Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a 2009 action-adventure game based on the Ghostbusters media franchise. Terminal Reality developed the Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions, while Red Fly Studio developed the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii versions. The game was released after several delays in development and multiple publisher changes. In North America, all versions of the game were published by Atari Interactive, while in Europe, the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 3 versions were published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. A separate game for the Nintendo DS with the same title was developed by Zen Studios and released at the same time, albeit with substantial differences in the gameplay and story.
| Ghostbusters: The Video Game | |
|---|---|
Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360 box art | |
| Developer(s) | Terminal Reality (PS3, Windows, X360) Red Fly Studio (PS2, PSP, Wii) War Drum Studios (PS2) Saber Interactive (Remastered) A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Interactive Mad Dog Games (Remastered) |
| Director(s) | Drew Haworth |
| Producer(s) | Michael Duane Fetterman |
| Designer(s) | Andy Dombroski Glenn Gamble |
| Programmer(s) | Craig Reichard Nathan Peugh |
| Artist(s) | Austin Cline Grant Gosler Robert St Aubin Daniel Soni |
| Writer(s) | Dan Aykroyd Harold Ramis Flint Dille John Zuur Platten John Melchior Patrick Hegarty |
| Composer(s) | Kyle Richards Chris Rickwood |
| Series | Ghostbusters |
| Engine | Infernal Engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS Remastered Version: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
The game follows the player's character as a recruit in the Ghostbusters, a team of parapsychologists who pursue and capture ghosts. The game features elements of typical third-person shooters, but instead of a traditional gun, each player is equipped with a Proton Pack, and other technological means of fighting and capturing ghosts. The game's plot is set two years after Ghostbusters II, in 1991, with the Ghostbusters team training the player's character while investigating paranormal activities in New York City.
Many of the principal cast members from the films were involved in the game's production. Each of the actors who portrayed the Ghostbusters in the films (Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson) lent their voices and likenesses to the in-game characters. It is also Ramis's final portrayal as Egon Spengler and story to the Ghostbusters franchise before his death in 2014, and the game's remastered edition was posthumously dedicated to him. Aykroyd and Ramis, who wrote the films, also aided in script doctoring for the game. Other film cast members to reprise their roles were William Atherton, Annie Potts, and Max von Sydow. Ghostbusters: The Video Game contains the soundtrack from the original Ghostbusters film, along with various characters, locations, and props featured in the films. Aykroyd later described the game as being "essentially the third movie."
The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, and more than three million copies were sold. A remastered version for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, developed by Saber Interactive and published by Mad Dog Games, was released on October 4, 2019.