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! ... Read more
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Ernie Hudson at the 230 Park rooftop bar.
We managed to squirrel our way into a late-night party earlier this week--it was connected to some kind of Sony licensing event, but for us the main draw was a sneak peek at the upcoming Xbox 360/PS3 video game based on the Ghostbusters films, due out later this year.
We chatted with Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson (who doesn't look like he's aged a day since he played Winston Zeddemore), and learned that the game is being pitched as a true sequel to the two films, and stars--in voice form, at least--all four main cast members. Hudson pointed out that he was the only original cast member youthful-looking enough to use current scans of his face in the game. Somewhere behind us, Ray Parker Jr. and his band played a 15-minute Ghostbusters theme song jam session (seriously, we kid you not).
Ray Parker Jr. stretches the movie's theme song into a 15-minute jam session.
The game itself looks promising, from the small slice of it we saw. A third-person over-the-shoulder action/adventure, you take on the role of a new hire on the Ghostbusters team, and we watched a producer play through a level set in the familiar New York Public Library branch from the film. The real highlight was the frequent wisecracks from the digital versions of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.
The project offers an interesting window into the future of brand extensions, where aging stars and risky $100-million-plus film budgets are replaced by digital actors--and just as importantly, produces a final product that sells for around $60, rather than an $11 movie ticket. In other words, the exact opposite of what Spielberg and Lucas did with the new Indiana Jones movie (although they're probably the only ones who could have pulled that off).
Published by Sierra, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is due out around October, in time for the holiday season.
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