Ghostbusters has come back, unfortunately without Bill Murray, but still an entertaining time.
GAMEPLAY - This is a theme I've found in a number of other games I've played - interesting story but so-so gameplay. The combat was innovative, where in most cases you are simply shooting at your enemies (ghosts) in order to weaken them enough to capture them. Combat is in third-person mode with an option to go to first -person mode. It can be difficult at times, especially if you are going against a fast-moving ghost that is constantly firing back at you and rapidly depleting your health. Overall not too bad. Another feature is to use a spirit that resides within you in order to accomplish tasks that you would not be able to do yourself, such as reaching inaccessible locations. Overall I found this feature to be rather tedious and just wanted to get this over with so I could go back to controlling the main character. There can occasionally be the bad camera angle when you are in tight spots, ala Kingdom Hearts, but thankfully this did not happen too often.
GRAPHICS - Definitely above average. Very detailed characters and expansive backgrounds, which admittedly are not quite as detailed as the characters. The ghosts have nice transparency effects, and the frame rate stays steady even when there are multiple enemies on screen. Overall the designs are creepy and effective.
SOUND - This is a great sounding game. Sound effects, background music and especially the voice acting was top notch. As with the graphics, it's evident that Namco put a lot of effort in order to create a great atmosphere that was both humorous and creepy. Some well-known voice actors as well as some well known movie actors contributed their voice talents to this game, and their efforts paid off.
VALUE - A bit of a mixed bag here. On the one hand, this game will probably take you 12-15 hours to complete, not bad for an action oriented game. On the other hand, there is absolutely nothing extra available after completion, which is rather unusual for console games these days. After you have experienced this entertaining story it's debatable whether you will want to go back and replay the exact same game again.
SUMMARY - As I mentioned before, this game does have an entertaining story accompanied by great graphics and sound, and I feel that this makes up for the relatively weak gameplay. It's the exception when you can find a game that can combine great attributes across the board such as God of War, Resident Evil 4 or the Metal Gear games. If you can get this game for a bargain price then I recommend it and feel that it will be worth your time.