides in Hell. Due to creative differences, a budget dispute with Sony and Bill Murray not willing to come back, plans for the third entry with the original cast were scrapped in favor of a new cast.
Originally, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock & Chris Farley were considered to carry the franchise. Sadly, a new beginning never came into fruition as a result Mr. Stiller & Mr. Rock following their own path. Mr. Farley tragically died from drugs. In 2007, video game developer, Terminal Reality (BloodRayne series) met the big wigs of Sony to ask permission to develop a video game based on Ghostbusters. Now that Sony & Terminal Reality are open to make the game, Dan & Harold contributed to craft a story. Before Harold died of a heart attack in 2014, he managed to reconcile with Bill putting their feud behind. Thus, “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” became a reality.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game was officially released in 2009 (same year Coraline came out) on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii. It received positive reviews from critics, fans and gamers alike. A remastered edition was released in 2019 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The latest installment “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is already out. Before I see it, I wanna share my thoughts on the video game. According to Mr. Aykroyd, he confirmed the game is the third movie. Meaning, its canon. Meaning, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is the fourth movie and the new one is fifth entry.
I’m only reviewing the PS3/Xbox 360 version.
Alive & Dead Qualities
Alive: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis, Annie Potts, William Atherton & Max Von Sydow reprise their roles. They all did a superb job for their respective performances.
In addition to portraying Ray Stantz & Egon Spengler, Dan & Harold also co-wrote the script.
Graphics are impressive on the PS3/Xbox 360. The remastered edition further improves character models, lighting, fluid movement and environmental locations.
Gameplay/Mechanics
- Presented as a third-person action-adventure game, you play as an unnamed character addressed as “Rookie.” You’re tasked to assist your fellow Ghostbusters to capture ghosts running amuck.
- You can’t be a Ghostbuster without your handy dandy Proton Pack. Use it as a weapon to weaken a ghost. Switch to capture mode by entangling the ghost. If you manage to capture it via trap without losing your grip, you win. If you fire your Proton Pack too much, its energy will overheat. Forcing you to wait and let it cooldown.
- Boss Fights are amazing. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man roaming the streets of New York City. Besides, Stay Puft, Slimer & Gozer return as Bosses.
- You’re also equipped with a PKE meter and goggles. Switches you to first-person mode scanning a ghost’s whereabouts. You can also scan for goodies.
- Capturing a few ghosts or scanning their strengths and weakness unlocks new upgrades for your equipment.
- Enemy variety when it comes to exploiting a weakness, switch tactics.
- As you progress, you’ll acquire unique arsenal including a shock blast and slime tether.
- Like “Dead Space,” your health and energy meter are displayed on your back.
Soundtrack retains Elmer Bernstein’s instrumental tracks from the first two movies
Chemistry with the crew felt organic. They have distinctive personalities. Womanizer, Peter Venkman delivering his sarcastic quips, Ray Stantz being a motor mouth, Egon Spengler’s soft spoken monotone voice who loves to eat and Winston Zeddemore acts as the normal everyman that non-very smart people can relate to.
Callbacks to the first two movies.
Story takes place in 1991, two years after Ghostbusters II. Our heroes hire a fifth guy to help them recapture previous ghosts. Meanwhile, a plague caused by a mysterious entity spreads. It’s up to the Ghostbusters to save NYC again. At least the game’s story isn’t a carbon copy of the first movie.
Achievements’ names are taken from quotes of the aforementioned movies.
The theme song’s retained. Would’ve been awesome if Bobby Brown’s “On Our Own” is played in a cutscene. He may be a public embarrassment, but this song has a catchy tune.
The remastered edition dedicates Harold Ramis’ memory.
Dead: Rookie is just a generic lookin’ dude. It would’ve been nice if the game lets you customize Rookie. Alter his appearance, hairstyle, eye color, body type etc.
The Final Verdict: A-
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is near-perfect worthy follow-up. Had Terminal Reality gave players an opportunity to customize their own character, I would’ve given it my highest grade an A, FOR APEX! If you haven’t played the game, it’s a must-buy. Purchase the remastered version. Skip the 2016 game.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 