Ghostbusters The Video Game Preview

You are a legitimate phenomenon.

With the ultimate nerd-cred of having a story written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, Ghostbusters is set a couple of years after the events portrayed in the original movie. Players take the role of the “new guy” recruit. The core members of the Ghostbusters are around if help is required, but players can also wander off to check out new areas on their own. Your personal psychokinetic energy reader lets you know when you’re in the vicinity of some special item, an event, or your ghostly quarry itself. In fact, there are some things you simply won’t be able to find without the aid of the meter, which is as it should be.

The game is awash in little details. Bookshelves and books swish around in storms of psychokinetic activity, and all sorts of other objects can be thrown about or destroyed when you’re not actually hip-deep in supernatural antagonists. The particle stream from your proton pack arcs and jumps as you struggle to lay traps—obliging you to whang your energy-ensnared foes against the nearest wall to subdue them until you drag their thrashing immaterial asses over the trap. Keep that shoulder control held down (you PS3 and 360 owners), until you can hurl the ghost in the proper direction—and, presumably, Don’t Cross The Streams.

Ghostbusters will be available for all the major consoles, although the PS2 and Wii versions are being worked on by a different developer than the 360 and PS3 versions, and are being rendered with a more cartoon-style look and aimed at a slightly younger audience.