XBOX-HQ.COM - Ghostbusters For The 360

With Atari taking the position of Publisher for Ghostbusters it all boils down to when we will get a chance to play this game and will it be before the hype burns out, to keep the hype up here is an article from OXM.co.uk on this could be monster hit that still needs a due date.

OXM reports: It's one of the weird rules in life that the more effort someone puts into something, the more naturally inclined you are to like it.

Therefore, it's hard not to like Ghostbusters. If there's an award next year for Game With The Most Amount Of Love Poured Into It, then they might as well post the award to Terminal Reality now.

This game is simply gorgeous. The level of detail here simply drips each drop of blood, sweat and tears put into it as particle beams clash, proton packs whirr into life and paint is scorched off nearby walls in the man-versus-ghost battles. There's nothing quite like it.

It's a good job that Ghostbusters has that powerful impact straight away because it's too easy to be cynical about this one - a game tied in with movies that's seen as the third in the series, dramatic change of publishers and more film lawyers milling about than Ally McBeal? It spells disaster.

Yet this is already shaping up to be one of the surprises of next year. In fact, we'll say it now - this could be one of the games of next year, let alone surprises.

Gameplay wise, we're shown a typical Ghostbusters set-up that sees their investigative nose lead them into trouble. That's unsurprising, given the same writing team from the movies including Dan Ackroyd is penning this game too, but what is surprisingly is how engaging the set-up is.

New Recruit
We're shown the Ghostbusters team (you play the new rookie) sharing in their usual banter, as they track down a ghost who disappears into a dusty, abandoned library. Along the way are ghosts that need to be fought and trapped, as you use your PKE detector to follow the ghostly handprints towards the end of the library...

Then it hits. The nearby books fly off the shelves in a sub-section of the flooded library and form a towering monster, trying to club the Ghostbusters with hands made of encyclopedias and murder novels. The proton beams fire up and the library is bathed in orange and blue glow. A few frantic minutes later, the ghost is dealt with and the books collapse into the water, bobbing around as the Ghostbusters brush past them. It looks absolutely stunning.

Your proton pack will contain four different firing modes, from the standard proton beam to a elastic slime that lets you play around with the phsyics. Stick a slime to a plank of wood, fire the other end at the wall and wood will ping itself to the wall in a sticky embrace. Ewww. No prizes for guessing that puzzles will inevitably be involved with that firing mode.

Then, it's a case of ensnaring the ghosts by wearing them down and wrestling them over to the trademark floor traps that the Ghostbusters use to ensnare the spooky fiends. To picture the battles in action, imagine the courtroom fight against the Scoleri brothers from Ghostbusters II. For boss battles, it's classic old-skool gaming in full flow - learn the patterns, use them against the boss. it looks to be challenging but not distractingly so, which allows you to enjoy the awesome design of the bosses you're thrown up against.

Visually, Ghostbusters does the job and then some. For integrity, it brings back old writers and the original crew for voice-acting - even Bill Murray has signed up. Yet it's the gameplay that could prove to be the true trump card of Ghostbusters, combining light and frothy fun with incredibly well-designed creatures that sticks to the lore of the series.

News-Source: OXM.co.uk