Ghostbusters: The Video Game is one of those rare movie based games that is actually good. Rarely do you see a game based on a film from twenty five years ago be as well received as Ghostbusters was. But just how good is it? Oh, it’s very good. Let’s say you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters films, there is no reason you won’t like this game. It’s not a game version of either of the two movies, but it acts as a third film in the original story and completely new script. It also retains the same humor we come to expect from the Ghostbusters.
I think the big draw of the game is the fact that, unlike something like The Godfather or Scarface, this game is a completely original story based on an existing franchise. Aside from a lot of key elements, the developers were free to do what they wanted in terms of level design, story, and gameplay; they weren’t binded strictly to a specific film. All they did was borrow elements from the films to create an original experience. Not to say there aren’t original elements in games like The Godfather, Scarface, or more recent movie based games like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but all are completely tied to the films they are based on and do have to connect to and follow along with the film’s story.
Then you have games like The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (and Assault on Dark Athena) as well as the recent X-Men Origins: Wolverine game. Both are very different from the films they are based on. For Riddick’s case, it is a prequel to the films, and it tells a brand new tale with the same character. Wolverine borrows ideas from the film and follows the plot, but does so in a more violent manner that is better suited to who Wolverine is as a character than any other film or cartoon has captured him as. When developers aren’t tied to a license and deadlines so closely, they tend to turn out better products.
This is why a game like Ghostbusters is so successful and so damn fun to play. It goes above and beyond all conventions of movie-based video games and exceeds at not only being a good movie game, but simply a good and fun video game. Not to mention it has a sense of humor, something I still find sorely lacking in most games today. While there will most likely be another Ghostbusters film, this game is the perfect way to invision “Ghostbusters 3.” It’s not a perfect game, but it nails the elements from the film that work will making a perfectly enjoyable game all at the same time, something most movie based games completely fail to do.
