As a child, Ghostbusters (1984, directed by Ivan Reitman) for me was both an eye-opener and fear-inducer. There is no Dana, only Zuul? A giant dog that chases down poor Rick Moranis? An angry and sarcastic secretary??? What wasn’t there to be afraid of in that movie?

Conversely, there was also so much to love—a giant marshmallow man, a ghost affectionately referred to as “Slimer,” and, of course, Bill Murray. From the opening scene with the haunted library to the closing scene after they saved New York City, it is a film that remains firmly nestled in my childhood heart. Five years later, Reitman directed the second movie, featuring slime that tuned into your emotions and a fantastic scene with a walking Statue of Liberty, which was sillier but even easier to adore. Add in a cartoon, some video games, and tons of merchandise, and you have what is effectively considered a “franchise.”

Fast forward to June of 2009 and the release of “Ghostbusters: The Video Game.” This game came out amid much hype and excitement for half a dozen systems—the three major consoles (the Xbox 360, the Wii, and the Playstation 3), one handheld (the Nintendo DS), the Playstation 2, and the PC. Prior to release, it was one of my most anticipated titles of the year. The name was everywhere, even on my lanyard to last year’s Penny Arcade Expo, a pilgrimage taken annually by video game addicts from around the world. So I pre-ordered it for my weapon of choice—the PS3—grabbed my free t-shirt, and dove in.

Did the game live up to the expectations? Yes and no.

Yes, it was initially an utter delight to play alongside the real Ghostbusters—Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd as Raymond Stantz, Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler, and Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddmore. Penned by the original ghost-writers, Stantz and Spengler—errr, real writers Aykroyd and Ramis—the dialogue was witty and the inside jokes abounded. Many trophies—virtual trophies (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum) given for in-game achievements, for those of you new to the lingo—were named after much-loved lines directly from the films: “We Came, We Saw…” is the trophy for finishing the game on normal; “Spores, Molds, and Fungus” is the trophy for collecting all the cursed artifacts; and “Back Off Man, I’m A Scientist” is the trophy for obtaining scans on every paranormal creature in the game with your PKE reader. The proton pack, though difficult at first, was easy to warm up to (no pun intended). Catching a ghost was tricky at first, as was smashing them into the ground, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. All in all, the gameplay is fun and solid.

Sadly, it did not live up to all the hype. You are a silent character named only “Rookie,” which is not very catchy—who you gonna call? The Rookie? And the story just doesn’t flow properly. While delightful to play along the original fellas, as non-player characters they could be less than helpful at times, least of all during battle. The wittiness sounded funny at some points and forced at others , especially when you weren’t quick enough at figuring out the next step and they repeated them several times. And catching ghosts became increasingly tedious as the levels wore on.

The main issue, I’m sad to say, was that the story itself fell flat. The writers were attempting, in effect, to make the video game into a “third movie,” creating a sequel in the unique way they temporally could not. But I missed a sense of continuity in this third installment.

The creators of the video game were not constricted by the limitations of mere mortals and had the possibility—if not the capability—to create a story with the same characters and actors that took place in 1991, just two years after the last installment of the saga. Even with all of that going for them, the story did not feel like a continuation of the series—many of the characters from the previous films were recycled, as if the script couldn’t tell if it was trying to be an homage or a sequel.

I’ll admit to feeling distracted by my knowledge of the real-life antics of Murray, details about which started circulating last year. According to an article at the New York Post’s website, he “seems to be going through his own unique midlife crisis,” and while he isn’t behaving in typical star fashion, “he’s more like a ghost in the night, who shows up out of nowhere, engages in utterly random conversations and then exits gracefully—leaving witnesses to wonder what the hell just happened.”

It’s decidedly strange to think of Peter Venkman in this fashion, the lovable dork who managed to win the heart of Dana Barrett now relegated to being a borderline creepy old man and described as “deadpan, detached, and seeming a bit lonely.”

All in all, while the game was admittedly fun to play, it was too short, and lacked the fundamental “oomph” I was hoping for. I was eager to begin it, only mildly interested once I started, and by about halfway through, I was more determined to simply finish it than I was to see the ending. I considered the replay value, hoping to gain more trophies, but it’s been collecting dust on my shelf since the first time I tried to play the multiplayer, which was even less interesting for me than the story. I would recommend this highly as a rental or as a cheap used game for the fun value of it, but other than that, I’d say simply watch the movies instead—you’ll have more fun, it will take less time, it’s cheaper, and you can eat popcorn without getting butter on your controller.

August 31, 2009