Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Who Ya Gonna Call?

I'll give you a second to finish humming the theme tune.....done? Excellent. Every boy or mans' dream is to strap on a Proton Pack and bag themselves free-floating, full-torso, vaporous apparition! Well now thanks to Atari and developer Terminal Reality you can live out that particular fantasy.

Well Gozer is back, and it's your job to stop him/her/it and save New York City. As well as visiting new and exciting locations across the city you also get to visit the locations of the original films. Such as The New York Public Library and The Sedgewick Hotel.

This game is great fun. One or more of the original Ghostbusters drag you along for the ride as you get to trap ghosts, fight ghouls and generally smash up New York City. Actually trapping a ghost is quite difficult and tricky at first but once you get the hang of it you'll be making Slimer toast and little ghoul canapés out of all of his buddies in no time at all.

With a script written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (Dr. Raymond Stantz and Dr. Egon Spengler respectively) the story is, as expected, brilliant. All the characters are voiced by the original actors. This makes the game so much more real and immerses you in it. And I'll be honest here, not many “comedy” games actually make me laugh. But more than once I burst out laughing at some sarcastic deadpan comment from Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray).

Currently this game is only available on PlayStation 3 in Europe due to an exclusivity agreement between Atari and SCEE (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe). This deal is due to last 6 months, then the Wii and 360 versions should be available.

Personally I am hoping that the game looks a bit better on the 360 than it does on the PS3. While it does not look ugly by any means, some of the backgrounds and environments look a little blurred and undefined. With next-gen gaming I expect a little more crispness to the game world.

Another negative for the game is it's multiplayer option. It feels more like an option that was added on because it could, rather than it should. It's boring, mundane and very forgettable. This was a prime game to have an online Co-op mode. Unfortunately it's not there and we are stuck with dreary version that is. If you have more than one go you are a glutton for punishment.

All in all this is great fun and funny to boot. Brilliantly written and very playable. It's just let down by poor online features and average graphics.

7/10