Once A Ghostbuster Always A Ghostbuster (Video Game First Impression)

I might still be able to pull off the hat and six shooter…just not nearly as cute.

Yes, both of those pictures are in fact of me. The one on the left was taken back in the grand year of 1989, and the dude who needs to shave on the right is again of me taken last night. In 1989 was when Ghostbusters 2 released in theaters, and also was the last time we saw a ‘live’ action Ghostbusters tale.

We’ve still yet to see them in live action, but we atleast now have another entry to add to the story of the Ghostbusters. Last night was the most fun I’ve had watching movies, and playing video games in quite awhile. I watched the 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray, and played both the PS3 and Wii version of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. After a couple of hours into both titles, I’m proud to say that both purchases were warranted.

Since you’re on this site you probably don’t care about the PS3 version, so I’ll talk about my play through using the Wii Remote as a proton pack. First things first, the Ghostbuster video game is the third movie in the series. Which means if you’re a Ghostbusters fan then you’ll be immediately drawn back into the characters and the little Ghostbuster nuances that are added throughout. Otherwise you might think you’re playing Luigi’s Mansion: Wii Edition. Which honestly isn’t a bad thing either.

When you first load up the game, you’ll start up a profile by either choosing to be a male or female Ghostbuster. This is limited to only the Wii version, so ladies if you must play a woman in-game then stick to the Wii version. Or if you’re a guy who likes to play as a lady in video games. Moving on — you then choose the difficulty which will determine the power of the ghosts and how many apparitions you’ll have to fight in the game. I of course chose the ‘Gozerian’ difficulty which is the hardest.

Immediately afterwards the game starts, and it starts in a museum where a massive wave of psycho kinetic energy explodes causing a shockwave through the city. Of course this kick starts the emergence of all types of ghouls and ghosts. I don’t want to give away any more of the story besides that. Suffice to say the narrative feels spot-on and continues the legacy of Ghostbusters as you would want it seen done. The characters feel right, and barring a few over used lines during gameplay the voice acting is well executed.

What I mentioned in the paragraph above can be attributed to both the Wii and PS3 versions of the game. That is because they are nearly identical, with some parts being cut out of the Wii version. This is most likely due to technical restraints, but it really hasn’t hampered the experience during the first two hours.

While some of the story might have been cut out, I can tell you that the gameplay of the Wii version runs much smoother than the PS3. This can actually be a problem, as the Wii version runs a bit ‘too’ smooth. During gameplay you’ll take control of your character from a third person perspective, and use the Wii Remote to aim your proton pack. Red Fly took a hint from Retro Studio’s book making Metroid Prime 3 by using the Wii Remote to turn your character to change the direction you want to face. They pulled it off nearly perfectly. The only problem is that it is really over-sensitive. In fact I had to change the sensitivity of my Wii Remote in the Wii system settings. I’ve never had to do that with a game before, until now. It would have been nice if Red Fly added this feature in-game.

After you get past the sensitivity issue, the game is a blast. Moving your character around is smooth as silk, but at times can seem floaty. The gameplay is brisk and heavily action oriented. You’ll simply aim your proton pack at a ghost, then fry it til its health gets down low. You then use a capture beam to drag it around, then slide out your trap and pull the ghost into it. Like I mentioned earlier, it feels like an updated Luigi’s Mansion (again, a good thing). As of now there have been no gameplay quirks, and capturing a ghost is as fun and Ghostbuster-esque as I was hoping for.

The gameplay might be different between the PS3 and Wii because of the controls; but the Wii version sets itself apart due to its style. You can tell that this game isn’t some watered down version of the more technically powerful PS3/Xbox 360 game. I’m really on the fence between my preference of the Wii version’s style and the PS3. Where the Wii really excels is with its animations which during in-game cut scenes are smoother and while animated look better than the more realistic style.

After playing through both versions of the game, I’ve come to the conclusion that both developers traded in graphical prowess for physics and animated destruction. The reason I say this is because the game could look so much better in terms of texture and resolution. However, when the game gets into action it becomes really impressive. The physics of the engine make destroying the landscape a real treat. If you remember the scene from the first Ghostbusters when they destroy the ball room trying to catch Slimer; you’ll get to have that same feeling playing this game. On the Wii, Ghostbusters: The Video Game has probably the best physics engine I’ve come across and the option of making everything destructible warrants a purchase itself.

While destroying everything in sight, you’ll also be listening to the familiar tunes of the movies. The Ghostbuster’s theme song is played numerous times during cutscenes and gameplay. It’s nostalgic, but at the same time can get repetitive. There are some switch ups here and there depending on if something special happens during the gameplay. The sound effects are spot-on, and everything you hear is exactly the experience you received from the movies. Also, the destructible environments sound great. So, if you use your proton pack to destroy an oven it will sound different than blowing up a chair.

After my first two hours, I can say that I’m definitely enjoying myself so far. I’m not far enough into it yet to say as to whether or not the gameplay will feel repetitive. There’s also a multiplayer function that I wasn’t able to try out yet. Even with the things I haven’t tried, I can safely say that everything “Ghostbusters” related is safely intact. So, if you’re a fan and want to see the storyline continued then atleast give it a rent.