The comic edge of “Ghostbusters” will always be the same. It’s still treating the supernatural with a totally mundane sensibility.

-Harold Ramis

There are only a few films that I feel truly define the 80s as a whole.

Back to the Future popularized time travel in science fiction for the modern era. By that same virtue, Tim Burton’s Batman served as a platform for the future of superhero cinema. The third and final film I want to mention stands the test of time as perhaps one of the greatest comedies ever made, serving not only as a comedy, but also as a unique way that we look at the paranormal: Ghostbusters. Released in 1984, and written by comedy legends Dan Aykroyd and the late great Harold Ramis (who played Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler respectfully), Ghostbusters was the pinnacle of cinematic comedy; it also served as a guiding view into the field of parapsychology as a scientific field in a world of skeptics and bureaucrats. I also have to bring up the truly awe-inspiring theme song “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. (We played it at least five times on my birthday). From this one film, a franchise was born: cartoons, toys, Halloween costumes, and even cosplay groups, the 1984 horror-comedy is immortalized with its iconic logo of a ghost within a red circle and a line through it.

Of course, Ghosbusters also maintains a long history of video games; from the Atari 2600 to the current-gen systems such as the PS4 and XBox1, there has been a multitude of playable games from the legendary film franchise. There is one game in particular that I believe deserves special merit, that would be the 2009 release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game by Terminal Reality. I’ll never forget that feeling of wonder and joy when my mom answered my phone as I was driving; she said “It’s Dan Aykroyd on the phone, he says your copy of Ghostbusters: The Video Game is ready to be picked up”. Despite it being an automated voice message, I was still overcome by my childlike joy as I was over 20 years ago.

Essentially, G:TV is presented to the player as the third canonical movie in the original Ghostbusters franchise, taking place in 1991 (2 years after the events of Ghostbusters 2); the original Ghostbuster team comprising of Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore stand at the precipice of becoming a federally licensed organization due to the fact that supernatural incidents are becoming more commonplace. Now acting as bonded contractors for the city proper, the GB team bills the city directly for catching ghosts, as well as paying for all the damages they inevitably cause when they’re called in. Unsurprisingly, this heightened demand for ghost hunting leaves our intrepid heroes severely undermanned, and in desperate need for extra help.

The player helps resolve the issue of GB staffing by being introduced as the new “Recruit” for the team; the player-character wears the standard GB jumpsuit, albeit with a “Rookie” patch on the front (As Venkman surmises: “No names Ray, I don’t want to get too attached to this one, you remember what happened to the last guy?”). Formally referred to as the new “Experimental Equipment Technician” by Egon, it is the player’s responsibility to try out untested and potentially dangerous new ghost-busting gear so that the rest of the team can standardize new equipment for future use. Although the Recruit is mostly seen from behind during gameplay, he is occasionally fully shown to the player during most major cutscenes; even then, he is depicted as a silent protagonist, save for a few screams (it looks like Link has some competition).

Together, the GB team face off against some of their oldest adversaries including Slimer, the Librarian Ghost, and even the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. All of the baddies have mysteriously manifested again at their old haunts; what follows is a journey both terrifying and laugh out loud funny as our heroes travel between our world, and the ghost world. Unraveling this mystery closes the loop on the original Ghostbusters films.

G:TV was released to wide acclaim not just from gamers, but fans of the series as well. The accurate reconstruction of the movies in tandem with new unique gameplay make for an immensely entertaining gaming experience. With this Halloween season in full swing, Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered was released. Saber Interactive took over as the new development team, and the game was once again promoted by Dan Aykroyd. Many GB fans, including myself, were giddy with anticipation as to how such a beloved game would hold up on the newer game systems. Does the Remaster truly surpass the original G:TV game? Let’s find out, as they say in the song: “I ain’t afraid of no ghost!”.

