Gamer Shelf

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved the Ghostbusters. From the catchy, yet allegedly plagiarized theme song by Ray Parker Jr., to the pitch perfect performances from its three main stars (Harold Ramis, Dan Akroyd, and Bill Murray), the original Ivan Reitman film played a huge part in the lives of many children (and adults) in the 1980's. But how does Ghostbusters fare in the transition from film franchise to a modern day third-person shooter?

Basically, the story fits in perfectly with the tone of the original movies, and the voice acting from the original cast (featuring Dan Akroyd's best work since Driving Miss Daisy) is fantastic. The game does an admirable job of giving the player a taste of what it takes to be a Ghostbuster, but the technology isn't quite there to deliver a Hollywood-quality story in a videogame.

Set in 1991, a scant two years after the events of Ghostbusters 2, the game begins with a strange supernatural shockwave that comes from the Gozer exhibit at a New York museum. Not cool enough to play as any of the main characters, the player instead wears the coveralls of the Ghostbusters' new, unnamed "experimental weapons specialist." The game constantly points out your anonymous existence, with the gang often referring to you with humiliating monikers such as "sport," "chief," or simply "the kid."