Ghostbusters: Best film-to-game yet, or just a bunch of hype?

Delayed for years, a high-profile game originally to be published by Sierra and now in the hands of Atari has finally become reality: a Ghostbusters video game for the Xbox 360 and PS3 that's actually billed as a sequel to the movies.

Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and voiced by nearly the entire cast of both films, it's not lacking in official Ghostbusters cred. The question is, how does it play? Reviews have been generally solid, but our intra-office discussions among the CNET editors' gaming roundtable have been just this side of heated. We're presenting our sometimes-conflicting views, and leaving it up to you to sort out who's right. Give us your opinion in the comments section below. Also, be sure to check out our exclusive trailer featuring many of the phantasms you'll encounter in the game!

Scott Stein:
The graphics and physics are impressive, as is the true-to-the-movie soundtrack. Sure, the characters look a little waxy-faced and Venkman walks unintentionally strangely, but this is still, easily, the best-looking Ghostbusters by a country mile. The storyline, while leaning heavily on a greatest-hits level-by-level rundown of your previous movie foes, is full of entertaining (for video games) banter. Fans can consider themselves well served. While each stage unfolds linearly, the haunted-house feel and goofy/nerdy tone work perfectly for the movie adaptation. But the one big bummer: when I started up the game and saw "Career," I thought it might be an open-world game like GTA, with ghosts to bust all around town. Sadly, that's not true at all. We wish we could freely roam 1991 Manhattan in the Ecto 1. The weapon upgrades are needlessly complex, and there's too much scanning and analyzing with the PK meter...it starts feeling like Pokemon Snap. Still, when has a movie game been this good? It tops The Force Unleashed, and this has online multiplayer, too.

Jeff Bakalar:
First thing's first: If you're a fan of the Ghostbusters franchise, we're happy to announce that you will not be disappointed. The moment you fire up the game for the first time, you'll be overwhelmed with the amount of nostalgia that oozes from the game's presentation. From the blasts of the proton streams to the incorporation of the original score, there are tons of throwbacks awaiting you. The firehouse is littered with artifacts from the Ghostbusters universe, and there are plenty of lines of dialogue specifically aimed at fans of the series.

Solid presentation and loyalty to the franchise aside, underneath lies a solid third-person action game. While you'll probably need a few practice rounds with zapping and trapping ghosts, once you've mastered the basics the rest is easier to pick up. Of course the game isn't perfect--you may get tired of using the PK meter, and there are times when your character won't be able to stand back up from being repeatedly attacked.

Achieving that perfect balance of storytelling and gameplay is something many games unsuccessfully strive for--especially when dealing with a comedy. With Ghostbusters, we're seeing one of the best attempts at doing so. Ramis' and Aykroyd's story feels genuine and flows well.

Would the game stand up without its legendary franchise attached? Maybe not--but there's enough creepy moments and variety to even satisfy newcomers to the series.

Dan Ackerman:
It turns out that after years of delays and being bounced between two different publishers, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a well-made, compelling experience. Most of that credit goes to the script and voice-acting, provided by the film's cast. It's subpar compared to the 1984 original, but light years ahead of what passes for writing and acting in most video games (even if Bill Murray is clearly phoning it in).

Unfortunately, while it's a good game, it's not the game Atari needed right now. It's clear that no one play-tested Ghostbusters with a casual, mainstream audience in mind--exactly the kind of Gen-X pop-culture fans who could have made this a massive hit. The game is incredibly complicated and hard to master (we're speaking of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions), even on its easiest difficulty levels. Fighting many of the ethereal creeps requires deftly manipulating both triggers and both shoulder buttons on the Xbox 360 gamepad at the same time, plus various other buttons for deploying traps and switching between weapons. A much more pick-up-and-play vibe would help this game reach the larger audience it deserves.

[Jboggie619]

As a lifelong GB fan i decided to pick up the wii version after reading a few early reviews yesterday and i gotta say its pretty fun! the graphics are "cartoony" but the dialogue is well written and the co-op is really fun my girlfriend and i were playing it and within 10 mins she was able to wrangle and "toss" the ghost trap. it was an awesome experience! i would however, like more challenge in the levels and less or a linear design but considering the thin ice this game was on for a while i'm pleased with the end result. I'd love to play it on the ps3 or 360, but i am a ps2 fan the graphics are great for me and the price is always affordable. our wii is a joke and every game we get seems to last 15 mins and then lose their attractiveness this title gives me hope that our wii will get some use.

