Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Xbox 360)

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Description

Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night? Have you experienced feelings of dread in your basement or attic? Have you or any of your family ever seen a spook, specter or ghost? If the answer is yes then don't wait another minute, pick up the phone and call the professionals...GHOSTBUSTERS!!!

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the first game in almost 20 years based on the Ghostbusters universe and features the actual voices of the original cast: Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stantz), Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler) and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore), as well as Annie Potts, who reprises her role as Janine Melnitz, and William Atherton, reprising his role as Walter Peck, the team's nemesis from the first film. It also features the soundtrack from the first two films, as composed by the late Elmer Bernstein.

The story (written by Aykroyd and Ramis) takes place in 1991, two years after the Ghostbusters vanquished Vigo and prevented him from taking over the world. Since then, the Ghostbusters have been overrun by the increasing number of spirits appearing in the city and has decided to add a fifth member to the team. This is where the player will step in, taking the place of the nameless "new cadet" of the Ghostbusters, hired to test Egon's new experimental equipment.

Just as the "new cadet" is being initiated into the Ghostbusters, all hell breaks loose in the city as a massive amount of spirit energy has threatened to tear New York apart and it is up to the player along with his new employers to stop a familiar menace. The player will follow the Ghostbusters as they travel through familiar locales and fight familiar enemies including Slimer and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man using authentic equipment including the famous proton pack and spirit traps to catch the many ghosts swarming throughout the stages. To do so the player must use the proton beam to wear down the ghost and once it gets weak enough, the beam will automatically latch onto the spirit and the player must set out a trap and guide the ghost towards it and keep it from escaping.

There is also new equipment to be used that can be unlocked during later levels as well as being able to upgrade equipped items by acquiring money for catching and destroying ghosts (however money is also deducted for the amount of destruction the player causes on each level). The player can also use the P.K.E. meter to track spirits, as well as scan various objects, ghosts and residue left behind to fill in the Tobin Spirit Guide. The slime cannon from the second film is also present which is used to free possessed people, allowing the player to safely catch ghosts without harming the person.

The story is told through both pre-rendered and in-game cutscenes and differs from its Wii and PS2 iterations which features more of a cartoonish look and feel to the overall game. There are also online multiplayer modes that allow players to meet up with friends online and team up.

Screenshots

Alternate Titles

• "魔鬼剋星" -- Taiwan spelling
• "S.O.S. Fantômes: Le Jeu Vidéo" -- French title
• "Los Cazafantasmas: El Videojuego" -- Spanish title
• "Ghostbusters 3" -- Common title

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: Infernal
• Ghostbusters games
• Inspiration: Movies
• Middleware: FaceFX
• Middleware: Net-Z
• Setting: City - New York

User Reviews

The Best Way To Not Be Afraid of Ghosts.	Guy Chapman (1744)
“Ray, when someone asks you if you are a God, you say yes!”	MasterMegid (897)

The Press Says

True Game Headz	Jul 20, 2009		90
Gamernode	Jun 16, 2009	8.5 out of 10	85
Play Magazine	Jun 12, 2009	8.5 out of 10	85
Planet Xbox 360	Jun 19, 2009	8.1 out of 10	81
Game Positive	Jun 28, 2009		80
411mania.com	Jun 26, 2009	7.8 out of 10	78
Jeuxvideo.com	Nov 04, 2009	15 out of 20	75
4Players.de	Jun 19, 2009	73 out of 100	73
Gamer.nl	Jun 20, 2009	7 out of 10	70
UGO (UnderGroundOnline)	Jun 12, 2009	B-	67

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Trivia

Development

• Sigourney Weaver was originally approached to reprise her role of Dana Barrett, but turned down the proposal. However, she later learned that Bill Murray was involved with the project and was interested, but by that time development was too far in that she couldn't be included. As a result, her character was written out of the script and instead replaced by another love interest voiced by Alyssa Milano.
• Bill Murray agreed to reprise his role as Peter Venkman under the one condition that each Ghostbuster would receive equal screen time.

References

The game Q*Bert is one of the arcade games found in the Ghostbuster's rec room. Interacting with the game results in the Q*Bert theme being played. There is also a pinball machine, which appears to be based on Nocturne, another game by Terminal Reality. It features the main screen of the game, with the full moon, but it cannot be activated.

Awards

• GameSpy
  • 2009 - The Reunited (and It Feels So Good) Award

Information also contributed by Guy Chapman and MasterMegic

Related Web Sites

• Official homepage (Ghostbusters: The Video Game homepage)
• Video review of the game (James Rolfe reviews the Xbox 360 version of Ghostbusters: The Video Game.)
• Wikipedia: Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Article in the open encyclopedia)
• X360A achievement guide (X360A's achievement guide for Ghostbusters.)