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General expectations of Sierra Entertainment’s
Ghostbusters: The Video Game fall into one of two camps;
high-hopes or disregard. While many are anticipating the title with
a great deal of hope that something worthwhile will come from the
highly-regarded franchise, other have already resigned it to being
little more than the average Film Licence cash-in, akin to the likes
of SEGA’s recent
Iron Man and
The Incredible Hulk: The Official Videogame releases.
However, Ghostbusters: The Video Game has one major
differential factor to title’s such as
Disney/Pixar’s Wall*E and the stunningly bad
Jumper: Griffin’s Story – while it may be based upon a
Hollywood production, it’s based on one that was released over
twenty years ago.
Due for release in late 2008, the release on Xbox360,
PLAYSTATION3, and PC is being developed by Terminal Velocity, and
the Wii, NintendoDS and PlayStation2 versions are being developed by
Red Fly Studios. The game will feature the original film cast, with
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson all involved
in the project, along with supporting actors Annie Potts, Brain
Doyle Murray and William Atherton. Like the films before it, Dan
Aykroyd and Harold Ramis have written a script for the event-driven
storyline.
At E3 2008, Sierra and Terminal Velocity finally took
the wrapping off their Current-Generation offering, and let the
press get hands-on with the title for the first time. The third
Level was available for play, set in the New York Public Library.
The scene would be familiar to fans of the series for two reasons;
firstly, it’s the same scene we’ve been seeing in video format for a
few months now and, secondly, it’s the same setting as that infamous
first-encounter scene in the first film.
The title isn’t strictly an adaptation of the film,
rather, an extension of the storyline. With a third Ghostbusters
film having been rumoured since the late
1990’s, it now seems that Aykroyd and Ramis have decided that a
videogame instead maybe the ideal outlet. Ghostbusters: The Video
Game takes place two years after the events of Ghostbusters
II – 1991 - and casts the player as the newest recruit. Ghosts
have overrun New York, and the Ghostbusters team have been hired by
the Mayor to act as part of the city’s social infrastructure –
right-up there with Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade services.
The ghost witnessed in that very first encounter,
Eleanor Twitty, returns. The voice-acting is stunning, as are the
visuals, as the infamous ‘busting quartet approach the library, when
Ray and Egon notice a stone lion statue is missing. Approaching the
remaining statue, an explosion occurs, followed by the apparition
responsible darting into the building.
The Control System follows the traditional Third-Person
Action game set-up, with the Left Analogue Stick controlling
movement and the Right Analogue Stick in charge of the Camera, and
the R2 Trigger commands your Proton Pack. The environment looks
stunning: marbled floors, reflecting real-time light and with no
Loading Delays. After a few quick-hits on the spirit, it splits into
two and the player’s character is charged with taking down the
smaller, while the others chased-down the largest of the pair.
Descending to the floor below, use of the PKE Meter was
required. Listening to its radar-associated blips clue you in on
your distance from the target. Using the PKE Meter launches a
First-Person view, in-which the player utilises the goggles seen in
the first film. The PKE Meter sits in the centre of the screen, with
the Spectral Energy reading increasing as you approach, and,
conversely, decreasing the further away from the target you get.
The game features two types of enemy; those which you
must capture, and those which you must destroy. Chasing the
adversary leads you back to the rest of the gang, and re-grouping
for an all-out assault. A big pile of books appeared to be the
enemies weapon of choice, and dispatching
it requires a special technique known as the Boston Dart – an energy
ball that travels down your Proton Stream an creates an explosion
when making impact.
The damage a player causes to the surrounding area is
recorded, but has not effect on progression and is merely noted for
statistics sake. Once having completed a Level, the player can then
use any earned funds to upgrade their equipment.
Terminal Reality are taking great lengths to tie the
release into its sister productions from Hollywood. As well as
featuring the classic Columbia Pictures introductory Splash Screen,
the title features no on-screen furniture. Life and weapon status is
denoted on the player’s Proton Pack. Overheating is a mechanic
introduced presumably to replace traditional reloading
vulnerabilities. Should your Temperature Gauge fill, the player will
be left defenceless during a cooling period. The player has the
option to manually vent the Proton Pack at any time with a press of
the R1 Button, an act which hardcore gamers will no doubt
immediately begin doing after every slight brush with the ethereal.
Later in the Level, the player is asked to take-down a
rather mean looking Slimer-esque spook, unveiling use of the Trap
for the first time. The Face Buttons deploy and recall a Trap. A
different stream from the Proton Pack must be controlled with L2 and
L1 in the same way as the basic stream above, only this one is used
specifically for capturing. Holding the ghost in the stream, and
forcing it to collide with objects around the room several
 times
softens the manifestation until ushering it into the Trap becomes a
breeze. SIXAXIS controls have been implemented for when dragging a
spirit in this capturing-stream, however, at present, they offer no
advantage over Analogue Controls – which have thankfully been
included also – and, in-fact, aren’t particularly responsive.
“Ghostbusters is one of SONY Picture’s most
valued film franchises,” said Mark Caplan, vice president, Hardlines
for SONY Pictures Consumer Products. “In setting-out to develop a
game, our criterion was to find a game company who was interested in
keeping true to the Ghostbusters world that talent and
filmmakers had originally created. The team at Sierra Entertainment
took the time to prove to us they had what it takes. From the moment
we green-lit the game, we have certainly seen a lot of passion and
commitment coming from Sierra Entertainment and both development
teams. Fans are going to be impressed with the game's ability to
deliver a very authentic Ghostbusters experience, as well as
its capacity to blow out the Ghostbusters universe to new
heights.”
Big promises, as ever, are being made. Thankfully,
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is currently looking on top form.
With a genuinely interesting and humorous storyline that fit’s well
in the already established Ghostbusters universe, and
gameplay that feels solid and rewarding, hopes are now higher than
they ever could have been limited to seeing the title in video
format. |