[Balloonknot]

As someone who loved both original movies and the cartoon, I don't see any reason not to pick this up as soon as possible. Written by Ramis and Aykroyd with all the four Ghostbusters doing the voice-overs!!! Walter Peck and Jeanene for crying out loud!!! Count me in!!! Only things missing, Dana and Louis. Bring on a new movie I says.

[BenFlavoredCandy]

New movie is under consideration. The script is being rewritten from something Aykroyd wrote awhile back and all the original stars are on board. Apparently it will focus on a younger generation of Ghostbusters. Lots of rumors out there, check them out.

[Balloonknot]

Thanks, I will. Sounds promising as long as the original cast is still significantly involved.

[dataJONBOY]

This game for the Wii was a bit of a let down. I played a GB simulator on my apple2c, when i was little. and that was in 1984. even that game had an open world feel to it where you could acquire funds choose jobs etc.. and the apple2c had no hard drive. It woul not even turn on without a 5 1/4 disk in it. I expected more from this game. it is super fun though..

[stepyourgameup]

All I could play was Zork.

[Weeji]

Why has open-world become such a standard to live up to at this point? I'm pretty sure had this game been open-world, it would have received a bit worse reviews. I think because it is basically working as a "third movie", it needs to be linear. The way the dialog works and the story progresses, I wouldn't want it any other way. You compare it to the apple 2c game (I'm not sure why), but you also have to consider that almost every GB game after that was very linear, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

[viper396]

dataJONBOY, I'm afraid you memory of the Apple IIc and the Apple version of Ghostbusters are a a little shoddy.

First of all the Apple IIc does in fact turn on without a disk in it. Without a disk a Control-Reset drops you to the basic prompt, "]".

The Apple II version of 1984 Ghostbusters game was terrible in my opinion. The "open world feel " was limited to one overhead map of the city. In fact, that Ghostbusters game came out on several systems and none of them were any good.

[Spoonio101]

Now dont get me wrong, this game looks and feels like GBers, but with years in production and new technology I feel this game is lacking the new generation of gameplaying feel. This feels to much of a game that was made for the ps2 with no free roaming or much in different game control. I have yet to however have yet to played the multiplayer and do hope to find that satisfying with my friends, if not im sure it will be a quick trade for another movie to game adaptation of Transformers.

[seatrooper]

I've played through GB for PS3 and it's amazing. As the reviewers mention, the story, dialogue, voice acting and soundtrack are incredibly immersive -- you really feel like you're playing the third movie in the franchise. Highly, highly recommended for fans of the original Ghostbusters movies.

[badkarma86]

I hate to break it to the fanboys but the best movie-to-game adaptation is widely considered to be Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. There is pretty much no disputing that fact.

This game was a lot of fun, but not a great game by any means. Just dumb entertainment and GB fanservice.

[santellan17585]

I have played both the Wii and 360 versions and these games do exactly what they set out to do. Draw in fans of the franchise and hopefully gain a few new fans into the mix. The game is great on both platforms and the gameplay is loads of fun. I admit the 360 version is a little more difficult to get the hang of, so I tend to play the Wii version more.

I was surprised to see the Wii version was any good since most PS3/360 to Wii/PS2 game port aren't all that great, but even though the story is identical, both games feel like a new and unique experience. The Wii version is much easier to master and at the price, it is worth a look.

Clearly, the 360/PS3 versions are the crown jewel of the new games, and they are all that fans could hope for. Had this been any other game, it would be considered average, but it breaths new life into Ghostbusters games as all other in the past with the exception of the game for the Sega Genesis were garbage. On that note alone it is worth a look.

to sum it all up, this game is nothing new, but still great for fans of the series and those who are looking for a simple game to keep them busy for a while. If your a fan, definitely pick this up. Otherwise, rent it first to see if it is your flavor.

-The Over-Excited Oldshool GamerGeek
GamerGeekReview.com

[DigitalRAGE]

I don't know how the PS3 or 360 version played as I picked up a copy on the PC. This is the first games that in the last 2 years that made me nervous about my specs as it requires a lot of power to run. As for games play on the PC it is great playing with a keyboard and mouse. All actions are easily controlled. Now for this open world stuff, it's not supposed to be it's all about the story telling. Over all this game is great. It even broke my Wow habit.