Well, for all of you out there on Ezine, Thanks for taking the time to read my very first article. I am excited to have joined the activity here, and hope to continue writing for you all to see.

Just to warn you though, I am a complete nerd. Maybe not your smartest nerd, but I play loads of video games. I own an Xbox 360 and a Laptop, so that should tell you enough right there. Haha.

Otherwise, If your into the button mashing, and screen watching, then this is the article for you :)

I’m a little late for a review on this game, but I have waited so long for it, considering it’s been out almost an entire month!

Hello gaming nerds (haha jk). I have decided to conduct a little review for one of the games I have awaited so entirely long to play. I have constantly drove by my local Blockbuster and begged and pleaded for this game. It finally came in yesterday as I decided to take one more check on it and it turned out pretty well for me in the end. The game I was searching for was the new game entitled: Ghostbusters. Of course, we all know about the Ghostbusters and the two hit films they produced back in the mid-80’s. That was part of the whole reason I had been waiting to give this game a try. I also read the review on IGN.com which also added to the anticipation. Of course, as most gamers know, most of the time, the true fact behind “movie” games are that they completely suck. Most of your top ranked titles are games that were based off of a book series, such as Halo, or they were just purely thought up of and turned out to be amazing. Movie games just never seem to make the cut. This one, however does, well, at least so far.

Just to warn you, I have not completed the game. I am just reviewing what I have played, and so far, it’s really good.

I started off last night playing till almost mid-night after the lack of brightness in the game made me sleepy, but it was great, especially if your an achievement craver. I don’t want to spoil too much for you gamers out there who are interested, but I will tell you that if you’re wanting a quick and easy 6-8 achievements in the early-game, then you might want to play this for half an hour.

The gameplay is really good. As most movie games are fairly simple and don’t require much attained effort, this game is actually quite difficult. (Unlike most gamers, I start off on second highest difficulty when starting a new game, so maybe that might have some things to do with the reason I am having a little trouble) You WILL die some, and mostly because of your partners. The A.I. for your allies is not that good as they need reviving A LOT. You will often have to risk the last little bit of life you have left just to save your friends. Not to mention a blurry red screen that makes things twice as hard to see, especially in dark rooms. You will also find that, actually capturing the ghosts can be extremely difficult, but fun at the same time. Overall though, the gameplay is really good and is also a third person shooter. If you’re used to seeing tons of display on your screen, you don’t have to worry about it in this game as the health meter is on your proton pack, as well as your overheating status. The current objective is usually the only text that flashes on your screen, plus you can go back and check it whenever you want. Also, there is good news for you Gears Of War lovers if you decide to check this out. Remember the active reload?? Well, Atari has produced something similar in this game. Your Proton pack can overheat many times through the course of battle, so you sometimes have to cool it off with the RB button to prevent the pack from going into Auto-Shutdown mode for a few seconds. (You will find that this game is sort of similar to Gears Of War, combat-wise, but most of all has it’s own taste which makes it so unique) Enemies are extremely smart and clever as well, obviously considering the amount of times I have died. Haha. Aside from the actual gameplay, there are frequent times of lag, but the game usually adjusts itself. That’s about a wrap on gameplay.

Next, is the Audio and Dialogue. Your ghostbuster friends try to help you in mostly anyway. They tell you what to do if you seem to be lost or stuck. (Which is a big plus in my books. It’s actually helped out a lot) On the downside though, during battle, characters seem to say some of the same things constantly. Which sometimes gets pretty old, but doesn’t really hurt the game at all. Just something to throw out there. Sound effects from dark places are really great though. If your playing in a room with a very limited source of light, the game might get a little creepy as well. (Especially the library level) The game isn’t meant to be all that scary, but it has it’s moments. Also, this game is one of the first I have seen to actually have a bright side of dying, well that is, if your a huge fan of the Ghostbusters theme. Each time you die, it plays the beginning of the song as the game loads up your checkpoint. haha. It’s great if your a fan of the song like me. I’ll admit, this game will make you download the song if you haven’t already. Really good 80’s music in this game. Me likey! :)

The game sort of follows a movie sequence. It takes place in 1991, which is 10 years after the original Ghostbusters film. It shows cut-scenes that are much like the Ghostbusters movie itself, which I thought was really cool. Basically the only negative about the scenes is the lack of sound Dr. Venkman has in most parts of his dialogue. I remember I had to turn my T.V. volume up halfway just to hear him at times. There are also some frequent character shakes when a character is in motion throughout a scene.

Overall, this game is definitely worth the 8 bucks I paid to rent, but it’s still in progress to find out if it’s worth the total buy. I still haven’t had a chance to check out the multi-player yet, but have heard that it’s really good. And as i mentioned earlier, achievements are polite to you in this game giving you a nice 20 points per level. Who doesn’t like that? Plus, a good 15 points for just purchasing all upgrades for different types of equipment.

Well for all of you who took the time to read this premature review of the new Ghostbusters game, Thank you. You don’t know how much I appreciate it. And for those of you that decide to pick this game up, remember one thing: DO NOT cross the streams!! (You WILL be reminded)

Thanks!!

-Kiefer