Ghostbusters is finally starting to worm its way back into pop culture mainstream as the twenty-fifth anniversary of the original film approaches. The new video game is still on track for a June release, and as part of the build-up to its arrival, some of the developers from both Terminal Reality and Red Fly Studios are posting blog entries over at IGN in which they discuss the new equipment found in the game, how the project came about, and what went into landing the Ghostbusters license.
We knew from the outset that lot of people would automatically assume this game was nothing but another licensed cash-in gimmick. This happens a lot, and that’s mostly a result of the fact that good movies are usually made much faster than good games can be, and tie-ins pretty much have to be released within two weeks of each other.
A tie-in rip-off is the exact opposite of anyone’s intent for Ghostbusters. We seized on the idea to embrace the property’s icons, and present them in new, fresh perspectives, as a way to convince the player that we’re on the up and up.
It’s funny, considering that almost every really enduring element from the property comes from just one movie. Ghostbusters is seriously hip-deep in icons. You’ve got the proton pack, Slimer, the Hotel Sedgewick, the PKE meter, the paragoggles, the Ecto-1, the Firehouse Headquarters, The Public Library, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Janine, that incredible logo, and the city of New York itself, which is as important a character in the Ghostbusters universe as any of the others.
For most people, the only really strong memories from the second movie tend to be mood slime, the walking statue of Liberty, and Vigo the Carpathian (we’ve got two out of three in the game).
If you're looking for information about the game beyond the usual screenshots and gameplay teases, these blog entries are an excellent place to start. There are also entries detailing the new gadgets and multiplayer mode from the Nintendo Wii version of the game. Depicted in a more animated style, the Wii version includes a female rookie character in addition to the increasingly familiar male rookie.
Because we built the game to support two-player mode, we developed two unique "rookie" models for the player to control, male and female. They perform the same, so there's no harm in choosing the avatar that you prefer. We expect and hope that the recognizability of Ghostbusters will bring a whole new audience to the gaming world, so it was important to us to include playable characters that your mom or little sister can relate to.
Mother or little sister? To hell with them. Here's your chance to bring your significant other into the Ghostbusters video gaming world. Is anything more romantic than couples teaming up to trap malevolent spirits? I think not!
