The first thing you notice about Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the constant throwbacks. From the characters, locations, villains, and references, it is all here. The original cast is back, and they are better than ever. Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis return to write the story and script for this well-built, generally entertaining game. The developers seem to make an extra effort to deliver everything you expect from the Ghostbusters, and more.
The locales are beautiful in this game. You feel like you're back in the 80's, sitting in a movie theater, watching Bill Murray go around town cracking bad jokes that you cant help but laugh at. The firehouse, Hotel Sedgewick, among others make appearances here. Even Times Square during Stay Puft's visit, looks excitedly similar to the movies. The most impressive, from my point of view, is when they cross dimensions while inside the Library. The visuals are stunning during this sequence.
The dialogue is very accurate and delves deep into the Ghostbuster mythology. Ray and Egon are spewing technical data about ghost, entities, protoplasm, and such. As I said earlier, Peter's jokes never really resonate, just due to their ridiculousness; but, Bill Murray delivers them with such ethusiasm, you cant help but chuckle. And, of course, he has the love interest, once again. The two interact some, but leave you wanting something more of a resolution. Also, the rookie you are playing never says a word. Sure, when running from a ghost that has taken on the shape of a monster made out of 500 books, he will scream a little bit. I think his silence adds a certain dynamic to the experience, making it more enjoyable to see it through his eyes.
The music was very reminiscent of the movies. Mostly all the music was recycled and approved upon, so fans of the series feel right at home. It would have been nice to have heard the theme song a bit more, perhaps longer during the rolling credits. Nonetheless, the music really added to the overall experience of the game.
The gameplay is very satisfying. Everything from the Proton gun, to trapping ghost, they didnt cut corners anywhere. When you trap your first ghost early on, you're addicted. They nailed the controls throughout. It feels natural and it's just plain fun to defend the citizens of New York against ghost and goblins. The camera is beautifully placed behind and to the right, so it rarely goes off course. Only a few times did it not cooperate with me, and those were mostly player-related. The boss battles were difficult, but not overly so. They kept you on the edge of your seat, while still not loosing the enjoyment factor of the game. So many games make the boss battles so difficult, you forget you were suppose to be having fun. This game balances it nicely. Throughout, it never felt like a chore to be playing.
The end of the game was conclusive, and brought everything together nicely. It would seem they set up for a sequel. With great gameplay, dialogue, story, and characters, this is a series that could long live in the gaming (and possibly film?) industry.