Ghostbusters

Format PC

Developer Terminal Reality

Publisher Vivendi

Genre Action

18 Comments

There's nothing quite like a comeback story to capture the imagination. In 1989, the Ghostbusters were down and out, broke and about as popular as a council health inspector about to rupture a spirit containment system.

Forced to suffer the ignominy of making guest appearances at the parties of ungrateful snot-nosed brats in exchange for a few bucks, the boys in boiler suits were about as low as they could get without actually being scalded by the Earth's core.

Gone were the days when they stood proudly atop skyscrapers battling giant sweet icons with their nuclear-accelerated proton packs in a last-ditch bid to save the world. The dream was over. Obscurity beckoned. Bankruptcy was knocking at their door like a restless poltergeist.

And then, everything changed. One pug-nosed painting with a god complex, a dancing toaster, and an animated iconic US statue later, and the boys were back in vogue. The film was a bit shit, and Slimer drove Rick Moranis around in a bus for no apparent reason, but the 'busters were back in business.

SO SHE'S A DOG...
You rejoin the 'busters in 1991, when they find themselves busier than ever, since New York has adopted an unhealthy interest in Gozarian law. Now Gozer was the lady with the '80s hair who pranced around in the altogether at the close of the first film having many aeons ago been 'very big in Sumeria'.

But now, horror of horrors, the short attention span of New Yorkers has led to the opening of a Gozerian museum. This coincides with a worrying, if inevitable, spike in paranormal activity, so the 'busters are forced to employ a new recruit (you) to deal with the workload.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Ghostbusters (the game) - apart from the fact that you'll be able to slide down the firehouse pole - is that it has the potential to be a real sequel to the two movies, thanks to the involvement of screenwriters and cast members Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.

The duo has jumped onboard to write the script, to ensure the game remains true to the Ghostbusters films and reprise their roles as the hyperactive Dr Raymond Stantz and acerbic Dr Egon Spengler.

"Dan and Harold have always bounced around the idea of doing something else with Ghostbusters," explained the game's executive producer John Melchior during our recent visit to Dallas-based Terminal Reality.

"We made a prototype and took it to Dan and Harold. As soon as they saw it, it was perfect for them. They were at the point where they were willing to discuss Ghostbusters again. Harold and Dan have come up with the overarching storyline. They gave us the framework, characters and locations and then we made them and went back to them. Harold and Dan are extremely involved in the production process."

OLD AND NEW
While Ghostbusters is very much a continuation of the movies, Terminal Reality is keen to ensure that the first few hours of this third-person shooter will be instantly familiar to fans, with numerous well-known faces making an appearance in the opening few levels, including floating green pustule Slimer and the intolerant librarian from the start of the original flick.

Creative director Drew Haworth explained that he and his team were using these reappearances as a chance to delve more deeply into the background of each ghost. "One of your tasks will be to scan ghosts," explained Drew as he fired up the game's library level. "You'll have to scan the ghosts with your PKE meter to be able to access information about them in Tobin's Spirit Guide."

"All of the significant ghosts will be making a return," interjected John as Drew descended into the library's basement. "We're making a lot of ghosts that are more set-piece contextual ghosts, such as two brothers who were prisoners. Some ghosts will have stories, others will be simpler. Many ghosts, like the Librarian, will have a lot of background information about them."

GOOFBALL GHOULS
Meanwhile, strange things were afoot in the basement, where a genuine sense of unease was being generated by haunting glissando violins, subtle sound effects and excellent use of shadows. Drew stalked through the level, guided by the fluctuations of his PKE meter.

Suddenly, books leapt from shelves like popcorn from a furnace, then formed into lumbering hardback warriors that Drew incinerated with a volley from his proton pack. Drew only stopped dispatching these spooks when he met his fellow 'busters, who dispelled the tension with the genius comedic one-liners that made the movies.

"We're trying to rely on tension rather than gore," explained lead level designer Andy Dombroski as an on-screen Egon remarked how the off the chart paranormal readings were going to force him to make new charts.

"There are sections in which you'll jump and be genuinely scared," continued Andy. "We don't use gore unless it's funny gore. Our uneasiness and scares are usually kind of goofy, just like in the movies."

One of the less goofy scares came from the Librarian, who turned her frail frame into a whirring ball of power that sucked books into its core and spat them out as legions of apparitions.

The 'busters - rather than running away screaming as they had when they first met her - fought frantically to stem the tide, using an array of weaponry previously unseen in the movies, including proton torpedoes, electron pulses, and even shotgun-style particle-accelerated blasts.

After repelling all that the Librarian threw at them, the 'busters captured the fleeing ghoul in their beams, slammed her against shelves to soften her up (causing no end of destruction thanks to the superb physics of Terminal Reality's Infernal engine) and then sucked her into a trap, ready to be deposited into the containment unit back at the firehouse.

"Our emphasis is on lots of physics, lots of action and environmental manipulation, as well as all of the weapons and gadgets you've seen in the movies," enthused Drew as the level came to a close with a couple more wisecracks from the victorious 'busters.

"Every ghost that you trap you'll earn money for," he continued. "We're looking into letting you earn more cash if you manage to capture a ghost in impressive ways, like bouncing it off a wall and straight into a trap."

Apart from the tether gun (a goo-firing weapon that'll allow you to link objects in order to solve physics-based puzzles), all of the game's weapons will be fired from the proton pack, which will double as a HUD. You'll also be able to upgrade each weapon with the cash you earn, bolstering each one's range and ability to inflict damage.

THERE IS NO DANA
Also making an appearance will be the 'busters' decrepit shaggin' wagon Ecto 1, which is set to feature in a race towards Times Square.

"Leading up to Times Square, the streets will be like a disaster movie. So you'll have to escort Ecto 1 through the carnage as it's being massively attacked by spooks."
Conversation then, once again, drifted to the return of the series' founders and the legendary cast of supporting characters that made the movies such a triumph.

"We've gone after everybody that has ever appeared in a Ghostbusters movie," explained John when pressed on who might be returning for another ghost-catching escapade. And haven't they just? Alongside Ramis and Ackroyd, Bill Murray is set to reappear as comedy-anchor Peter Venkman while Ernie Hudson (who surely doesn't have the busiest of calendars) is back as Winston Zeddmore.

Add into this the nasty busybody Walter Peck, ginger receptionist Janice... Essentially the only one not confirmed is that ghost that fellated Ray one night, when he might have only been dreaming.

This said, a definite non-appearance is Sigourney Weaver, whose character, Dana Barrett, has been written out of the game's script to make way for a new female lead who'll provide a few romantic distractions between your paranormal pummelling.

Twenty-three years is a long time to wait for a game worthy of the Ghostbusters franchise, and while it's still way too early to start making grandiose promises, the very involvement of Aykroyd and Ramis, along with the searing action and some impressively destructible levels, suggest that Terminal Reality has an excellent chance of creating a game that'll bring this franchise back from the dead.

After all, there's nothing quite like a comeback story to capture the imagination. You know what? I love this town!

Martin Korda