‘Catching ghosts’ is an ancient superstitious act — the Chinese believes in using sword and fulu as weapons; in the West, it is the Bible and the cross. Regardless of countries and cultures, one thing they share in common is the ancient-ness. The 1984 blockbuster ‘Ghostbusters’, a contemporary film classic, revolves around the lead characters capturing ghosts in hi-tech apparatuses. The sequel came out in 1989 to much hype. It is the twenty-fifth anniversary of ‘Ghostbusters’ this year. To mark the occasion, rumour has it that there will be another sequel, as well as blu-ray editions of the dvds. The real highlight, however, is the ‘Ghostbusters: The Video Game’.

Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (the two leading characters) wrote the screenplay for the films, and it is only fitting that they are investing in the game this time. They are also on board for consulting, as well as providing the vocals with all the actors from the original crew. The setting and visuals references the authentic film sets, naturally.

Set in Manhattan in 1991, the game is two years after the film’s first sequel. Ghostbusters is overloaded with too many cases and therefore hiring a new staff — the player. The player can try numerous hi-tech apparatuses, such as a proton pack that shoots proton stream, ghost-detecting radar, green-glue sticky gun and electronic ghost boxes. Like in the film, the player is to shoot the ghosts with proton stream, ‘hook’ them up and put them in the electronic box. Of course there will be some tricky cases — the classic ghost characters such as Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man are making appearances. One for the advanced Ghostbusters fans.

Text: Siu Tin | Update: 16 Jul 2009

《Ghostbusters: The Video Game》
Platform: Xbox 360、PS3、PC、Wii
Publisher: Atari
Genre: Action game
No. of Player: 1 Player, 2 – 4 Players (Online)

《GHOSTBUSTERS: THE VIDEO GAME》
www.ghostbustersgame.com