Review: Ghostbusters the Video Game on Xbox 360

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the game that Ghostbusters fans have been waiting for ever since the movie came out in 1984. It has a great story, the original talent, awesome graphics, and an incredible ghost catching mechanic that sets it apart from other third person shooters. When most people look at a licensed game they see a quick cash in that needs to be rushed to be released with the movie, this game doesn’t have that problem. The last Ghostbusters movie came out 20 years ago and as of right now there is no GB 3 set in stone. So the game takes place in Thanksgiving of 1991 which is about 2 years after the events of Ghostbusters II. The Ghostbusters are now backed by the city and are loved not hated like they were at the beginning of the second movie. The mayor (played by Brian Doyle Murray) rode to election on an “anti-ghost” platform so the GB’s are now city contractors, this means they bill the city and don’t have to pay for the damage they cause. To keep the GB’s in check the mayor appoints Walter Peck (William Atherton) to keep track of them. All of the original GB’s return to provide their voices and likenesses in the game; Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) as well as Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) as the Ghostbusters’ secretary. There is also a new player, Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn (Alyssa Milano) who is the guest curator at the Museum of Natural History’s new Gozer exhibit. You play as a rookie Ghostbuster hired to test out Egon’s new equipment. Without spoiling the story I will say that it all revolves around a PKE shockwave that erupts from the museum the night before the opening of the exhibit.
In the game there are revisits to some classic ghosts from the movies but also a ton of new stuff. You will return to the Sedgewick to fight Slimer, battle Stay Puft in Times Square, and bust the library ghost from the beginning of the first movie. But this isn’t a rehash of the movie there is a ton of original stuff. The voice acting is fantastic and all of the actors really got back into their characters, some reviewers have been saying that Bill Murray “phoned it in” but that isn’t the case at all, they all do a phenomenal job and I was thoroughly convinced that I was listening to the characters and not the actors. The storyline is really deep and there is a good twist towards the end, the dialogue is spot on (Aykroyd and Ramis wrote it so it would almost have to be) there are a lot of chuckles and some laugh out loud moments in the game that hit on what the movies were all about, comedy. But of course in a game there needs to be more action for the player so you will be seeing a lot more of ghost fighting than witty dialogue but that is part of the shift between mediums and it makes complete sense.
Ok on to the gameplay, there are two main types of ghosts; corporeal and ethereal. The corporeal ghosts simply need to be blasted to pieces with your equipment. The ethereal ghosts are a little bit more of a challenge, they need to be dragged into a trap like the movies. Ray describes this as a three step process Sap’em Cap’em Trap’em. You fire your proton stream (or other offensive weapon) to sap the ghost of its PK energy, your crosshairs have a green circle of bars around it when you fire at a ghost, that signifies the amount of PK energy left in the ghost, when it is sufficiently depleted you throw out the capture stream and start the second part Cap’em. Once the ghost is in your capture stream you have to wear him down by pulling in the opposite direction of where he is flying. This will build up a slam meter, when you have built up some “slam” power you hold the left trigger and use the thumbstick to slam the ghost into the ceiling, ground, or anything to weaken it. When it is dazed you will see stars above its head and it is time for the last step Trap’em. Press the “X” button to throw out a trap and you will see a yellow beacon of light emanating from the top of the trap. Drag the ghost over to this and the trap funnel will automatically open then the ghost will try to fly out so use the thumbstick to keep him in the trap funnel while it sucks him in. There you have, that wasn’t such a chore now was it?
You will get upgrades to the proton pack over the course of the game and you will find yourself using them for different types of foes, many reviewers have stated that you don’t use two out of the four equipment functions but that just isn’t true at all. You will get the regular proton stream which includes the blast stream, capture stream, and the boson dart which is like a large pulse of energy that fires from the nutrona wand. Then you will get the dark mater generator, the primary fire is a shotgun like function that sprays dark matter particles, this is perfect for dealing with charging foes. The secondary fire is the stasis stream, this long blue stream will slow down a ghost and if you keep it on a ghost long enough it will actually freeze it in place. Freezing and then blasting apart an enemy is a cool one-two punch. Then you will receive the slime blower which has the slime stream that can be used to destroy or weaken certain monsters, neutralize harmful black slime, get possessor ghosts out of their victims and expose certain doors and such that can’t be seen with the naked eye but can be seen after it is slimed. The secondary fire is the slim tether that can tether ghosts and physics objects together, this will primarily be used to solve puzzles but if you shoot one tether at a ghost and the other at a trap on the ground it will pull the ghost into the trap. Finally you will receive the Meson Collider which probably is the least useful piece of tech but it still can be used effectively. The primary fire is a homing beacon that will attach onto a target then you can use the secondary fire which is like a machine gun and the meson particles will lock on to the beacon on the bad guy and hit him regardless of where you are aiming, if you can get it on a fast moving ghost it is a real good weapon to have.
