Hands-On Preview: Ghostbusters [360/PS3/PC]

[DoctorFinger]

Click on the image to enlarge

UPDATE - BAPenguin has informed me that the demo at NYCC was not multiplayer or co-op. I had asked one of the Activision reps, before I began playing, if the game was networked and he told me "yeah". I'm not sure if he misunderstood my question, or was just misinformed about the game. In the spirit of transparency I'm leaving the text of my preview unchanged. I apologize for any misunderstandings.

Ghostbusters is one of those games with Buzz. It's flying under no one's radar and by the time it's in stores we'll be inundated by the media blitz. But how does the game actually play?

The demo I had the chance to play was a 4 player co-op level set inside a high rise office building in New York. As the scene was pretty chaotic, I couldn't coordinate with the other players, but it wasn't too necessary for this style of gameplay.

Ghostbusters plays as a fairly standard third-person shooter. Of course you have your trusty proton accelerator - which can be used as the standard beam or as an energy lasso - your PKE meter and traps, as well as a few ancillary gadgets. Your PKE meter functions as a sort of enhanced vision mode, letting you see invisible ghosts before they attack you. Most of the baddies I encountered were dispatched with just the proton accelerator, but some will require the trap to defeat. Your Proton Pack actually does double duty as your HUD, similar to how Dead Space functioned.

Graphics and sound were pretty nice. The voice tracks, with all four stars aboard, were witty and fun. The game itself ran smooth, although there were some quirks, particularly when you started blasting the environment. Gameplay itself felt a bit sluggish. Your character felt a bit too tank like, especially with some of the faster enemies.

The level was fairly straightforward. You're running through a skyscraper, searching for the specters wreaking havoc on the offices. You encounter a few different enemies when you look out a window and see the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man going for a stroll outside. Soon enough you're fighting Marshmallow Minions, little guys which look a lot like the Tickers in Gears of War. These little buggers move fast, and sometimes it was hard to hit them. Stay Puft himself would occasionally wander by a window, letting you blast him, but it didn't seem to do much damage. One problem I had was with the doors. At one point I reached a room and couldn't continue for a minute, until suddenly a door which had been closed was suddenly open. This may have been a timed or instanced opening, but it could also have been a minor glitch. Either way the gameplay up to this point was good, but somewhat unremarkable. Then we got to the roof. Using the lasso setting of the packs, you grabbed the ghosts of evil construction workers (I think that's what they were) and slam them into the trap. This part was a lot of fun, one which will apparently go into the full Stay Puft boss battle in the full game.

Overall the game lived up to expectations, but didn't really exceed them. It's fun, but not particularly revolutionary. Everything is solid and seems to play well, but nothing jumped off the screen at me during my time with the demo.


Read some more on the game's co-op mode for the Wii, and the possibility of a TRUE co-op mode at Co-Optimus.

[Adam Blue]

I hate to talk bad about developers, but once I saw who was making this, I was a little worried. I think the main thing this has going for it is that it's a sequel to the movies written by Dan and Harold.

I will always wonder how that prototype would have turned out...

[Mdot]

Originally Posted by Adam Blue

I think the main thing this has going for it is that it's a sequel to the movies written by Dan and Harold.

Same. I'll buy this game based solely on that.

[MachEnergy]

Originally Posted by DoctorFinger

The demo I had the chance to play was a 4 player co-op level set inside a high rise office building in New York.

Wait....hold on. When you say "4 player co-op", do you mean the other 3 characters were AI driven, or that other people were playing the game with you? It has been my understanding that the next gen version was single player, while the Wii and PS2 versions will be co-op.

Have I missed that news tidbit, or were you just talking about playing with AI bots?

[DoctorFinger]

Nope. 4 person co-op was how I was playing it. Each of us were playing on one side of a kiosk designed to look like the 'Buster's lockers.

[Psykoboy2]

Originally Posted by MachEnergy

Wait....hold on. When you say "4 player co-op", do you mean the other 3 characters were AI driven, or that other people were playing the game with you? It has been my understanding that the next gen version was single player, while the Wii and PS2 versions will be co-op.

Have I missed that news tidbit, or were you just talking about playing with AI bots?

As I understand it, you are right. Except the PS3 and 360 versions have been reported to have "co-op missions". Meaning the main story campaign is still single-player, but that (like Ghost Recon) there are some co-op maps available in Multiplayer.

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by Psykoboy2

As I understand it, you are right. Except the PS3 and 360 versions have been reported to have "co-op missions". Meaning the main story campaign is still single-player, but that (like Ghost Recon) there are some co-op maps available in Multiplayer.

This and Kameo type co-op(The levels to replay with friends later) are to me something that might as well be scraped from the jump. It's half assed. Get that weak ass shit out of here!

[bapenguin]

Added a link to our article at Co-Optimus. It explains a bit more on the co-op stuff.

[MagGnome]

These impressions made it sound pretty boring. Hopefully they turn this into a gem by the release date, because I really want it to be good!

[pomeroy]

Originally Posted by MagGnome

These impressions made it sound pretty boring. Hopefully they turn this into a gem by the release date, because I really want it to be good!

You're pretty boring!

[MagGnome]

Originally Posted by pomeroy

You're pretty boring!

Yet I'm still 10,000x more interesting than you are, fruit boy!

[pomeroy]

Originally Posted by MagGnome

Yet I'm still 10,000x more interesting than you are, fruit boy!

You liked Benjamin Button and you don't eat meat.

Pretty sure that makes you less interesting (and just a bit sad).

[MagGnome]

Originally Posted by pomeroy

You liked Benjamin Button and you don't eat meat.

Pretty sure that makes you less interesting (and just a bit sad).

Actually that makes me more interesting, even if I'd rather it did not.

[MachEnergy]

Originally Posted by pomeroy

You liked Benjamin Button and you don't eat meat.

Pretty sure that makes you less interesting (and just a bit sad).

I liked Benjamin Button and I do eat meat. What does that make me?

Also, if anybody remembers the old days of the internet and Radiskull: I read that line like it was a lyric from the original Radiskull and Devil Doll song. "I don't have fists and I don't have feet [but I've got me lots of really sharp teeth]"

Yeah, I'm bored enough today that I typed out that whole useless thought.