Visuals: 8/10

The almost photo realistic approach to this game is impressive; it actually feels as if the images leap out of the films. All of the characters are shown in the spitting image of their 1984 counterparts with detailed facial movements, and functionality. However, some of the vocal tracks don’t sync up well to the character mouth movements in several cutscenes, but it’s a minor issue in the grand scheme of things.

The effects on the proton packs include a health-bar, weapon types (shown as red, blue, green, and yellow), and the charge meter. All of the proton pack quirks are well displayed and intricately designed for the player character to gaze upon, simply by visualizing the pack. Similarly to Dead Space, this type of imagery eliminates the need for a combat menu or HUD overlay that would interupt the gameplay action.

I can’t get away from this topic without mentioning the ghost/monster designs. Nostalgic fans of the GB franchise will marvel at the bright green blob that is Slimer, the terrifying Librarian Ghost in her transformed form, or the fluid face animations on the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. These are just the familiar foes you face in the game, we haven’t even covered all the new creature designs. There’s a plethora of new ghosts that the game introduces: from a creepy Spider-Lady to a demonic version of the Gorten’s Fisherman, these ghostly bosses are superbly lush and fully detailed. The game’s visuals are a worthy successor to the F/X of the original films.

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to the Remaster. While Saber Interactive cleaned up a lot of the yellow tint from the original, the cutscenes are the only instances where you will notice a significant difference. Not only that, but they kept the same lighting glaze on the character’s faces when the camera zooms in (it was my sincere hope that they would lower the lighting to highlight more of the flesh tones.). While the Remaster looks more pristine compared to the original, it’s only by a marginal degree.

Audio: 9/10

All of the tracks from Elmer Bernstein’s immaculate movie score are intact for GTV:R, giving a tremendous amount of cinematic substance rarely found in video games, much less in video game movie adaptations. I gushed on all the familiar musical compositions found in the game, echoing my fascination with the GB franchise.

The voice acting in this game is the real hallmark; all of your favorite actors are back for this installment (the exceptions being Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis). It truly is a wonder that the original game developers were able to gather Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Aykroyd, and Ramis to reprise their roles as the original GB team almost 30 years later. Likewise, the supporting cast are all in tow with Annie Potts as the snarky secretary Janine and William Atherton as the deliciously devious Walter Peck. Heck, even Frank Welker (the legendary voice actor who was the original Freddy from Scooby Doo, and who has also voiced almost every single cartoon animal sound for the last 40 years) once again voices Slimer as he did in The Real Ghostbusters cartoon.

My only major complaint toward the voice acting stems from Bill Murray’s line delivery. Venkman’s character comes off as too passive and fatigued, lacking the spontaneous wit from the movie. One can tell he really wasn’t as much into the voice work as his co-stars.

Another important contrast I’d like to note between the original and remastered versions are the lack of any musical montage during the loading screen. The new developers cut out Ray Parker Jr.’s epic “Ghostbusters” theme song as well as the game play animations and equipment displays from the reloading screen. What you get instead in the Remastered version is merely a still image of the GB symbol deplete of any sound for about 30 seconds. Whenever I played the original, I had gotten quite peeved when I died and reloaded, but I was instantly put at ease by hearing the phenomenal theme song play as I waited patiently. As the remastered version omits any music or even sound during this phase, reloading becomes a tedious endeavor with very little enjoyment. As a result, I feel the remastered version pales in comparison to the original’s gratifying gravitas as far as musical renditions.

Gameplay: 8/10

It goes without saying that G:TVR is the greatest experience you will have playing as a Ghostbuster; virtually everything that made the films so enjoyable are on full display. Every facet of this game is so well developed, you’ll actually feel like you’re part of the movie.

Ghost capturing in third-person view seemed a daunting task on paper, but the original development team went to extensive lengths to ensure the proton streams sway and bend as genuinely as in the films. It’s fair to say that the development team more than succeeded in replicating the ghost busting mechanic for the small screen. The busting process takes on 3 distinct phases: sapping the ghosts HP (shown as a green barred reticle that slowly depletes with attacks), wrangling the ghosts with the proton stream, and finally trapping the ghosts within the detachable ghost trap by pulling the specters between 2 light beams.