As you bust ghosts you receive money and you can put that money towards upgrades to all of the equipment, this is all accessible through the PKE meter which is the next thing I am going to talk about. The PKE meter is like a PDA, it is the pause menu of the game and it includes Tobin’s Spirit Guide, your stats, options, tutorials, and the “store” where you can buy upgrades. When you press the “Y” button you will be put into a first person perspective with the PKE meter in front of you and the Para Goggles (or Ecto Goggles your choice) down. The goggles will pick up a lot of otherwise invisible things like markings on walls and ghost trails. The PKE meter words like a hot and cold meter. The lines will spike in the direction of a ghost or collectible. Green means there is a faint trail of a ghost, red means there is a ghost in close proximity, and blue means a collectible is nearby. You follow the spiking lines and the wings of the PKE meter will start to go up when you get really close. Then you can attempt to scan a ghost or artifact or paranormal anomaly for entry into Tobin’s Spirit Guide. There are three circles in the goggle interface and if you line up the ghost with the smallest circle and press the right trigger you will get a full scan, this scan will allow you to pull up the spirit guide and see the strengths, weaknesses, and backstory of the ghost you just scanned. This can be very helpful in knowing which weapon to use on any type of ghost so when you see a new type of ghost scan it and look at its weaknesses! The backstories for the ghosts were also written but Aykroyd and Ramis and they can be pretty funny or a little creepy at times. Collectibles are cursed artifacts that, when scanned and collected, will appear at the firehouse. You get money for each ghost or collectible you scan. The collectibles are really funny like the disco pants that follow you around and play music or the toaster of sights unseen that dances on the pool table like the toaster in the second movie.
The graphics are simply amazing, a lot of attention was put into the character models and everyone looks spot on. The full CGI cutscenes are more impressive than the in-game ones but that’s not to the say the in-game cutscenes aren’t impressive as well, it all looks and plays great. The framerate did not slow down once and I only saw pixilation in the background of one in-game cutscene so the reviewers who say that those cutscenes are pixilated must be playing a different game. The ghosts’ coloring and the hue about them is nice a vibrant and just what you would expect. The game’s engine performs incredibly and allows for massive destruction. When you fire your proton stream chairs will break apart, walls will scorch, and windows will shatter. You will get a damage tally that you can review in your PKE meter and it is just fun to see a room that you blasted apart. The physics in the game are also impressive and the slime tether is a fun toy to play around with. The scenery is nice a varied and it doesn’t get boring to look at each level is very distinctive.
The sound design is fantastic with the original film score by Elmer Bernstein playing throughout along with some of Ray Parker Jr’s “Ghostbusters.” The proton pack, trap, and PKE meter all sound perfect and there really isn’t anything that could have been better, it is just like listening to the hum of a lightsaber you just know when it’s right. The repeating tracks aren’t that back especially considering the movie was 2 hours and this game is 8-10 hours so people who complain about that just want to complain about something but I didn’t really notice too many tracks repeating and when they did it was appropriate so I thought is was perfect. The load screens have Ray Parker Jr’s song playing and it just gets you so pumped up to buts some heads, in a spiritual sense of course.
The game can border on really creepy and really silly but it’s all within the parameters of a Ghostbusters story so it is fine, the story gets darker as it goes on just like the movies. But even though it gets darker the sense of humor is still there and you will still be laughing even when the level itself is creepy. There are a ton of references for fans, especially in the firehouse. The firehouse is a great hub world and you can do a lot of stuff like talk to the painting of Vigo, check out the containment unit, listen to messages and yes you can slide down the pole. You can almost spend hours just fiddling around in the firehouse without ever going on a mission.
There are very few nitpicks about the game and they don’t even rally matter that much to me but I will let you know them to try and be fair. A map screen or compass function would have been nice because it is easy to get lost but the maps are pretty linear so it isn’t too bad, your flashlight should be something you can turn on whenever as opposed to something that turns on automatically because there were some parts where I thought it was too dark but the computer obviously didn’t. Some reviewers have complained about bad lip synching but to be honest it really isn’t that bad and who cares? Also they say that the characters are stiff but that isn’t true either, there are a lot of nuances to the facial expressions of the characters and I never once thought they looked stiff so they’re totally wrong with that. The only other complaint I have it I WANT MORE! But of course as a super fan I will never be satisfied however the replay value is great because of the unique ways of catching ghosts, the achievements, and the dialogue that you may have missed the first time through. The online multiplayer is great with my favorite mode being survival where you try to survive waves of ghosts like the Horde mode in Gears 2. Some local multiplayer would be nice but that doesn’t really bother me and no character creator makes sense because of all of the cutscenes that the rookie is in. The nameless character makes the experience much better because when Ray calls you “Hoss” or Winston calls you “Rook” you really feel like they are talking to you. A final complaint that some have voiced is that the other GB’s need to be revived too often and while that may be true it is only in the boss fights and it isn’t that big of a deal.
If you like Ghostbusters, shooters, comedy, or all of the above buy this game. It is by far my favorite game of all time and while you may not agree with that you will have a blast playing this wildly fun ride, here’s hoping for more games and some DLC!

