Is Ghostbusters: The Video Game worth it?

Ghostbusters: The Video Game almost didn’t make it to the store shelves, when (then) publisher Activision decided to drop the title from their lineup in July 2008. Thankfully, Atari came through and saved the game from development hell (see Duke Nuke’em Forever).

Thanks to Atari, and the geniuses that created Ghostbusters, we can now play eleven ghost-filled levels as a new recruit. Set in New York, two years after Ghostbusters 2, your nameless character gets all the cool, new experimental equipment teaming up with one or all of the original Ghostbusters.

Ghostbusters, at its core, is a third-person action game, so it borrows some ideas from Gears of War, like the three-quarters view and the quick revival system.

Here’s what you need to know about the game.

The pros:

– The game is written and voiced by the original cast, which gives the game a the feel of a third movie. This game should have been the second movie.

– The campaign mode is well done, and the pacing never becomes dull.

– The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are almost identical. While the Wii’s version has cartoonish visuals, the story and dialogue are the same.

The cons:

– Like other third-person action games, the camera becomes an issue during boss battles, especially if the boss is bigger than a bread box.

– Online is very bare bones. Multiplayer is limited to just a few co-op modes. They could have thrown in the option of being a ghost or a Ghostbusters, but they didn’t.

– Although Atari put collectibles and objectives to keep players interested, only die-hard achievement collectors or Ghostbusters fans will go back and play it again after they finish.

Bottom Line:

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is well done and just a few things keep it from being awesome like the limited online capabilities and the low re-playability. So, should you shell out the $60 for a new copy? Unless you’re a Ghostbusters fan from back in the day, rent or borrow the game. Then decide.