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Pack shot ahoy

Time for a pack shot, courtesy of America’s own EBgames.com . It’s not exactly giving away much and it’s not guaranteed to be the eventual pack shot, but here it is anyway.



EBgames.com has also placed both a price and a release date on the game – our US readers can expect to see it hit all formats (according to EBgames’ crystal ball, anyway) on 7 October 2008 at prices ranging from $29.99 on the DS to $59.99 on the Xbox360 and PS3.

Meanwhile the British amongst us can take some comfort from the fact Amazon.co.uk has the game due for release on 1 October 2008. Prices? Anywhere from £24.99 on the DS through to £39.99 on the PS3 and Xbox360.

Of course, games have been known to slip in the past (hello, Grand Theft Auto 4) so it’s probably not wise to start planning your Autumn schedule just yet.

Ecto video: G4-busters

Another milestone reached – we’ve seen the first actual gameplay video emerge on G4’s Attack of the Show. You can view the video here and it’s well worth a look.

The video begins by recreating the classic ballroom scene that we saw in earlier screenshots, except we’re thinking Egon is now after Slimer (the glasses suggest it’s him, anyway) instead of the earlier Winston.

Before we go on to analyse the video, it’s worth bearing in mind that this is most likely not final gameplay footage and could well change. Also this is my interpretation of what’s going on – feel free to give yours below.

Pausing the video at strategic places, we can see that actual control of the stream seems to be led by what’s appearing in the bottom right corner – at one point Egon (if it is him!) has the option of just firing his stream, quite possibly to weaken Slimer, or specifically aiming to catch him in the stream.

Later we also see the ‘buster slam Slimer, presumably to tire him out, before eventually catching him in a trap, triggering off a fantastic looking light show. This would make sense – after all, where’s the fun if we can’t smash things up before closing the trap and going home – and fits in with the film ethos. It’s also interesting to note that just before Slimer goes into the box we see another proton stream, although I can’t spot the source anywhere else in the video.

The next footage we see is of the PKE meter, a measurement tool familiar to fans of the film, analysing Slimer and then proclaiming ‘Beta scan complete, Spirit Guide Updated’. Whether this means we’ll be able to see Facebook-style information on Slimer – well, I’ll leave that to your imagination. Anyway, shortly afterwards we see our hero get slimed – come on, it was bound to happen – before the big set piece appears.

That’s right, it’s back to Mr Stay Puft with one of the team hanging off the building. Looking at the bottom right again, we can see the two beam choices – contain and blast – are back, although containment is not likely to be an option with this marshmallow. With the poor sailor man burnt to a crisp, we move onto the last teaser – the library ghost from the first film.

What does all this tell us? Interestingly, everything we’ve seen so far seems to be a rehash of the first movie’s baddies. The library ghost, Slimer, Stay Puft – all first saw action in Ghostbusters 1. How this will work with the plot we’ve heard of – set after Ghostbusters 2 with a new team member – is yet to be seen, but we’d be a bit disappointed if the plot turned out to be ‘Oops we let out all the old ghosts, help us catch them again’.

Or are we overanalysing this a bit? Should the fact the effects look pretty darn good be enough for now? Let us know in the comments below.

That Zootfly thing

It’s hard to talk about a Ghostbusters game without at least referencing the intriguing videos that hit the web in January courtesy of a company called Zootfly. Although it’s now almost certain that the game will not be handled by the company, it’s still interesting to look back at what may have been.



Well. It’s certainly exciting to look at, but whether the Ghostbusters would ever actually be carrying heavy weaponry as opposed to proton packs (Ray Stantz, far left, certainly seems to be wielding a machine gun) is slightly dubious. The Chrysler to the far right though (a 300C, we think?), meanwhile, could well have potential as the new ECTO-mobile.

You can find videos associated with the Zootfly development at Youtube here and here.

Remember though, these are not linked to the new project. Still, what do you think?

Image conscious: Ray

Time for the first posed shot of the game – who better than Dr Ray Stantz, the heart of the Ghostbusters?



Ray’s looking pretty good in his GB fatigues – a lean mean proton machine, I think you’ll find. The background, meanwhile – seems very tilted. Strange…

Beautiful, you’re hired

Time for some more storyline talk!

Here’s the scene – it’s the early 90s and the events of Ghostbusters 1 and 2 are behind us. That’s right, presumably Stay Puft have settled all the lawsuits after their marshmallow spokesman roamed the city and even the Statue of Liberty has gone back home. All is well, all is calm and presumably at least one Ghostbuster is busy writing his memoirs.

But, uh-oh – Manhattan has been overrun again by ghosts and other supernatural creatures and has only one team to turn to…

The Ghostbusters. But in the intervening years the Ghostbusters have decided they should really be a quality quintet as opposed to a fantastic foursome. So the call goes out for a new Ghostbuster and up steps … you.

I’m not sure how I feel about this – on the one hand I’m excited that we’ll get to work alongside all of the famous film team as opposed to controlling one and having less to do with the others.  On the other hand though – introducing rookie characters to an existing group is a risky strategy, especially when it’s such a well-regarded team.

Still if it worked for Winston, right? Let us know your thoughts below.

Image conscious: NYC

Here’s the first shot of the outside environment – New York public library in all its glory.



Sadly no ECTO-1 parked outside but the police cars and barriers suggest we’ll be storming in there complete with proton packs. 

EDIT: Yikes - it turns out I must be going blind. There, hidden to the left of the image behind an NYPD car, is ECTO-1. Thanks to batman2 for pointing this out - you would have thought they would put ECTO-1 front and centre really!

