Ghostbusters Videogame Review: Who You Gonna Call

Game Reviewed: Ghostbusters

Release Date: July 12th, 2016

Developer: FireForge Games

Publisher: Activision

Platform: [Reviewed: PlayStation 4] Xbox One and PC

Genre: Action-Adventure

Rated: E10+ For Everyone 10+

Finally we have someone to call when the not so friendly ghosts are on the loose. It’s been years since we’ve had that special number to dial and since it’s been in use. Luckily, coinciding with the Ghostbusters movie which hits theatres July 15 worldwide, the videogame is back on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

I have to start by saying I allowed the main menu to play through the entire duration of Ray Parker, Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” theme song at least twice. The 80’s inside of me refused to let this moment pass by; but I was ready to bust some ghost!

The Ghostbuster videogame doesn’t feature the classic crew of Murray, Akroyd, etc.; nor the queens of the suits McCarthy, Jones, etc. In this post-flim adventure you are the rookies under the wings of Erin, Abby, Patty and Jillian. As the veterans are currently saving Washington DC, New York depends on the recruits.

Anyone can be a Ghostbuster and that’s exactly how the campaign set the tone as you have the option of choosing a preferred character and naming that player. Before accepting missions the Ghostbusters receive a briefing of who’s haunting the city through a computer monitor capturing the name of the caller, occupation and location.

Ghostbusters, which plays in third-person, allows couch co-op of up to four players totaling to about 6 to 7 hours of gameplay. Surprisingly the title has the ability to offer a great online experience, however only sticks to local play. The enemies mostly consist of ghost, zombies, flying skulls and key bosses. As you progress the difficulty never seems to increase, only the amount of enemies you face at once.

A positive side to the wave of ghost and goblins are the health packs scattered in each mission, healing the entire team at once rather than one individual.

Players using a P.K.E. throughout each mission as it help in locating ghost, hidden items, passageways and more. Players are also equipped with a unique weapon and proton pack. Each player is well balanced and are also limited as to how long a weapon can be used without overheating, forcing the gun to require time to cool down.

 In addition to decimating the undead you can also blast away certain objects to earn ecto points which are critical to your leveling up. At the end of each mission or at the Ghostbuster Headquarters you can upgrade your characters skills, allowing them to become more efficient in certain areas or increasing the effectiveness of your weapon or proton.  The Ghostbuster Headquarters is available at all times when needing to upgrade your characters, viewing ghosts you’ve captured through the containment unit, and special codes that allows you to unlock special features.

Players are ranked at the end of each capture based on score as well as the team based on time and team total points. When playing solo, it does feel a bit awkward being first all the time because you’re flying solo.

Voices were fairly decent during the briefings but near perfect during missions as the character interacted with each other with great chemistry. My only gripe came from the amount of “slime” jokes as they became obsessive. Ghostbusters cartoon/art style was very appealing including great cinematics.

Ghostbusters did have a few fumbles during gameplay unfortunately. Most noticeable was when my character was progressing on one of the missions; two of the other three players were left behind and didn’t reappear until the next cutscene, which was about 10-15 minutes later. Other issue consisted of enemies clipping into objects causing them to become immobile. They’re ghost! How can they not turn around?