To sum it up simply: This game is awesome.
To be a little more detailed: This game shows what a proper movie licensed game can be. The story, gameplay, graphics, everything in this game is top notch. I will be reviewing the PS3 version of the game, which is the more realistic version.
Story: To start off, the story was written by Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis, the two who wrote the movies' stories. That is a major plus for this game, because it helps to make the story more like the movies. In fact, this game is basically Ghostbusters 3. The story links to the movies in alot of ways, specifically the first Ghostbusters movie. You play the role of a new recruit who works as the experimental equipment technician (basically you're Egon's labrat for the new gear you use in the game). You battle everything from Slimer to the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man and even the Librarian Ghost from the first movie. If you wander around the firehouse between levels, you can see that they packed the Ghostbuster HQ full of references from the movies, old games, the cartoon shows. Everything. It shows that they went the extra effort to make this game enjoyable. This game is pure fan service. I'll not give any spoilers, but the story is awesome from start to finish. During the game while you're playing, the other Ghostbusters talk back and forth, thus explaining more of the story, and giving out jokes and other humorous lines.
Graphics: The graphics are great. I've heard the 360 version is a little better, but honestly, I could care less if it is. The graphics are great. The character models are detailed, and the actors from the movie look like they should. The ghosts have that scary-cartoon-ish look to them like they did in the movies. The game just looks awesome. The proton pack's stream looks and sounds perfect. Plus the new weapons are great too. Even better to remove this game from the usual shooter look, there are not any displays for ammo or anything. All the information is displayed on the Proton pack itself, which helps add to the movie flavor of the game, and not make it look like a game based on a movie.
Gameplay: The gameplay is simple, effective, and great. You use your various weapons on the proton pack for battle and some puzzles. You wear down the ghosts until they're ready to be trapped, then you toss out the trap and then pull them into the suction zone of the trap. This part is neat in the fact it's almost like a fishing game, odd it may sound, but really fun it is. You can use the analog sticks to move the stream around, or you can turn on the Sixaxis controller and use the sensors to tilt the controller to control how you pull them in. It's similar to how the Wiimote for the Wii would work, so that's a plus the PS3 has over the 360. There are also animated creatures that run around you can simply destroy, so you're not always trapping, which helps to break up the trapping.
And the boss fights...they are so great. Like I said, you get classics like Slimer and Stay Puft and the Librarian, but get new ones like the Angry Fisherman, a spider-ghost who was a serial killer at the hotel. You even get to fight a Sloar, which was mentioned in the first movie, but you get to see one here (granted it's a young one, but it's still a Sloar!) Even the classics like the Librarian ghost, you find out about her history, which leads to another ghost boss to fight. It just helps to pull you more into the game.
The music is also great because most of it comes from the movies, namely the first one. This helps to set the atmosphere like the first one. Some music was scored, I believe, for the game, and it's orchestrated and fitting, not some psycho rock music or techno crap. They make sure it all flows together.
Now, sadly, for the problems with the game.
The main problem is the glitches. This just seems to be a problem with movie licensed games, which is a shame. The main one I encountered was the game freezing during one part of the library level. I encountered this only once and had to restart the system. The second glitch is losing some save data. I'd beat the game, but the unlockables would be...spotty. Some would be unlocked and some wouldn't. Strange...so I replayed the game and reunlocked them and it's fine now.
The other two problems with the game. It's too short, this is mainly because the story is like a movie, hence it flows rather non-stop. The second part is there are no side missions and stories to check out. No optional ghosts to track and bust. It would have been nice to be able to do that. I can forgive these two because Dan and Harold were writing a game for the first time (that I know of) instead of movies or TV shows, so they focused on making a good story the top, and it shows.
The last real problem I got is there is no co-op for the main story. I'm used to games having co-op added in now, as it makes the game more enjoyable to play with another player to complete the game (Resident Evil 5 comes to mind in that). It would have been nice to have that, maybe GB TVG2 will have it, I hope it does.
So there is my review. This game is solid. Some flaws bring it down some, but not enough not to obtain this game and enjoy it's greatness. I beat the game the first day I got it. I couldn't stop playing it until I beat it. It was that great. I was smiling all the time while I played it. It was like a reunion where you meet some old friends. To see them all together again like this was a pure joy for me, being a fan of the original movies and the Real Ghostbusters cartoon. It just made it so wonderful to be put into the role of a Ghostbuster and to help the legends of the trade in their job. It was awesome.
My final overall score: 8/10 - A great game to own.
Final thought: Yes. Busting makes me feel good.
No comments:
Post a Comment