Thankfully, It Isn't Mass Hysteria
Ghostbusters: The Video Game brings fans what they want; their own adventure with untested equipment. I blame myself.
Published: July 9, 2009
Several of the early levels in the game are throwbacks to the first movie, and these environments probably are the best ones in the game. They are lovingly recreated and have some pretty nice details all around. For the most part, however, you will see some less than stellar work. For every pristine object, there is a room filled with low-resolution objects and surfaces. To add insult to injury, the game can feel pretty lifeless at times, this being despite the swarm of ghosts hurtling towards you.
Forgive me for mentioning it, but I’ve since played a little of the Xbox 360 version and have noticed a lot more visual polish is to be had. It seems that the PS3 version was not a top priority (but PlayStation users should be used to this sad fact by now). Other glitches and problems I’ve encountered have to do with weather effects. While inside the museum, I noticed that it was raining through the overhead windows. It had a very pretty effect that added to the spook patrol process, barring one simple fact: the glass wasn’t shattered yet. Truth be told, glitches like these were somewhat frequent and rather jarring to experience once realized.
In-game character models look pretty good up until they start to talk. For the overwhelming majority of the in-game cutscenes and for several rough spots in the CG ones, lip-syncing is a huge issue. It is one thing to have the faces look strange while talking in-game, but to totally miss the audio mark not only there but in the CG video is unacceptable.
Ignoring a somewhat minor presentational flaw, I was pleased with the voice acting and sound effects of the game. The proton stream never sounded so good! The musical score is the same from the films, and after 7 hours of play, it tends to drag a bit. The music, thankfully doesn’t play all the time, and is interplayed with various atmospheric sound effects and idle chatter between each Ghostbuster. Our boys are back, and sound just like they did 25 years ago. Walter “Dickless” Peck makes a triumphant return and brings the same pissed off fury that he had in the original Ghostbusters. Alyssa Milano (effectively replacing Sigourney Weaver’s character) plays Ilyssa Selwyn (cute, huh?), who is Venkmen’s love interest. She doesn’t have nearly the screen time to really make an impact, but she does play a key role in the game. Another surprising addition is the voice of Slimer from the cartoon series. The joy of recognizing the vocalizations and screams as I bashed his gooey little head in made my day. Although a minor role in the story, Slimer does get a multiplayer mode based around him.