Quick catch up

This is the quick catch up, where we summarise the key points in the last six posts. Let us know what you think in the comments below, but for now – on with the headlines.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is coming in Autumn 2008 to all major systems, with two versions planned – PS2, Wii and DS get a casual version while PS3, Xbox 360 and PC get hardcore action (oh yes).

All the Ghostbusters film gang are back to work on the project. Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis are writing it too.

The game is seen as a sequel to the films and takes place in early 90s New York. Famous characters including Slimer and Stay Puft will return.

The gameplay on offer will include multiplayer and co-operative, although there’s no word as yet about online options.

More to come, ‘buster fans.

Image conscious: Slimer returns

We’ve already talked about the return of Mr Stay Puft – time to announce that another iconic Ghostbusters character is returning. That’s right, it’s Slimer. These images are all taken from the official site.



After first being discovered feasting on a room service trolley in Ghostbusters 1, it’s only right and natural that our first meeting with the game’s Slimer is over lunch. Sadly it looks like he started without us, if that ham and bottle is anything to go by.

Then again, perhaps it’s not so wise to intrude on the feast…



Being slimed will certainly knock you down – I’m not sure if being covered in green goo is back in fashion but I’d certainly doubt it. Note how clean and tidy the environment – some kind of banqueting hall – seems to be. Well, until our heroes get at it…



Time to catch the pesky creature – well, try anyway. Looks like this shot missed ever so slightly. Judging by the now trashed décor, it looks like a lot missed. Still, there is time and more furniture to be destroyed before calling it a day.

Other things to note in this picture are the green mark in the painting at the end – presumably Slimer’s unorthodox entry point – and the fact that this is the first good headshot we’ve got of one of the team in action. At this point I think we’re seeing Winston in action. Get ‘im, Zeddmore.

Who you gonna play?

So, what can we expect to be doing come autumn 2008? Gameplay details are pretty scarce at the moment – well, what can you expect this early – but we’re happy to report that the two key bases have been covered, if a Variety interview is right. Oh yes – multiplayer and cooperative!

While we can’t speak definitively about the gameplay on offer, the screenshot of a Ghostbuster hanging off a building along with the idea of cooperative gameplay means we could well be seeing the team based dynamics that helped make the films such a hit. After all, where would Spengler and Stantz be without Pete Venkman’s wisecracks?

More on the gameplay as we get it.

Image conscious: Stay Puft

Speaking of the Stay Puft marshmallow man, cast your eyes over this image provided by Kotaku.

Well – it's certainly a promising picture for a good couple of reasons. First, the return of Stay Puft means we're going to get a chance to roast our own giant sailor man at some point in the game. It'll be interesting to see how this comes about – in the original film Stay Puft appeared after Ray chose the form of Gozer in his head, although at the end he seemed quite definitely liquidised (leading to a classic scene with Walter Peck getting his just desserts). Seeing as how the game is described as a sequel to the films and set in the '90s – hmm. Still, if we get to re-enact such an iconic scene it's fair to say I won't be complaining.

Next, it's interesting to note that the Ghostbuster is quite happily rappelling down the side of a building. Although we didn't see this in the films – although plenty of ropes were climbed – it's an exciting addition to the team’s arsenal. This, along with what the press release describes as "a variety of unique weapons and gadgets" should certainly help spice up life for our heroic team.

Last but not least, does anyone spot ECTO-1 in the melee below? No, us neither. Still, we can dream…

Official website launches

Good news – Ghostbusters: The Video Game now has an official website. You can find it at www.ghostbustersgame.com. Although running quite slowly at the moment – it’s huge news, after all – the site is well worth a look, if only for the reappearance of Slimer and the Stay Puft man.

Cast, crew and what they'll do

So we now know some more about exactly who is involved in the project and what they are doing. Here’s a list of what we know so far…

First, all four Ghostbusters will be returning. That means Peter Venkman (played by Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Akroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) are all going to be in the game. The Ghostbusters faithful – if overworked – secretary Janine Melnitz will also be there thanks to the participation of actress Annie Potts.

The cast is rounded off too by William Atherton, returning to play Walter Peck (interesting note: the Ghostbusters DVD commentary says that Atherton regularly got verbal abuse for Peck’s actions years after the film – this won’t help then) and Brian Doyle-Murray, reprising his Ghostbusters II role as the psychiatrist. We also now know that Akroyd and Ramis will pen the script and storyline, just as in the films. Two separate studios are developing the game - handling the PC, PS3 and Xbox360 duties are Terminal Reality, creators of BloodRayne 1 & 2 and Spy Hunter. This version, according to a Variety article here wiill be aimed at more hardcore gamers. Meanwhile Red Fly Studio will be helming the DS, PS2 and Wii versions, which are aimed more at families and casual gamers. Although the studio itself is new, the team has worked on games such as SSX3, Deus Ex, BloodRayne and Star Wars Galaxies.

Finally, Sierra Entertainment is publishing the game. Sierra has been behind notable efforts F.E.A.R, Crash Bandicoot and Scarface. Oh, and Ice Age.

Ghostbusters is go!

Fire up the proton packs, spook fans – Ghostbusters: The Game has now officially been announced by Sierra. Scheduled for an Autumn 2008 release for pretty much every system, specifically DS, PC, PS2, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3, the game will bring together all the old gang for what Sierra describes as ‘the next chapter’ to the films.

We’ve set up Ghostbusters Live to keep you abreast of all the latest developments with the project between now and Autumn 2008. Please feel free to leave us a comment or message on the forum to let us know how we’re doing – it’s going to be a wild ride.