The Ghostbusters Game That Wrote a Third Film, Then Got Overwritten

Ghostbusters: The Video Game arrived in 2009 as a reunion project. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis wrote the script. Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Brian Doyle-Murray and William Atherton returned to voice their film roles. The game sets itself in November 1991, two years after Ghostbusters II, and puts the player behind a Proton Pack as a new recruit.

Trailer, via Game Master TV.

A Rookie Joins the Team in November 1991

The premise is simple. Manhattan is overrun by supernatural creatures again. The player is a new recruit known as “the Rookie,” tasked with testing the team’s experimental devices.

Terminal Reality developed the Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. Red Fly Studio handled the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii versions, which have a significantly different campaign but mostly identical stories. Zen Studios made a separate Nintendo DS game with the same title, released at the same time with substantial differences in gameplay and story.

That split matters. The PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 build carries the original cast and the full third-person campaign.

• Release year: 2009
• Setting: November 1991, two years after Ghostbusters II
• Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox 360; PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii; Nintendo DS
• Developers: Terminal Reality (PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox 360), Red Fly Studio (PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii), Zen Studios (DS)
• Publishers: Atari Interactive (North America), Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3 in Europe)
• Genres: Shooter, Adventure
• Modes: Single player, Multiplayer
• Perspective: Third person
• Critic aggregate (IGDB, 7 outlets): 7.0 of 10

The Proton Pack Overheats and That Is the Point

Combat is built on a single idea. Instead of a traditional gun, the Rookie carries a Proton Pack. Players fire a Proton Stream to weaken ghosts, then switch to a capture stream to maneuver them into a ghost trap. Continuous use overheats the pack, leaving the player momentarily unable to fire until it vents.

That cooldown is the whole game in miniature. It forces patience on a player who wants to blast everything. The capture stream also lets players slam ghosts and move objects in the environment, which opens up fights beyond simple aiming.

Players can switch to a first-person view by equipping the Rookie with a PKE Meter and goggles. In that mode, paranormal items are highlighted and the meter points toward ghosts or haunted artifacts. The pack upgrades over time with additional firing modes: Shock Blast, Slime Blower, and a Meson Collider, each with an alternate mode such as Boson Dart, Stasis Stream, Slime Tether or Overload Pulse. Upgrades come from capturing ghosts and identifying cursed artifacts and new ghost species.

Aykroyd, Ramis and Murray Return to the Roles

The cast is the reason this game exists. Aykroyd, Ramis and Murray voice Raymond Stantz, Egon Spengler and Peter Venkman. Ernie Hudson returns as Winston Zeddemore. Potts is back as receptionist Janine Melnitz, and Atherton returns as Walter Peck.

The script comes from Aykroyd and Ramis, and the game draws on ideas the two had for ghosts that never made it into the original films. That is the strongest argument for Ghostbusters: The Video Game as more than merchandise. It is a lost sequel, written by the people who built the franchise.

What the Game Gets Right and Where It Drags

The plot starts with a psi energy pulse from the Gozer exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. The pulse engulfs New York City, raises supernatural activity, and frees Slimer. From there the Rookie works alongside the team through a campaign that plays as a third-person shooter with adventure structure.

The good news is the tone. The game carries the comedy, science fiction and horror mix of the films, and the returning cast sells it. The Proton Pack mechanics give the shooting a rhythm distinct from a traditional gun, and the PKE Meter sections break up the action.

The bad news is the version split. The campaign is the same across the PlayStation 3, Windows and Xbox 360 versions. The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions are a different game entirely, with a significantly different campaign and a mostly identical story.

The game also tallies the monetary destruction the player causes. PlayStation 3 Trophies and Xbox 360 Achievements reward either minimizing damage or causing a high amount of it. Many achievement names come from film quotes, including “You Gotta Try This Pole.”

The Case for a Lost Sequel

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the rare licensed game that earns its existence. Aykroyd and Ramis wrote it. Murray, Hudson, Potts and Atherton performed it. The Proton Pack, with its overheat and its capture stream, turns ghostbusting into a mechanic rather than a cutscene.

The problems are real but modest. The version split means the game’s reputation rests on the build Terminal Reality made, not the one Red Fly Studio shipped to older hardware.

What holds up is the reunion. The original cast were together again for the first time in over 20 years when the game shipped in 2009, and the game leans on that fact throughout.

This is not a great shooter. It is a good Ghostbusters story with a shooter attached.

2009 games · Bill Murray · Dan Aykroyd · Ghostbusters · Harold Ramis · video games