Game Review: Ghostbusters Co-Review

Ed's Review:

Ghostbusters hasn’t had a memorable game in quite some time, so when you get the original actors and minds involved with a game you hope for good things. This game did not disappoint.

The design of Ghostbusters is visually beautiful, for all the complaints by developers that the current systems are maxed out this game proves some of the potential the big developers are blind to. The open franchise that is Ghostbusters offers many different approaches that the developers took in terms of missons and the ghosts, nostalgia is clearly there with the original Ghostbusters sizing you up as their trainee. The games pretty creepy at times too, not on the Dead Space level, but when you have ghosts sprinting at you around corners, it gets pretty creepy. The Hotel had a pretty creepy moment, but the Library is probably the best level with its visuals, moments of creepiness, and puzzles. Yes I said puzzles, there are moments where you have to be inventive to get through the level.

A big element of this game is the controls, you’re a ghostbuster with a proton pack. So obviously catching ghosts should be a satisfying experience, it’s not like a shooter where you just shoot and the ghosts disappear. It’s an extreme tug of war to bring the ghosts in, it requires teamwork even with the A.I. to slam the ghosts down and put them in your trap. For me the control is good, it has some variety, and the health and pressure monitors on your proton pack turned out good. I thought having your health on the side of your pack would be hard to read during the hectic moments, I was surprised at how easy I got used to it.

There are other good things, good humor moments, the nostalgic characters and ghosts you meet. The missions are decent, the gameplay is good. So is there anything wrong with this game for me? Well, SOMETIMES the gameplay is repetitive but not too much. The Multiplayer is currently having connection issues, yet I haven’t had them. But I am really being nitpicky about this game when it comes to the negative elements. It’s about 6 to 7 hours of gameplay from start to finish on medium difficulty, I wish there was more. I guess that’s all I can say against this game, it’s going to be a classic game. But the multiplayer is not going to make it as replayable as say, Call of Duty 4, the developers did acknowledge lacking in that department. I’m glad they devoted their time to the fanbase cry for a true ghostbuster’s feel.

I give it a 4 out of 5

TJ's Review:

I think Ed did a solid job of explaining this game I wouldn't say it's classic however but definitely nostalgic. For me the game had a few peaks and valleys where the game was either fun or frustrating Luckily is was fun most of the time but not without it's faults.

I'd totally agree though with Ed that the visuals are pretty great. Especially the library level where the ghost world and our world collide. It was really refreshing to have a game come along that wasn't just varying shades of grey and brown. The levels are full of color and it really makes for an appealing game for the senses. The only thing that is a bit stale visually is some of the level design that seems a bit dated. I'm sure some of that comes from the fact this game should have been out a year ago. Overall though its very nice and the hud on the proton pack is nice although not as good as Dead Space's hud.

I've heard reports of some reviewers thinking the 360 controls for wrangling ghost get a little boring and tedious after a while. I can say that for me that never really was the case. I always had fun capturing goes from beginning to end and thought it was actually the best part of the game. The one thing this game does do perfect is giving you the ultimate experience of what it would be like to be a Ghostbuster and that is something that never gets old. The characters really made you feel at home like this really is a third story. All the performances were really good and while Bill Murray did seem a bit bored even he was better then most of the voice acting out there. A great atmosphere and characters can make a game go a long way.

Aside from the ghost catching and story the rest of the gameplay and design choices don't seem as well executed. Some of the navigation of levels can be a bit unclear at times. About twice in the game I came across places where I would walk in circles for 20 minutes before I figured out where to go next. Some of the weapons also seemed pretty useless and added in to give the illusion of depth. 90% of the game the default stream did the trick. I would definitely look forward to a sequel if the game sells well.

4 out of 5