 |
|
Back in 1984, a movie was released that would alter the rest of the decade, and beyond. It started out as an original idea by actor Dan Aykroyd. The idea was that Aykroyd and his good friend John Belushi would portray futuristic "exterminators", who would travel through space and time chasing ghosts. Belushi's sudden death in 1982 altered the plans, and Bill Murray stepped in to replace Belushi. Harold Ramis assisted in finalizing the script, and the setting was changed from the future to modern-day New York City. The concept was further simplified to scientists who were out of work starting a business where they would catch ghosts for a fee. The title was originally "Ghost Smashers", but that was dropped just before release for a slightly catchier title - "Ghostbusters". The movie was a huge hit, and of course a game for the NES was sure to follow.
To explain the story, in case anyone hasn't seen the movie (and shame on you if you haven't): The Ghostbusters are a group of scientists who discover that ghosts are real, and it is possible to catch them. They go into business as "Professional Paranormal Investigators and Eliminators" (Ghost Exterminators). However, a building near central park (which is called the Zuul building in the game) is actually an antenna constructed to harvest paranormal energy. When this energy reaches a certain level, a temple on the roof of the building will become the door that allows Gozer, a demigod, to enter our world and destroy it. When the Ghostbusters discover this, it becomes their job to stop Gozer. In case you're wondering what Zuul is or means, Zuul is the Gatekeeper, the minion of Gozer. The other minion of Gozer is Vinz Clortho (not sure of the spelling of the last name), who is the Keymaster. Neither one are really in the game, so it doesn't really matter.
The game starts at what I like to call the "overworld map". This shows the city with its various buildings. Almost all of the buildings on the overworld map are generic, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions are as follows: Ghostbusters Headquarters (HQ) in the bottom center of the map, the Gas station at the top left of the map, the Shop at the top right of the map, and the Zuul building in the center of the map. The Gas station is where you go if Ecto1 (your car) runs out of gas. The Shop is where you go to buy power-ups and other useful items. The Ghostbusters HQ is where you go to empty your traps into the containment grid (more on this later). And the Zuul building is where the final confrontation with Gozer takes place. You navigate around the city by moving a miniature Ghostbusters symbol around the streets. You can then select a building to travel to. When you select to travel to a building, the game goes to an overheard view where you control the car racing to the building. There is a counter at the top of the screen that shows how far you have to go to reach your destination. If you notice, the further you move the Ghostbusters symbol on the map, the further you have to drive in the car mode to get to the desired location. For example, if you are responding to a call (flashing building), and as soon as you leave, there is another call across the street or very near, when you go to the car mode, you may only have to travel 100m or so to reach the destination. However, if you travel all the way across the map, when you enter car mode it may take 2000m to reach the destination. So plotting your course is essential.
In the driving mode, the handling of the car is not the best and the graphics aren't perfect, but it gets the job done. While you are driving there are obstacles you need to avoid. These include other cars and occasionally ghosts. When you have an accident by running into the other cars, you lose money. That is the object of this first portion of the game. You are trying to catch ghosts to earn money so you can buy good equipment for your GBs when they have to face the final portion of the game. So it is annoying when you hit other cars and lose your money. However, you can take it slow and usually you wont have any trouble with accidents. The problem with this is that a) it takes longer to get where you are going and b) it uses more gas...so you will have to go to the gas station and fill up more often (if you don't pick up enough gas cans along the way). So there is a good deal of strategy going on here...from choosing the shortest routes and then deciding to either high-tail it and risk losing valuable cash in collisions, or taking it slow and risking running out of fuel.
When playing through the game, the first thing you need to do is head for the shop (after all, how can you catch ghosts without traps?). Be very careful on the driving sequence, as you need all the money you can get at the shop. The shop has a variety of objects you can get. In the first part of the game, you need to worry about proton packs and traps. The other items (Ghost Food and the Ghost Suit) are only used in the last part of the game. You will need at least the small proton pack and a small trap. I highly suggest you break down and get the Super Trap from the beginning. The reason is, it can hold LOTS of ghosts. The small traps only hold one ghost. So, if you have a small trap, you have to make a trip back to GBHQ to empty the trap after EVERY call you respond to. This increases the number of driving levels you will have to complete, and increases the odds of losing valuable cash due to accidents. The difference between the regular proton pack and the super proton pack is that the super pack has a beam that can reach to the top of the screen. The regular pack doesn’t reach the top, so you have to wait for the ghosts to swoop down and then catch them. With the super pack you just point the beam straight up, run all the way across the screen, and you instantly have all the ghosts. I usually start out with a small pack and a super trap. If you're doing well, upgrade to the super pack later. Whatever you do, make sure you save up enough to get the Ghost Suit. The suit gives you 2-4 extra hits before you die in the stairs level. You WILL need the extra hits, unless you are really good. You can also get a ghost trap that mounts to the roof of Ecto1 (the car). This allows you to catch (and get paid for) the ghosts that appear in the driving sequences. I forget the exact name of this object though.
After you make your purchases, you are returned to the overworld map. You will start to see some of the buildings flash red. This means that there are ghosts in the building, and customers are calling. To accept the call, move your GB icon beside the appropriate building, and select the building. You will then enter a driving sequence and where you travel to the building.
