Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Sony PSP)

I'm a HUGE Ghostbusters fan. But like any huge fan, I DO believe there's a right AND a wrong way to make a Ghostbusters game. When it was released on the NES, it was an epic failure. I only got into it because at the time I played it, I had no life. On top of the fact that it's an endless chase-and-catch which gets you nowhere, it wasn't much of a "game" either. But I digress, anyways. The PSP game took the things that made the movies great - the visuals, mostly - and incorporated them into the game.

The coolest thing about this game (especially the PSP version) is the fact that you are encouraged to take part in the destruction of property. After all, isn't being a Ghostbuster about blowing stuff up? On top of this, you get SCORED for blowing things up and shooting all kinds of objects. You even get to catch ghosts in a museum, making it easy to hit the 100,000+ mark on destruction of property! Yay!

The even better thing is the ghost-catching system. They improved over previous versions. Unlike the Sega Genesis Ghostbusters in which you shoot them and they die, or the NES version where you have a ridiculously short stream for the gun and the other Ghostbuster gets in the way, this time they made it look and feel like the movies. Except that crossing the streams doesn't kill you, it only knocks you down. The beams are fired at a ghost, and once the specter is weak enough, you slam it around using the directional buttons. Once you give her a good slamming, throw your trap down and guide them into it. It's really fun, and due to the fact that you can optionally play levels over and over, it makes for a very fun time--You can even take cues from the movie, like capturing Slimer and fighting Stay Puft!

This game doesn't follow the first or second movies, but appears to actually be a third movie. The dialogue is nice and all of the four Ghostbusters are present - Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. The audio is a tad low, but the jokes are spread evenly, unlike the movie where a wise remark would usually come from Peter and sometimes Egon. In short, the game is Ghostbusters 3 in every way.

The only complaint I have is that the PSP version was given the "cartoon" graphics, meaning deformed versions of all of the characters. Not to worry, the gameplay is identical and the fact that you see the Proton Pack in such detail throughout the entire game is a blessing. You don't get to drive the Ecto-1, but who cares? The Nintendo DS is overrated anyway. So if you love Ghostbusters, action games or you straight-up just own a PSP and don't even care what Ghostbusters is, buy this game and enjoy. I got mine from the PlayStation Store, and it's worth the $30 I spent for it. I can't put it down!

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