Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (PlayStation 4) Review

There was a time when movie-tie in game adaptations used to pollute store shelves... but every once in a while, somebody decides to take a chance on something more ambitious. Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, The Warriors, Spider-Man 2 and Alien: Isolation are rare examples of developers taking a chance and taking their time and Ghostbusters: The Video Game joins them in the upper echelon of legitimate good movie tie-in. Just what is it that Terminal Reality did to prevent themselves from becoming another piece of commercial faecal matter?

With the exception of Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis, everyone is back. Even the reclusive Bill Murray was somehow convinced to return as Peter Venkman. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis have double duties; reprising their roles as well as writing the scenario. At the time of its original release, nobody realized it would be the last time Harold Ramis would play Egon Spengler. His early death meant that Ghostbusters: The Video Game would be the last time all four Ghostbusters could be on screen together and experiencing it 2019 after the failed movie reboot, is a cathartic experience for long time fans. Much of the plot is made up of concepts that would have been used in what would have been the third movie: the alternate ghost dimensions and the boys actually going to Hell for example. For all intents and purposes, Ghostbusters: The Video Game was the third movie everyone wanted. Using the medium of video games just so happened to be the best way to tell the story.

Assuming the role of an unnamed new hire, the player gets to busts some ghosts with their childhood heroes. Gameplay unfolds as an over the shoulder third-person action game with various set-pieces and stage gimmicks to mix things up. Mechanically, the proton packs are not that much different than Luigi's vacuum cleaner. There are various settings that get unlocked that are used for certain kinds of ghosts, but for the most part the cycle involves whittling down spectre HP with proton stream and then switching to a capture stream to pull the pesky poltergeists into a trap. Managing cool-down and dodging debris while helping out a downed Bill Murray is a big part of the routine. Be careful not to cross the streams with the other Ghostbusters, it will cause a total protonic reversal. Imagine all life as the world knows it stoping instantaneously and every molecule in the body exploding at the speed of light. This may sound simple, but encounters rarely ever go smoothly and typically the rookie and the Ghostbusters will cause fortunes of collateral damage in the process. Some how this is tallied up in the bill and is how cash is earned to further upgrade the proton pack.

As the story unfolds, the writing and sense of humour stands out above all else. Ramis and Aykroyd wrote as good as a continuation as anyone could have hoped for. Going though so much chaotic gameplay with so much stuff being flung around can sometimes get exhausting to a point it feels like a reward to get a cutscene where some of the funniest moments happen. This is also a case for when a title should have lots of cutscenes because comedy and gameplay are two elements that cant truly be melded. Gameplay cannot be funny and in something like Ghostbusters: The Video Game, a title that leans heavily on a humorous intellectual property, expectations are going to have to be met. Without these scenes, this would be a generic third person action game. Thankfully, Harold Ramis can rest in peace with the fact he was a part of a genuinely entertaining project. Seeing the guys back together and seeing Bill Murray try is certain to please any fan of the original film.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered enhances the original 2009 release with the usual suspects; 60 frames per second are present 1080p resolution and thankfully runs exceptionally. As of this review, the multiplayer mode has yet to implemented so it is a feature that cannot be explored. Aside from that, there is not much that has been added. Even when it first came out, Ghostbusters: The Video Game was a one and done kind of experience with very little replay value. Acquiring all upgrades is easily done in the first play through and while the story and characters are entertaining, the core gameplay is just serviceable; neither remarkable nor uninspired, just "good enough". There just is not enough depth to be had with ghost busting and because it is so linear, there is nothing to explore. This was very much a product of its time, when every major release was pushing for a "cinematic experience".