Ghostbusters The Video Game (PS3)

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Bang 'em hard! READY!

The game itself is looking very nice, with large and detailed character models and decent depictions of the Busters themselves. The demo we were shown followed Spengler, Stantz and The Kid as they tracked The Librarian through the city library, and this setting provided plenty of opportunity to show off the physics engine. The Ghostbusters have never been particularly precise in their work, so environmental destruction will be a big part of the fun - and since City Hall is now footing your bill, you won't be penalised for trashing the scenery. The library level was packed with breakable objects that could be hurled about and smashed, but we were most impressed with the ghosts we saw. Spirits will frequently possess items around them and use them as weapons or shields, which makes for a particularly satisfying result when you blast them and the objects go flying.

One set of enemies we saw were a pair of giant walkers made out of coal. As the ghosts were hit by proton blasts, bits of them would fall off - but if left unattended, they'd rebuild themselves. The only way to defeat these spirits was to blast a weak spot: this sent coals scattering in all directions, but as one nasty went down, his mate would collect his piece and make himself larger. When we saw this, we mentioned to one of the developers that this was a pretty cool idea for a boss-type character. The coder replied that this wasn't a boss at all, but was merely a standard in-level enemy. If Terminal Reality can maintain this level of creativity for your opponents across the entire game, we'll be in for a treat.

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The Xbox 360/ PS3 version of Ghostbusters will feature eight stages, each of which will be made up of several smaller sections. You'll also get a co-operative multiplayer mode, which works independently of the main campaign. Terminal Reality wasn't too keen to disclose all the details yet, but from what we can gather it'll involve you and a chum going out on missions around the city. There will be around four to six different job types, and completing them will earn you cash - and will help to determine your rank online. One dev suggested that it will be not entirely dissimilar to Gears of War 2's Horde mode, which sounds fairly intriguing to say the least.

PS3 and 360 owners may not be getting a full co-op campaign, but Wii owners are in better luck. Rather than aping its more powerful stable mates, the Wii will tell the same story (from the same 400-odd page script) using a separate set of gameplay mechanics. We're still in third-person shooter land, but now the graphics take on a more cartoony appearance. Sure, it's less glamourous, but it still looks pretty cool - with a caricature-like art style that emphasises things like Egon's pointy chin, and Ray's paunch. You'll still play as The Kid, but this time there can be two of you - so there's room for a mate to tag along.

Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown... THROW IT!

Now, if you're anything like us then you'll be thinking, "the Wii remote could make a great proton beam". As it happens, Red Fly Studios happen to agree. While you'll be running about with the Nunchuk, you'll be using your remote to blast ghosts, the scenery and anything else that takes your fancy. In the 360 and PS3 version you'll trap ghosts using the thumb sticks and trigger buttons, but on the Wii things will be a little more physical: after locking on with B and blasting away with the A button, you'll have to give your Remote a little shake to create a proton cage around your target. Once this is done, you have to drag your ghost about the screen by following arrows that appear... and then you get to the really good bit: hit Z while making a bowling motion with the Nunchuk, and you'll throw out a trap and suck in your wayward spirit.

Did you get all that? It took us a while, but Red Fly kindly let us have a go, and we got there eventually. It was pretty fun too - which is just as well, as you'll be going through these motions a lot. Alongside the bread-and-butter blast-and-trapping, you'll also have to deal with a generous helping of puzzles - and what with this being a Wii game, there'll also be a whole bunch of mini-games to try your hand at. While we're sure that a lot of hardcore fans will be largely preoccupied with the glamour of the Xbox and PS3 game, it's good to see that the Wii developers have ploughed their own furrow and concentrated on the strengths of that platform. Red Fly tells us that most of the core mechanics had been nailed down at the time of the Vivendi upset, so most of the ensuing time has been spent making the game as good as possible. Let's hope the efforts have paid off, but what we've seen so far seems promising.

It looks like 2009 will be a big year for the Ghostbusters franchise. Next June will mark the 25th Anniversary of the first film - a date that will see the re-release of the movies and the launch of both these games, providing all goes to plan. If this all turns out well then we may even get confirmation of the long-rumoured third film, but in the mean time it's the games that we're concentrating on. Like we said, we want these titles to be top-notch - and so far we're feeling pretty optimistic. Roll on the New Year!

Ghostbusters will be released on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2 and DS in June next year. God willing...

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