A fantastic game, and definitely what I was hoping for when I first saw those initial screenshots a while back. The capturing mechanic is fun and interesting, while at the same time being tied into familiar third person controls for shooter fans, so there's nothing here that takes a lot of time to get used to.
It may be straightforward and linear, but it is still extremely satisfying and a lot of fun - and ultimately, fun is what makes or breaks a game. The story is a bit on the short side, lasting about 6-7 hours, but the multiplayer events are cool and there is downloadable content in the works as we speak.
There are some moments that cause the game to stumble, but you're getting a new tale in the Ghostbusters canon, fun gameplay, a whole bunch of stuff to destroy, and some cool ghosts to scan. I felt that the game's ending was a bit flat and the romantic interest was forced, but Ghostbusters is a hell of a ride.
Ghostbusters: The Videogame feels just like a new chapter in the saga with its well-penned script and excellent voice acting, but apart from the ghost wrangling the gameplay itself never manages to reach any greater heights. The graphics are average at best, and the repetitive 8 hour story isn't that exciting. However, the oodles of charm that the game exudes more than makes up for this. A must for Ghostbusters fans, but only mildly interesting for newcomers to the series.
This IS Ghostbusters the movie 3!! It nails everything about the ghostbusters franchise and carries the lore a lot further. The music is perfect, the voice actors ARE the Ghostbusters, the plot is like a mix of the movies and the cartoon. If you haven't seen the cartoon, it's just like ghostbusters, but they go off world a lot more, and you go into the spirit world quite a bit in the game. If you like ghostbusters even a little bit, get it, it's super cheap at this point.
As far as a game it's polished, 0 bugs, you develop through most of the game though the upgrades run out before the last 20% of the game. Even though they run out you still have to think through your fights and progress because each weapon does different things. You still have the main proton weapon for capturing and weakening ghosts, and you have to lasso them into the trap like the movie. It's done so well you feel like you are in the movie, it looks and feels exactly the same. There are tons of easter eggs through out HQ, and each item you find in the field goes back to the HQ for more interactibles.
Absolute blast, I rarely give a game a 10 but this is everything you want it to be.
This was one of those games where nearly everything was created properly but then didn't realize it's own potential. The gameplay and graphics, even the characters and weapons were set for a much bigger game than I personally believe the developers considered feasible/could wrap their heads around. Instead we have a decent if not typical storyline (I'm not complaining) which forces your every move as you're guided along the linear path through segregated chapters... Now, that's something that works great with many games and wasn't all that bad here, either. The problem is that if this particular game wasn't so strict in it's limitations, loosened up a bit, didn't hold back so much with the systems it touched upon it could have been better. Enhance it by taking it a step further and adding RPG elements and it could have been incredible.
To me, Ghostbusters is all about hunting ghosts. I mean, that's the whole point. Yet after the first few levels you're stuck with flying book swarms (only acceptable in Castlevania) and whatever random creatures better suit the level in a somewhat superficial way. There I was, mission after mission thinking 'where are all of the plain, old GHOSTS?'. It actually became a far less interesting game -- not to mention less fun -- when the enemies became more generic video game bad guys.
Imagine this: you play as the newest recruit, you have definable stats including those that define a PERSONALITY for your character. Your various weapons can be further upgraded and tweaked. You respond to randomly generated calls throughout the city for currency all the while discovering clues and new leads for various quests that can take you to unique locations. Maybe even some sort of system where the public and authorities view you each affect gameplay/outcomes separately. I know that sounds like a totally different game, yet many of these ideas are already touched upon with the base game.
Anyways, no use daydreaming. It's a shame the franchise hasn't progressively worked and gained momentum with its video games since this release.
Ghostbusters the Video Game
Decent but dated.
It’s so rare to find a licensed game actually worth playing through... and thankfully this is one of them.
In Ghostbusters the video game you play as a nameless and voiceless recruit…
Perfect opportunity to have a customizable character... but no... You’re just some generic dude that joins the ghostbusters squad.
Your journey starts checking out a hotel and ends up in a chase to shut down this giant ghost portal by taking care of different points across Manhattan.
This game is about 7 and a half hours long, and is varied and well-designed preventing repetitiveness to kick in…
You’ll visit spooky libraries, different dimensions, and a graveyard just to name a few...
But this game is from 2009 and it definitely shows with its grainy texture…
It’s very hard on the eyes after being so used to the graphics and textures of modern day games 7 years later…
The actual gameplay here is engaging enough to force your eyes to just deal with it…
You have a proton pack and a scanner..
As you progress through the story you’ll gain new abilities and modes for the proton pack which tie into level progression itself, like being able to make a slime tether to pull items, and you of course have attacks and ways to capture the ghosts you run into…
To capture a ghost you have to weaken it, shoot out your capture stream and try to wiggle it into your ghost trap…
There are also possessed creatures that you can just straight up kill and not have to capture.. which I found to be way more fun to deal with…
The ghost capturing sections of the game for me were by far the worst…
they take way too long to complete and bring the game to a crawl… they are spaced out more the deeper you get into the game, but are still an eye roll when they pop up…
And with the scanner you can scan a ghost or enemy to learn its weakness so you know which mode to use... but it also rewards you with cash, as do the collectibles in the game, giving true incentive to capture stats and seek items out to upgrade your proton pack modes…
And at the end of each spooky location is a pretty awesome boss battle.. all of which feel unique from each other, and the game does a great job of hyping them up with their story as your progress through the levels
there wasn’t one I didn’t have fun trying to defeat or capture…
most if not all being fan favorites as I’ve never really seen a ghostbusters movie.
There is a game save bug here though so be cautious…
I Turned my ps3 off right before the final 2 bosses and when I woke up in the morning the game wasn’t reading my save.. Thankfully it did after I reinstalled... but be warry of this glitch going in…
And this games multiplayer is lost in time, it’s no longer works.
Other than dated grainy textures, this is a really solid game worth checking out if you’re a ghostbusters fan.
I give ghostbusters the video game
a 7/10
I will qualify this by stating that, although I'm well old enough to remember the Ghostbusters heyday back in the early 1980's, I've always been rather lukewarm to the whole thing. The movies were okay, but nothing I wanted to see more than once. Still, I read good reviews and thought "a good game is a good game."
Wow, was this awful. The graphics are very nice, and the story is okay, so there's no problem. It has a sense of humor and *does* play like a sequel to the previous films, so if you're an absolute Ghostbusters fan, this may be for you.
The problem is with the gameplay. Catching those things is an absolute chore. I read one professional review where the critic said he "couldn't tell me how much fun it was" to catch and trap the ghosts, and I can only presume he's never played a game that wasn't made for the Atari 2600 prior to this. The actual mechanics of catching and trapping the ghosts is like trying to catch flies with a fishing rod and is about as much fun. Which, is to say, not at all. And that's the main point of the game.
I suppose it *does* give you the feeling of what it would be like to be a Ghostbuster. Sadly, it turns out that being a Ghostbuster isn't fun at all.
SummaryThe Ghostbusters are back in an all new story penned by the original creators. With Manhattan newly overrun by ghosts and other supernatural creatures, it's up to you to take on the role of a new recruit joining the original film cast of the famous Ghostbusters team. Equipped with a variety of unique weapons and gadgets, you will hunt, f...