Gameplay: 10
Story: 10
Replay Value: 10
Graphics: 10
Overall: 10

Exclusivity: Good or Bad?

Since the beginning of the console war between Nintendo and Sega killer apps and exclusive titles have been a huge selling point for individual consoles and that has become even more prominent in today's market with the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii all trying to keep the best titles for themselves. The logic behind an exclusive deal is clear, if a game is really good and you can get it only on one console you will be more likely to buy that console over others. So console manufacturers have their own game studios to create exclusive games and they strike deals with third party developers to keep certain title exclusive to one system over another.

This trend in gaming is something that makes complete sense from a business standpoint but what about the gamers? I believe that all this does is alienate certain gamers and cause hatred for certain games because they aren't on "your" system. How does this alienate gamers? Well it is pretty simple, especially in today's economy, most people can't afford to buy more than one console and multiple games so a choice has to be made and this inevitably leads to a consumer picking one console for a specific game but losing out on all the exclusives from the other systems. So a person who can't afford a PS3 buys an Xbox 360 and now can't enjoy games like Killzone 2, Little Big Planet, God of War III, or Heavy Rain. Or on the reverse if a person buys a PS3 for those titles they miss out on Gears of War, Halo 3,Mass Effect, or others. Now for that person (who represents most of the gaming community) buying two systems is not financially possible so they will miss out on some great games no matter what they do, it is catch 21.

Another unfortunate side effect is that gamers on one side of the spectrum will start to resent exclusives on the other end because they can't play them, the mentality is that "if I can't play it on my system then it sucks" This just leads to animosity towards games that just don't deserve that and if the game was exclusive to that person's system they would love it. When you make that choice of what system to get you are inadvertently entering a world of fan boys who will stop at nothing to prove their console is better than the rest because they don't want to think that their choice was wrong. It's like becoming a fan of the Yankees, you get thrust into this ridiculous rivalry with the Red Sox and are taught to hate them.

If there were no exclusive titles this wouldn't happen as much because everyone would be able to enjoy multiplatform titles and they would appreciate a game for what it is and not what system it is on. But you will have people like Jack Tretton and David Cage saying that certain game experiences can only be achieved on a certain system but I call BS on that, Tretton went as far as to say that Home was only possible on the PSN, I'm sorry but seriously Xbox Live is way better than PSN and Microsoft could make a virtual world if they wanted to, those statements are just false.

