All of these weapons and tools can be upgraded in various ways, like decreasing the recoil, or increasing the damage they do to ghosts. You receive these upgrades by buying them with your earnings. Every time you bag a ghost, you are awarded a certain amount of cash. You can also earn cash by finding hidden cursed artifacts in the various stages. Fans might recognise some of these items from the movies, but the vast majority of them are made up for the game. Once you’ve collected an artifact, you can view it on your PK meter, along with a detailed, and often hilarious, description – they also appear in the Ghostbusters HQ where you can freely wander around between missions.
Almost all of the original crew are here, and they’re all voiced by their original actors! Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Akroyd and Ernie Hudson all voice Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore respectively. The Ghostbusters’ cute receptionist, Janine Melnitz, is also in there, and she’s also voiced by her original actor, Annie Potts, as is another character from the movies. Care to guess who? Does the name Walter Peck ring a bell? Oh yeah! The guy from the first movie who tried to shut the Ghostbusters down, right? Right. [Right – Ed.] He’s in there and – you guessed it – he’s also voiced by his original actor, William Atherton. Just wait until you see what role he has to play in the game, you won’t believe it. Unfortunately there’s no Sigourney Weaver or Rick Moranis here, nor are their characters present, but we don’t need them… do we?
If there are a couple of criticisms I could level at Ghostbusters: The Videogame, one would have to be that it’s a little on the short side. This isn’t a huge problem because, as short as it is, it’s some of the most imaginative and fun-filled gaming you’re likely to experience this year. The other wee disappointment is that the animation of the character models is a little off. The actors put on a great performance, don’t get me wrong, but the character models don’t seem to move with it as much as I would have liked.
Apart from that, though, Ghostbusters: The Videogame is a great game all round. If you’re a fan of Ghostbusters, you’ll love it to bits, and if you’re not a fan – well, you are – you just don’t know it yet! So go out and get the movies, watch them, then buy the game. You won’t be disappointed.
