Ghostbusters – what can I say? I am still waiting for the next freakin’ movie, but I guess the release of the video game is enough to keep me content for a little while longer. The story is written by the two Ghostbuster creators – Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and the original cast are actually back to perform in this unnamed adventure.

I guess the boys decided it was time to freshen things up by introducing some young blood into the ranks – the rookie. The rookie also happens to be the playable character. The old timers pretty much decided that they have had enough of doing all the dirty work, while I am rather skeptical about the scenario and actually think they just can’t bust ghosts as they used to – because of old age. So you are basically left doing all the hard work while they do nothing but gas-bag and goof about.

The story takes place roughly two years after the Ghosbusters II movie, and as per usual “there is something strange in the neighbourhood,” but this time things are just a little more intense. An old, and well feared, nemesis of the Ghostbuster’s has awoken and the streets are, once again, in chaos. At least these so called Ghostbusters have someone to hide behind this time – you!

The game essentially plays as a third person shooter. To begin with you are only equipped with the bear minimum; a PKE meter, proton pack, and a trap. The PKE meter can be your best friend and your worst enemy at the same time. It is required to find ghosts who are in hiding, but sometimes when these ghosts hop out of nowhere it’s really hard to be quick enough to switch back to the proton back to bust the little freak. You earn points throughout the game which will be used to buy and upgrade equipment – the problem here is that most of these so called upgrades feel weak and tacked on. Trapping ghosts can be a lot of fun, but it does get repetitive – making Ghostbusters feel more like a fishing game. Fortunately the story will keep you intrigued and hopefully will pull you through to the end.

The graphics in Ghostbuster are nothing to write home about but they do their job in setting that Ghostbusterish vibe. It saddens me to say that the differences in graphics between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are more than noticeable. It is safe to say that PlayStation 3 gamers were left with a dud version of the Xbox 360 release. The PlayStation 3 graphics seem dull and washed out in comparison to the Xbox 360 version. There are also moments, namely when our beloved Marshmallow friend – Stay Puft – is crushing the city, that the frame rate dips. Though these minor technical hiccups are not enough to ruin the experience it is sad to see that we are still suffering from frame rate dropping and screen tearing so late through this generation life cycle.

The game does feature multiplayer, but there is no sign of co-operative mode which is really strange considering the Ghostbusters game is pretty much screaming out for it. If you’ve played the game through once, which only takes about seven hours, you’ve probably had enough of the game all together. Multiplayer brings nothing new to the table, certainly nothing interesting – whoever traps the most ghost wins! Yay!

The voice acting and soundtrack are both at superb blockbuster quality – what else would you expect from the A list of actors? The story, general feel, ambiance, and humor remain true the Ghostbuster franchise making this game an instant collectible for fans of the past films.

I’m sorry to say that Ghostbusters is one of those games where the cons outweigh the pros. The only thing that really makes it worth while is the story, and charm of the original cast. If you are dying for your Ghostbuster fix then this is a buy for you. If not – at least give this game a rent.

Score: 70