But I will acknowledge that even if there were no exclusive titles people would still argue over what system's graphics were better and stuff like that but at least games wouldn't be hated for no good reason and everyone would be able to enjoy any games that they wanted on their own system. Will exclusivity go away? No but I really don't like it because I want to play a game like Heavy Rain without having to buy a PS3 (and I don't care what David Cage says that game could get ported to the 360 there is nothing SO special about it that the Xbox couldn't handle it)In short I believe exclusivity to be bad for gamers but not much can or will be done so just get whatever console you think is best and try not to hate on the other ones for no good reason just enjoy what you have and you will avoid fan boy BS.

E3 2009: Best of Day 3 and Final Thoughts

Today was the last day of E3 2009 and it didn't disappoint, although the press conferences were over I got to catch up on a lot of media concerning games on the show floor that I missed the previous two days, these games were my favorites:

Battlefield Bad Company 2- The first bad company was an awesome game with a cool storyline and lots of really destructible scenery. The second game looks to take that same destructive element to the next level by allowing you to topple whole buildings. I can't wait for this title.

Uncharted 2:Among Thieves- The demo of this game really blew me away and got me excited it. The graphics and gameplay look superb and I look forward to hearing more about this title in the future.

Alan Wake- This psychological thriller is about a novelist who goes on vacation with his wife and she is abducted, he realizes that a story that he doesn't remember writing is coming to life and he needs to find the lost pages to figure out what to do and how to get his wife back. The story revolves around a "dark presence" that makes enemies invincible in the dark so your flashlight plays a huge roll in allowing you to combat enemies, the setting is dark and scary and it looks great, I can't wait to see more about this game.

Modnation Racers- This PS3 exclusive looks great for its classic kart racing gameplay and its great customizable maps, the editor is quite impressive so that should be a big hit for the PS3.

Star Wars: The Old Republic- OK I don't like MMO's and I won't be getting this game BUT the cinematic looks incredible and for fans of the genre this game looks like it will be huge so I respect it for what it is but it isn't my cup of tea.

So with E3 2009 over most people will want to see who "won" of the three console manufacturers; Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Well for me Microsoft won and Sony came in a close second. Nintendo seemed to rest on its laurels and not introduce anything radical. Microsoft showed off the more impressive motion control with Natal but Sony had an impressive tech demo of their motion control. Both Sony and Microsoft had some great exclusives so they seemed to cancel each other out. Nintendo tried to continue to revitalize old franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid but with no original IP's they were lacking in "excitement" factor and their press conference was boring. I don't own a PS3 and probably won't get one but Sony still got me interested in Heavy Rain, God of War 3, and MAG even though I will probably never play any of those games.

So in conclusion E3 2009 brought back E3 to its former status of being the biggest video game event of the year, Sony and Microsoft traded blows and Microsoft seemed to slightly edge out Sony and Nintendo kept to the tried and true we'll have to see how everything pans out. I hope you enjoyed my coverage of E3 and come back soon as I'll have some new stuff out very soon.

E3 2009: The Best of Days 1 and 2

Assassin's Creed 2 The game has been shown off several times at E3 2009 and it is looking great The inclusion of new weapons, a new setting, and a flying machine all make the game look very promising. The new setting (Venice during the renaissance) opens up a lot of possibilities for gameplay and story elements. Gametrailers.com has some great interviews and videos on the game so head over there to check that stuff out.

God of War III- This highly anticipated PS3 title was showcased at Sony's press conference and the demo was shown on G4TV, the game looks great and has fans of the series satisfied which is always a good thing.

Heavy Rain- This PS3 exclusive is from David Cage, the same guy behind Indigo Prophecy. A 20 minute demo was shown on G4TV.com with commentary from Cage himself. The game looks fantastic and it almost makes me want to buy a PS3 just so I can play it. A cool feature that Cage goes over in his interview is that the story is told through 4 main characters and at any point the character you are controlling may die and you won't get a game over but the story will continue with that person dead, pretty neat.

