Fans of the movies will enjoy joining the Ghostbusters team but will have to deal with some frustrating gameplay issues
GAMEPLAY (7.5) - Instead of taking control of one of the original Ghostbusters the player will assume the role of a rookie that will be providing field tests for Egon's inventions before risking them on the backs on more important characters. Using the familiar proton beam from a third-person perspective, players weaken ghosts by keeping a steady stream on them before attempting to slam them into the ground and catch them in a trap. This might sound like it could get repetitive, but actually capturing ghosts never does, partly because it isn't the only thing to do in the game. Being the experimental weapons technician means, among other things, that the character has access to more than the proton pack. By the end of the game, the rookie has four weapons, all of which will be called upon at different points.
In addition to the proton stream and slime gun from the movies there is a shotgun-like Shock Blast and a long-range Meson Collider along with their accompanying secondary modes. These additional modes feel a bit tacked on but make sense as this is a shooter and only having the Blast Stream and Slime Blower would get boring after awhile. Scanning ghosts brings up a description revealing their weaknesses, giving various ways to fight different opponents. Some spirits come in corporeal form and actually don't need to be captured, breaking up what would be monotonous ghost hunting. Scanning is also used to find the occasional haunted artifact, not necessary for completing the story but it is a humorous collecting diversion. As ghosts are captured or destroyed the player will earn money which can then be used to upgrade his different equipment, gradually improving gameplay and making the weapons better able to take on the increasingly difficult enemies.
The game's controls tend to make the player feel clumsy and slow, resulting in getting hit by enemies multiple times. If he takes enough damage he'll fall down. Once grounded, one of two things will happen. Sometimes the player can slowly get back to his feet, though there are times he'll get hit and knocked down again before he's able to take control over his character. If the player is hurt enough to be incapacitated, he'll be left helpless on his back waiting for one of the other characters to rescue him. Depending on the situation, he can be waiting for either one or all four Ghostbusters to come revive him, and sometimes the wait can be excruciatingly long. Unfortunately in some of these cases a long wait will end in one of the comrades dying before they can revive the player, resulting in a "Mission Failed." This can become very frustrating especially as the game can take a considerable amount of time to reload, and the player has to repeatedly listen to the Ghostbusters theme during every reload unless he hits the mute button. The biggest problem with Ghostbusters' gameplay is the constant cycle of death-revival-death. If the A.I. were better at staying alive it wouldn't be such a problem but it seems (especially in the larger boss battles) that too much of the player's time is spent playing either medic or victim, as opposed to actual ghostbusting.
GRAPHICS (8.0) - A bit of a mixed bag when it comes to Ghostbuster's visuals. When there is a lot of action happening at once - varied ghosts flying about, multiple proton streams firing, ghosts being forced into traps, etc. it can be an impressive sight. Character models are done well and there is a good variety of locations but the environments tend to be sparse with low textures and lip syncing at times seems to be non-existent. There are nice lighting effects, which is important as many of the environments tend to be dark. The streams that come from the varied equipment will light up the dark areas with all kinds of neon explosions. The CGI cutscenes are very well done, with much more detail than is found with the in-game engine.
AUDIO (8.5) - Perhaps the biggest plus for the game is that almost all of the original cast comes back to do the voice work, minus Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. The story is better than the movie Ghostbusters II, though that probably isn't much of a surprise. Unfortunately for the most part the humor just doesn't work like it did in the movies, though this could be due to the fact that humor is more difficult to pull off in a videogame. Bill Murray gives the impression that his heart wasn't really into this project as there where times when it sounded like he was phoning it in. Interestingly enough he has noticeably less lines than the other Ghostbusters and many times he won't be with the player as there will some other task he'll have to do that takes him away from the game. Naturally the Ghostbusters theme is here, along with background music that will be recognizable to fans of the movies. The environmental effects are quite good, with effectively creepy whispering and screaming ghosts to go along with the destructive noises made by the players weapons.
VALUE (8.0) - Ghostbusters should take the average player about eight hours to complete. There are multiplayer modes which will give players the opportunity to play as one of the original Ghostbusters, though unfortunately the characters are mostly silent. Survival requires the player to survive wave after wave of assaulting ghosts. Slime Dunk mode is a competition with other players to wrangle and "dunk" ghosts into pre-placed trap devices around the level. These along with several other modes allow the player to collect money which can be used to unlock new ranks as well as additional achievements/trophies. Oddly enough there is no co-op mode available, as this seems to be a game that is tailor made for playing together.
SUMMARY - As licensed games go it's certainly above average given their poor history. Just keep in mind that some patience will be needed in dealing with the gameplay issues, especially if playing at anything higher than the easy level of difficulty. If you're not a Ghostbusters fan you're not going to find anything particularly compelling here. If you are a fan of Ghostbusters and like the idea of participating in all new adventures with the original team, Ghostbusters is worth checking out, either as a rental or even a purchase now that the game should be available for $20 or less.