Tracking and/or dissipating ghosts will net you cash which you can use to purchase added upgrades for your proton pack. As a humorous homage to the films, a separate monetary slot will increase whenever the player causes property destruction in the game. Don’t worry, you won’t have to pay any of the damages back, but there are achievements for either being either conscientious or full blown destructive during the course of the game.

Outside of direct combat, your player character can switch into first-person mode via the “Ecto-Goggles” from the film; used in tandem with the “PKE Meter”, the Recruit can hunt for bonus relics, scan ghost stats (similar to Metroid Prime), and locate your next point of interest. Once again, this a loving testament to the films, but also acts as a practical application when playing the game.

The level designs are both unique and familiar, at the same time. Familiar haunts include the Sedgwick Hotel and New York Public Library, but beyond that there are brand new locations to venture through: The New York State Museum, a Lovecraftian submerged island, and a cemetery through Central Park. Each level has its unique ghosts and atmosphere, giving a distinct tone for each ghost busting experience.

The Ghostbuster Firehouse is perhaps the most fun area to explore; it serves as the main hub area in-between the levels. Here, you can play with the Containment Unit, listen to hilarious voice messages, and even talk to the painting of Vigo the Carpathian (the main villain of Ghostbusters 2). Obtaining relics in the game causes them to be added to the Firehouse, so it makes them well worth collecting. There’s a pair of walking pants that follow you around, a demonic toilet you can flush, and even a possessed toaster you can make dance. And before you ask, the answer is “yes”, you can slide down the pole in the Firehouse (even earning an achievement in the process).

All of these gameplay mechanics make this game the ultimate GB experience, and with the added DLC automatically on the Remaster, you can beat the game to unlock further bonuses like the GB2 jumpsuit and golden proton pack, adding a little something special to this version of the game.

I am down-grading the remastered version in one regard however, in that it cut out the multiplayer mode from the original. Sure, it was mediocre initially, but at least it still had it. I feel in the recent years of Mass Effect 3 and Left 4 Dead, there would be renewed interest in maintaining or improving the multiplayer aspect instead of simply omitting it from the remaster.

Challenge 7/10

While there are some pretty hard moments of the game, G:TVR rarely feels like a difficult game. The ghost busting may give newcomers a bit of trouble at first, but once they get the hang of it, busting should become second nature. Each enemy has their own weaknesses to the various weapons, so scanning ghosts helps you to discover what proton type to equip.

For game modes, there’s beginner, casual, and professional for your preferred level of challenge. In addition, you can manually turn off your team NPCs from aiding you in battle if you want more of a trying trial. Beating these various modes will get you added bonuses, making it all the more worthwhile.

The prospect of finding all the artifacts and ghost scans will cause you to revisit several areas of the game, but for the quintessential completionists, it provides an amusing side-quest challenge to latch onto.

Narrative: 9/10

The way in which G:TVR is presented to the player is one of the finer points of the game; introducing a new character to view the stars of the movie was a wise choice to go with. Similar to games such as Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Devil May Cry 4, G:TVR utilizes the player-character as the surrogate audience. By adopting this principle, the player can fully understand and gravitate towards the main characters from the film. I feel if they went for a more traditional “you play as the hero,” a lot of the characterization would be lost in translation.

By re-using the original commercial dialogue from the first film, the game doesn’t spend much time in introducing the concept of who and what the Ghostbusters are about. As the audience is up to speed in the 30-second faux ad, players can marvel at the sounds of the Ecto-1 car blaring to life as the theme song plays (alas, briefly). With the Remastered version, these cutscenes are further enhanced and polished for a thoroughly enjoyable introduction.

I find it quite hilarious that the Recruit is a silent protagonist, not because he can’t talk, but rather, the main characters keep him from getting a word in edgewise. I seem to recall the film Waiting… ran a parallel narrative structure of a new hire continuously being denied any form of conversation.