Mass Effect 2- Bioware has been showing off this impressive Xbox 360 and PC game for a while and E3 has brought some awesome new details about the larger scale of the game and the fact that if you keep you Mass Effect saves on your Xbox the story will continue how you left it (ie if you let Kaiden die in Mass Effect he won't be in 2 but if he lived in your game he will be there)Bioware reps also have assured us that the game will delve more into the consequences of your decisions and you may have many more squad members die than in the first, also the story will have more branches than the first one so it will really unfold very differently depending on how you play it.

Splinter Cell:Conviction- This game has gone through a total make over and it looks much better after it, the story is based on Sam Fischer working on his own to find out who killed his daughter. The demo and the cinematics shown at the press conferences were amazing and this game looks to be a big hit when it launches this Fall.

Steve Wiebe Kill Screen- It was disappointing that Steve Wiebe did not get the Donkey Kong world record on any of his three attempts but he did reach the kill screen (for those of you that don't know what that is, in DK there is a screen where Mario will die for no reason,a glitch in the game that has become the end of the game so if you reach that screen you "beat" the game)on live TV and it was announced that he would be inducted into the video game hall of fame so good job Steve and I look forward to your next attempt.

Halo 3:ODST- The demo at the press conference sold me on this game and the idea that if you buy the game you will also receive a code for the beta of Halo:Reach makes me feel like that makes up for it being (pretty much) an expansion pack to Halo 3.

Project Natal and Milo: These two things from the Microsoft press conference really blew my mind and subsequent hands on impressions by journalists who were lucky enough to try these were very promising. Natal seems to be pretty sophisticated for being this early into is production and Milo shows some real promise though it is still early in development.

Ecto 1 and Stay Puft: Ok I had to mention it, the refurbished Ecto 1 and the giant inflatable Stay Puft are just outside the LA Convention Center (where E3 is being held) to promote the game and the refurbished Ecto looks beautiful, I can't wait to see the documentary on the Blu Ray about the restoration of the old Caddy.

Check back soon for even more E3 coverage.

E3 2009: Sony Follows Suit With Motion Control and The "Worst Kept Secret of E3"

Sony started out their press conference by trying to instill one thing in the audience; the PS3 is the most advanced piece of hardware on the market. Jack Tretton, President of SCEA, said that "exclusively on Playstation" didn't just mean you could only get it on the PS3 but that it was "only possible" on the PS3, a bold statement if true. Sony put a lot of focus on the PSP and a new Metal Gear Solid game called Peace Walker that will be coming to the PSP exclusively, also they announced that Final Fantasy 14 (you'll remember that 13 went multiplatform) will be a PS3 exclusive.

Sony also showed off what they jokingly referred to as "the worst kept secret of E3" the PSP Go! which will be a smaller version of the PSP that will not replace the PSP but run alongside it, kind of like the PS2 and PS3. The PSP Go! was leaked online a few days before E3 and everyone seemed to know that the general public was very much aware of this announcement but that did not stifle Sony's enthusiasm as they showcased a new Gran Turismo game that will be coming to the Go! running at a pretty impressive 60 frames per second.

They also showed off an impressive demo of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and a live 256 person battle in MAG. They boasted their online service the PSN and their only 6 month old "home" feature. They also showcased an impressive game called Modracers, the game itself looks like a new version of Mario Kart but what really sold me on the concept was the map editor and creator, it was incredibly easy for the two guys on stage to create a pretty sophisticated race track and environment in about 5 minutes.

With the popularity of the Wii it was obvious that PS and Xbox would incorporate motion control in some capacity but would Sony's motion control top Project Natal? Well it is a controller unlike the controller-less interface of Natal. The tracking of the controller was impressive as some of the developers showed off some tech demos with a good amount of humor mixed in to entertain. The uses of this new controller seem plentiful and the tech seems advanced but, in my opinion, this plays second fiddle to Microsoft's Natal which seems like it could be really revolutionary.

