Ghostbusters (2016) Review

Title: Ghostbusters

Available On: Xbox One, PS4, Windows

Where To Buy: Xbox Store, PSN, Steam, Local Reatailers

Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night? Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic? Have you or any of your family ever seen a spook, specter or ghost? If the answer is yes, then don’t wait another minute. Pick up your phone and call the professionals. Ghostbusters.

There has been much controversy surrounding the Ghostbusters as of late. The all-female reboot film directed by Paul Feig did not go over well with some. In terms of that film which is already out, please check out our film review here. Typically when a high profile franchise movie is released… a game comes along with it. With only a few exceptions, the majority of these games are terrible. As a huge Ghostbusters fan, I was very disappointed to discover that this new game frankly falls into the “terrible” category.

The new Ghostbusters game is a twin-stick top-down shooter incredibly similar to Sanctum of Slime if you’ve ever played it. The game takes a slight step away from the all female controversy and instead provides a 50/50 mix squad of four. Set after the events of the recent film, this new Ghostbusters team is holding down the fort while the other is away on another important matter. Of course, things in town start going off the rails and the new team is called to action.

Ghostbusters also supports four player co-op. When I first played the game, I did so with three of my kids and that was certainly the most fun I had with the title as a whole. Sadly that play time was only about 30 minutes and only one ever asked to play again with me. The original theme song is used for the main menu and that alone during start up excited me. The following cut scene wasn’t bad either. It had that comic vibe which I didn’t mind. After that initial 30 minutes, everything just began to go downhill. Once I played further, I realized that in that 30 minutes… I had essentially already played the whole game.

The experience I had playing Ghostbusters is like listening to Thub Thumpin by Chumbawamba on repeat for three hours. At first, you’re like, “I can kind of dig this.” Then that quickly turns to “How can anyone think this is good?” This song must have been written on toilet paper due to sheer boredom while someone was on the can. ” The new Ghostbusters game invoked those thoughts… along with several others that I probably couldn’t clean up enough for this article to be posted. The whole game just feels so phoned in and clearly, the powers that be were more concerned on cashing in on the Ghosbusters hype than delivering a quality product. Are you bummed after reading everything thus far? If so, Ghostbusters is returning as an animated series and that’s certainly a plus.

Stages in this game are also ridiculously long. Instead of adding to quality play time, they just make every level drag on. Playing one stage fighting the same ghosts over and over for 40 minutes just becomes a headache. While you will reach checkpoints, if you quit before getting to the end of the stage, you’ll have to start from the very beginning the next time you load up. You do get to use some of the signature gadgets such as the trap and PKE meter. Unfortunately, the trap is merely a button mash fest and using the PKE meter slows your character to a crawl.

The characters each have unique weapons aside from the signature proton wand. For instance, one has a Gatling gun and another wields dual pistols. These weapons are upgradeable at the end of each level. The upgrade system ultimately seems worthless and feels as if it has little impact. It really feels that it was put in place just so it could be listed as a feature for what the game provides. Each character also has a special grenade that you have no distance control over. I continued to find myself forced to throw my grenade the length of the screen hoping the ghosts would stop their advance towards me to get caught in the explosion.

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As much as I love the Ghostbusters and the announcement of this title excited me, this is by far one of the worst games I have reviewed during my time at The Nerd Stash. I could not in good conscience recommend this game on any level for purchase. You will find yourself bored very quickly and the story provides little to sink your teeth into. If you have kids or love the franchise, Redbox or Gamefly will suffice just fine to give it a go. While some do believe the new movie turned out alright, this Ghostbusters game is one you should avoid at all costs.

Did you play the new Ghostbusters game? If so, what did you think? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

• Gameplay: Top-down, twin stick, repetitive boring mess shooter

• Graphics: Essentially upgraded from Sanctum of Slime

• Sound: Classic Ghostbusters theme from Ray Parker Jr was at least used

• Presentation: A phoned in title just hoping to rake in money it seems

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