Blockbuster.co.uk's Matt Chapman gives us the scoop on the exciting new Ghostbusters video game.
Sensible types with an unlicensed nuclear accelerator strapped to their backs will tell you not to cross the streams, but since Blockbuster is your one-stop shop for movie and game entertainment, we're inclined to mix it up a little. That's especially true when one of cinema's best-loved franchises has a new version of the film to enjoy, as well as some brand new adventures courtesy of a videogame!
Not since The Blues Brothers announced that they were putting the band back together at the start of their 1980 movie has there been so much excitement about a comeback. Amazingly, it's been 25 years since that familiar team of parapsychologists were ready to believe us and pop over to battle the boogiemen in our basements.
Sadly, the metaphor about putting the band back together doesn't work entirely because Ghostbusters is missing a cellist.
Sigourney Weaver's character Dana Barrett didn't make it into the game despite the actress expressing an interest late on. Her role had already been filled by
Alyssa Milano from TVs
Charmed, who plays Dr Ilyssa Selwyn - curator of The World Of Gozer exhibit at the Natural History Museum in New York City.
"It's a little weird being the love interest of Dr Venkman," says Milano. "But she's very spunky - at least that's how I'm playing her, I don't know if that's what they intended!"
Of course, Milano isn't the only new addition to team. The latest star of the show is you! Players finally get to grab a proton pack and turn their ghostbusting fantasies into reality as the newest recruit. The story is set two years after
Ghostbusters 2 and Egon's in-game speech pretty much sums up the plot: "All my data indicates that the ghost world is beginning to push through multiple cross portals from their dimension into ours." The result? Once again, the city of Manhattan has been overrun with ghouls, ghosts and all things foul - and it's down to the Ghostbusters team to capture them and regain control.
That basic premise allows for plenty of nostalgic returns. The videogame revisits the greatest hits of the first two movies, while also adding a whole new storyline for the cast to get their teeth into. That means appearances from Slimer; the marshmallow man ("It wasn't me this time, I swear it," says Ray when the big fella makes his reappearance.); Vigo - still suffering Carpathian kitten loss no doubt; and pen-pushing Environmental Protection Agency officer Walter Peck (voiced once again by actor
William Atherton, with a more spooked-out role this time around).
Single player mode will see you bustin' ghouls with the boys, while a multiplayer option allows you to link up with your friends. "We've added some unique Multiplayer AI 'aggro' behaviours to challenge players even more," reveals one of the developers at Threewave Software. "Some of these include ghosts that go berserk or even split in two when angered!"
Sony scored a coup for its console owners by nabbing an early release on the PlayStation 2 and
PlayStation 3. Those gamers got to mix it up with the marshmallow man on the 19th of June, just four days after the release of the Ghostbusters movie on
Blu-ray. Meanwhile, versions for the
Xbox 360,
PC,
Nintendo Wii and
Nintendo DS will be released on the 6th of November.
Owners of non-Sony consoles should wipe that tear away from their eyes now because there's good news to get them through the wait. All the hype around the game and the re-pairing of the writing team and the cast has finally opened the door to the possibility of a third Ghostbusters movie! While we're trying not to get over excited in case it doesn't actually happen, the news that even
Rick Moranis is considering coming out of acting retirement makes us feel good.