Ghostbusters: The Video Game

[Raging Justice]

God, I tried playing Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered on PS4. I remember playing this back on the Xbox 360 but never finishing it. Playing it again now, I have to say, why do people love this game? It is frequently brought up as one of the best licensed games ever made.

You know one of the most frequent complaints from gamers is games that are more movie than game. I can't think of a better example than Ghostbusters: The Video Game. It's clear that ALL of the effort went into the cinematic aspects of the game. It looks pretty great, at least it does once you get to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man stage. It sounds great, having the actors from the movies voicing everything. The actual gameplay though, is ABSOLUTE SHIT.

This is quite literally the worst third person shooter on modern consoles. The gameplay has zero depth. It's really just point and shoot at supernatural things. There's not much more to it than that. No cover mechanics, very few offensive options, no "squad" abilities given that you're on a team, this game is as basic as fuck. The Ghostbusters are complete pussies who die every 5 seconds, and that includes the wimpy rookie that you play as. The Starfox crew and the guys from the first Gears of War game weren't as weak as these losers are. Help me! Help me! Help me!

FUCK...YOU...PUSSIES!

I'm sick of saving your sorry asses!

You can't even tell what's going on half the time in this game with ghosts and their attacks just coming at you constantly from offscreen.

They put ABSOLUTE ZERO EFFORT into this game's gameplay. It ALL went into graphics, story, and audio. That's the very definition of a bad licensed game, and many, many, many others have been slammed by gamers for doing exactly what this game does. Why does Ghostbusters get a pass?

[Ziggy]

I hope you don't mind, I split your post into its own thread. We had a discussion a few years back on whether or not the "catch all" threads hurt forum participation. The theory being that a great post like yours could be a launching point for conversation in its own thread. But when it's posted in the Random thread, or one of the other massive catch-all threads, it gets lost in the shuffle. It most likely gets bumped down before most people have an opportunity to view it.

Long story short: If you have an interesting thought, do not be afraid to start a new topic.

__________________________________________________________________________




It's been a few years since I played it, and I've only played it once so far, but I actually enjoyed Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered on PS4. But it's kind of funny, your complaints were some of the reasons that I liked it so much.

Before the remasters, when this game originally launched, there were two versions. The PS3/360 version and the PS2/Wii version. I got the Wii version, which is graphically the same as the PS2 version but with the addition of motion controls. A few hours into the game, I got very tired of it all. It was mostly due to the motion controls, I think they accentuated the repetitive gameplay. I felt like all I was doing was waving the Wii remote from left to right and nothing more. I got so fed up with the game that I actually traded it away (and I saw "actually" because I had previously made a rule for myself to stop trading away games).

But then a few years ago I decided to pick up the remastered version on the PS4. My chief complaint being the motion controls, I figured I'd give it another go. And I actually had a lot of fun with it.

First off, you are absolutely correct. They put most of their effort into the cinematic aspects of the game. I called this out as fan service, and it's exactly why a lot of people love this game. To quote myself from that post, "I remember when this came out, a lot of people were calling it "the Ghostbusters 3 that we never got." It was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It uses the voice and likeness of many of the actors from the movies (including Walter Peck and Vigo The Carpathian). It uses the score from the first movie, and puts you in a lot of familiar locations like the New York Public library and the Sedgewick Hotel. It allows you to use the proton pack and other gear like you always wished you could, and the sound effects are dead on. It lets you walk around Ghostbusters HQ, and there's a ton of stuff to look at and admire. And on top of all that, it's a pretty fun game to play."

Regarding your comment about the shallow gameplay, lack of real squad tactics, et cetera... I think that's why I really enjoyed playing it. To me, it felt very much like an old school video game. A points based button masher. At the end of a long and exhausting work day, I can shut my brain off and mindlessly play this game. Granted, sometimes I want more depth, more tactics, et cetera. But sometimes, shallow gameplay is exactly what the doctor ordered. It's been a while since I played it, but I do recall there being points, with a system to track your high score. I think it was in the form of money and how much damage you caused in each level. I actually enjoyed it enough that I picked up the PS2 version, although I never got around to playing it.

But you are correct, a big aspect of this game isn't the gameplay. Having the original voice actors, locations, music and sound effects from the movie is what this game rides on. At least it doesn't have loooooooong cut scenes that you have to sit and watch forever.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I liked it…

I don’t remember it being difficult at all. Just a pretty easy third-person shooter with a lot of personality.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I really loved the Wii game as a kid~

That's one I really gotta import to play again someday~ ^w^

[Limewater]

I haven't played Ghostbusters, but would like to get a copy.

This may not be an apt comparison, but I kind of wonder if it's anything like rhythm and dance games. They're full of visual and audio stimulation, but the actual gameplay is really basic and minimal. It's all "Press the button when the screen tells you to" or "mimic the activities you see on screen."

You can seriously get 85% of the gameplay experience from Just Dance by simply pulling up a gameplay video on YouTube and pretending you're playing.

It's style over substance, but a ton of people love it.

I'll fully confess that one of my all-time favorite NES games, Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode, in many ways delivers style and story over gameplay. It has, like, six different gameplay modes, but none are particularly well-executed.

[Ziggy]

As shallow as the gameplay is, I would still say that Ghostbusters: The Video Game is worth playing rather than just watching. One of the things I liked about it is that it felt like an old school button masher. I mean, most beat em ups of the 16-bit era fall into this category, but some are still worth playing even as repetitive as they are.

The visuals and the sounds of the game are spot on for the first movie. THIS is exactly the game I wanted to play as a kid in the 90s. I don't think you could get the same experience from just watching it, but that may depend on how big of a Ghostbuster fan you are. I was an absolute Ghostbuster nut as a kid. When you fire the proton pack, hearing that sound, it gave me a grin from ear to ear. I'm not sure if you'd get the same thrill if you weren't the one controlling it. I don't want to be as lame as "it puts you in the role of a Ghostbuster," but that's exactly what it does.

[Limewater]

So, if I wanted to play this terrible game, would I get the best experience on Wii, Nintendo DS, or PS2, Xbox One?

I get the impression that it's something like a rail shooter, whick would seem to favor the Wii even though the graphics would be much worse than the Xbox One version. I would be disappointed if the Wii version was actually missing content when compared to other versions, though.

Does it offer a two-player mode?

[Ziggy]

The PS2 and Wii have a very cartoonish look to them. The gameplay is similar to the other version but the levels are different afaik. I had the Wii version back when it released. It has mandatory motion controls which I got sick of in no time. If you wanted to experience this version, I would recommend the PS2 over Wii.

The PS3 and 360 version of the game have the photorealistic graphics. This is the version that was remastered on PS4 and Xbox One. I would recommend starting with this version.

The handheld versions I cannot comment on.

[Raging Justice]

Interesting thoughts. It's nice to get an understanding of it's appeal even if I just can't seem to get into the game myself. It does some cool moments I will say, like when you're hanging on the side of the building blasting Stay Puft.

[Ziggy]

One of my favorite small details is that you can walk around the fire house and stumble upon the painting of Vigo the Carpathian. If you walk about to it and press the action button, Vigo speaks to you. And he's voiced by the actor that played Vigo in Ghostbusters II.