Sony finished their press conference with a demo of God of War 3 which looked great and got the fans buzzing. The game seems to pride itself on being very violent and brutal as Kratos will accumulate more blood as battles go on, on his body, and sometimes if he pulls off a particularly gross killing move he will get drenched in his enemies' blood.

Overall Sony did a pretty good job of showing off impressive demos of games and showing off the incredible hardware behind their PS3. Check back for more E3 coverage.

E3 2009: Nintendo Really Likes Mario

Nintendo had their press conference just before Sony's today and they announced some exciting new titles for both the Wii and the DSi. They kicked off the conference with a New Super Mario Brothers Wii announcement that showed that Nintendo was looking to please the more "harcore" of their audience. I saw some gameplay from the show floor and it looks cool. They also announced a new Zelda game for the DSi. The shocked a lot of people when they announced Super Mario Galaxy 2, now I just want to know it Miyamoto is on the development team like he was for the first one that was so critically acclaimed.

They also announced some third party titles that were definitely geared towards an older audience like The Conduit, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles,and Dead Space:Extraction. They showed a new peripheral the Wii Vitality Sensor that reads your pulse or something like that, I fail to see the practical application of this to a game but we'll have to see what they plan to do.

Nintendo seemed to focus on their big franchises by also announcing a new Metroid game Metroid:The Other M.The brief glimpse we got to see of it was pretty cool. Overall Nintendo stuck with the tried and true and revitalized old franchises which they said was their goal. Their press conference was not as awe inspiring as Microsoft's but hey whatever works right?

E3 2009: Microsoft Drops the Gauntlet

E3 2009 kicked off today in a big way with the Microsoft press conference that was jam packed with exclusives and announcements that were just mind blowing. The show kicked off with Beatles Rockband and a visit from the two surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. After seeing a good amount of that game Microsoft moved on to showcasing Modern Warfare 2 with a demo of a snowy level from the game, it looks like it is coming along great and I can't wait to see the finished product.

Then they moved on to Xbox 360 exclusives like the avatar game Joy Ride. They showed a trailer and demo for Splinter Cell: Conviction which looked amazing, a new trailer and demo for Halo 3:0DST which really sold me on the game and showcased a pistol with the same zoom feature as the pistol from Halo 1. They also announced a new Halo game Halo: Reach which will be coming out sometime in 2010. They showed the first ever gameplay from Final Fantasy 13 on the Xbox 360 and they showcased Epic Games new title for the Xbox live arcade. They also showcased a demo for Alan Wake a supernatural thriller that looks really great. Forza Motorsport 3 was billed as the "definitive racing game of this generation" and it looked really sharp but we will have to see if that is true or not.

They then moved on to new NXE features like integration with Twitter and Facebook to bring social networking to the console and they announced that full 1080p HD movies will be available with no downloads (streaming)this coming Fall, along with a new radio/music feature that will be available for free on Xbox live.


After showcasing this it was announced that Metal Gear Solid: Rising will be coming to the Xbox 360 (another big Playstation exclusive that has gone multiplatform) with Raiden as the main character not Solid Snake. Left 4 Dead 2 was also announced with a Novemeber 2009 release window.

Finally Microsoft dropped the biggest news in years when they announced their top secret project, project Natal. This is a fully interactive gaming feature that will eliminate the controller and allow you to browse the menus, control your avatar, and play games with just your body, and not only your hands but your feet, your head, and, well, the rest of your body. They showed Milo, an interactive character who recognizes your voice, comes up with his own responses to questions you ask of him, and he lives in a world that you yourself (with no controller) can interact with. The video demonstration showed Milo recognizing a woman (a real life woman) named Claire as soon as she said hi to him. They then had a conversation and she drew a picture which he was able to see through an incredible scanning technology that was instantaneous. The level of interactivity was amazing and a little scary (skynet anyone?)But the press conference was incredible and I doubt Sony or Nintendo can top that but stay tuned as I will let you know. Tomorrow Sony takes the stage for a scheduled 2 hours so hopefully (at least for them) they have something incredible up their sleeves.