Next up is the side scrolling Ghost-catching sequences. These are fairly standard, but the controls can be a little awkward, especially if you are playing by yourself. You start the side scrolling sequence with two Ghostbusters carrying a trap. You move them with the D-pad, and generally want to maneuver the trap to the center of the screen. You then hit A to drop the trap and your proton packs will automatically fire. You will control the ghostbuster on the left by default, but you can press A again to toggle between Ghostbusters. A little known secret is that a second player can control the other Ghostbuster by using the second controller, so you don't have to switch back and forth by yourself. It's pretty standard, just move back and forth catching as many ghosts as you can and getting them over the trap, then engaging the trap. Of course, if you wait too long the trap will go off by itself and you will lose any ghosts not in place over the trap. While this is not the most exciting gameplay ever, it isn't that bad. After you catch the ghosts, you will be paid. You get a certain amount per ghost, and a bonus if you catch all of the ghosts on the screen. Be warned: DO NOT CROSS THE STREAMS. Yes, this movie is where that phrase originated. If you touch streams with the other Ghostbuster, you will be taken back to the "overworld map", and will not be paid.
So, you repeat this process, responding to calls (and if you're not smart enough to buy the super trap at the beginning, you will also have to make runs back to Ghostbusters HQ to empty the small trap) and saving up your cash to buy equipment in preparation for the final battle. Eventually, when the PKE level reaches a certain level, a message starts scrolling across the screen on the main map that says to enter the Zuul building (in the middle of the screen). You can ignore this for a brief time if you need more cash, but before long, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man will appear on the map and start destroying buildings, and at that point, you only have seconds before the game will end if you don't get to the Zuul building. You go to the Zuul building like any other Ghostbusting call (with a car mode level, although you may as well just floor it all the way there...who cares if you lose cash now? You won’t be able to buy anything else anyway at this point). You arrive inside the Zuul building, and must make it to the 22nd floor (a la the movie). This is kind of annoying because instead of just hitting the arrows to move, you have to do the annoying ABABABABABAB process to move the characters while steering with the D-pad. Hopefully you made enough cash for a ghost suit (gives you 2-4 extra hits before you die) or at least some ghost food to distract the ghosts. This level isn't hard, but you just have to watch the ghosts and time your moves so that your guys don't get hit. Once you finally make it to the top, you have an almost top-down style shootout with Gozer. The controls here are a lot easier where you just use the d-pad to control your Ghostbusters and use a (or maybe b...I forget) to shoot. You basically just dodge Gozer's attacks and return fire when appropriate. If I recall correctly, you can move down to the bottom of the screen and you will see Stay Puft climbing the building. If you take too long fighting Gozer, Stay Puft will make it to the top of the building and the game will end. That may just be in the Sega version though...I'm not sure about that. But the rest of my description is accurate.
GRAPHICS 3.5/5 : If you take into consideration the age of the game, the graphics are decent. They aren't that great, but they never get annoying...and you can always tell what the objects are supposed to be.
SOUND 4/5 : The music is decent. It's the famous Ray Parker Ghostbusters theme (minus the words) over and over. I don't think it plays in the side-scrolling mode, but in the rest of the game, that is the music you get. Its cool at first, but it can get annoying by the end of the game. The sound effects are pretty decent and are not grating at all.
CONTROL 2.5/5 : This is hard to comment on. In some areas of the game (the overworld map, the final boss fight) the controls are good. However, in some areas (staircase level) it is pretty bad, and in others (ghost catching side scrolling mode) it is average, but a little confusing. Generally speaking, other than the ABABABAB madness in the staircase level, the controls are easy to get the hang of and feel natural.
FRUSTRATION 2/5 : There is almost no frustration for the first part where you're just going around catching ghosts and buying supplies, because as previously mentioned, it is impossible to die in this part of the game. The staircase level will have you ripping your hair out and smashing TV's and controllers left and right the first few times you play it. The end boss is easy, no frustration there. It can be mildly frustrating when you are on your way to the shop and you have a wreck and it costs you so much money that you can't afford what you were on your way there to buy.
FUN FACTOR 3.5/5 : If you liked the movie, you will like this game. If you really dislike the movie, you probably won't. Overall, it is a very fun game in my opinion. The game design is unique, so it's really a refreshing break from the tons of platform games out there on the NES.
OVERALL 3.5/5 : Again, it is a very unique design, and unlike a lot of movie-based games, it does an excellent job of following the movie. I would say "Ghostbusters" is one of the most overlooked games made for the NES. I think the reason for this is because a lot of people don't understand the concept of how to play the game. They are used to platformers or shooters where the goal is to "make it to the end of the level". In Ghostbusters, there is really only one level, and the whole first half of the game is intended to allow you to prepare for that level.
BOTTOM LINE: The graphics are acceptable for the date that the game was made, although they are nothing outstanding. The controls are poor at times (i.e. the stairs level). However, I think there is a lot of strategy involved, and I think this game actually does an EXCELLENT job of following the movie plot compared to most movie-based games. It is kind of disappointing that climbing the stairs to reach the final boss is more difficult than the boss fight itself (not to mention that the ending you get after beating the boss is less than climatic (but I won't spoil it here :) )). However, I have to say that it is still a fun game. A good feature is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to die until the stairs level right before the final boss (not counting the ending where you refuse to enter the Zuul building and Stay Puft crushes the city), so it's hard to get frustrated with the game. If you like Ghostbusters, you should definitely give this game a whirl. Even if you don't, I recommend this game. It is truly one of a kind, and I can honestly say I have never seen another game with a design even remotely close to this.
-PsychoKN
| Back to reviews Back home |