Themes: 10/10

Building on top of the strong foundation the film franchise constructed, G:TVR focuses on the paranormal, as well as the growing need for a deterrence. On the surface, the game introduces our heroes as expanding their ghost busting enterprise on a much larger scale. Now, they invoice the city directly for their captures and eliminations, with an extensive insurance policy in place for liability purposes. From a storyline point of view, I feel this type of introduction is a natural evolution of the series lore.

I know I’m going to take some flack for this, but I believe that Walter Peck was indeed right in the original film. The Ghostbusters need to have more oversight in their line of work (in their own words they use “unlicensed nuclear accelerators”); the events of the first movie more than prove the point. Near the climax of the 1984 film, the containment grid housing all the captured ghosts gets shut down by Peck, resulting in a catastrophic explosion. Mr. Peck had a good point that our heroes are a potential threat to the city because of their oftentimes reckless attitude with their equipment and services (Peck was so sure that he didn’t stop to think if he should approach with caution). The video game brings Peck’s character arc full circle by having him placed as the head of P-COC (Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission) for the express purpose of directly supervising the GB team.

The concept of parapsychology as a working scientific field can be traced back to the video game. Within the context of the game, the Ghostbusters are utilized in a manner similar to that of the B.P.R.D. from Hellboy in that they are both officially recognized on the Federal level for their skills in handling supernatural threats (“necessary evils” if you will). As an idealistic view of a pseudo-science, perhaps Aykroyd and Ramis believed that it was time for our society to open up the possibility of the unknown.

One last theme I want to cover is inheritance. The Ghostbusters franchise is now over 30 years from its inception, and the game makes a subtle nod towards “passing the torch” to future generations. Symbolically, this is shown via the Recruit, a young rookie Ghostbuster who enters the world of the paranormal. By the end of the game, you feel as if the original heroes are grooming you to take their place. There have been other examples, from the Extreme Ghostbusters cartoon to the 2016 film reboot starring Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, but the video game offers a direct feeling of inheritance to the player as well as fans of the franchise.

Combining all the aforementioned aspects of the game, it’s clear that the game brings the saga of the original films to a close, and offers a chance for something new to come about. With news of the impending 2020 Ghostbusters film on the horizon, could we see a new chapter being written into this beloved franchise? I certainly hope so.

Accessibility: 8/10

As an HD remaster, I’m glad that this game was marketed at $30.00 instead of a full priced PS3 game, as much of the game feels more imported than rebuilt from the ground up. Going multi-platform also increases the chance for players to get a copy, either physically or digitally.

My Personal Grade: 7/10

The Teal Time Mage as Dustin Henderson dressed as a Ghostbuster

I can’t hide how much of a fan I am of the Ghostbusters franchise, as it has defined not only my childhood, but of many children past and present. Having G:TV re-released was joyous for me to own a copy for my PS4. It’s still a fantastic game that I highly recommend any gamer to try out. That being said, this game doesn’t feel like a true HD Remaster. The visuals, while polished, aren’t enough to warrant a significant upscale. If anything, the game feels transplanted, rather than fully enhanced. The same type of bugs and glitches from the original are still intact unfortunately, and several times the game crashed for me.

In regards to the music, I’m still in love with the original score of the movie. However, the fact that Saber Interactive severely cut back on the main theme song during the loading screens (not to mention ANY sound) takes away a lot of the magic of the original video game. A still frame of the GB logo with utter silence for 30-45 seconds is bound to tire me eventually, and I don’t want to feel that playing one of my all time favorite games.

The multiplayer function being cut entirely is understandable, but reinforces my belief that the Remaster subtracted more than what they added to the game. I still find the game enjoyable, and would gladly play it over and over again, but if anyone were to ask me: “Is it better than the original?” I would say “No”. Pick up this copy for a fun romp through the Ghostbusters Universe, but don’t expect anything new or dynamic with this Remaster.
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Aggregate Score: 8.2