Ghostbusters (2016 video game)

Ghostbusters is a twin stick shooter video game developed by FireForge Games and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Taking place after the events of the 2016 film, the game features four-player cooperative gameplay where players control new Ghostbusters characters to defeat enemy ghosts. The game had a development cycle of 8 months,[1] and was released in July 2016.[2] The game was panned by critics, and considered one of the worst video games of 2016.

Ghostbusters
Developer(s)FireForge Games
Publisher(s)Activision
Writer(s)
  • Jordana Arkin
  • Dan Glasl
Composer(s)Grant Kirkhope
SeriesGhostbusters
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release
  • NA: July 12, 2016
  • PAL: July 15, 2016
Genre(s)Twin Stick Shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Story

The game is set some time after the events of the 2016 film. The four protagonists from the film are only mentioned though, as they are called away to Washington to save the President from ghost assassins. The game instead focuses on a group of four unnamed protagonists who have to save New York from Rowan, the villain from the film, as he returns to create havoc.

Gameplay

The game is an isometric 2.5D action game using a top down camera. Up to four players can play at the same time, controlling one of the four characters. Each character has a different proton pack. One resembles a gatling gun, while another resembles a pistol.

Reception

Ghostbusters received strongly negative reviews, holding aggregate review scores of 30 (PlayStation 4) and 32 (Xbox One) on Metacritic; the site acknowledged it as being the worst-reviewed game of 2016, noting that unlike the film (which "somewhat delivered what it promised"), the game "asks that you fork over even more cash for what reviewers described as a humorless slog.".[12]

Polygon's Justin McElroy gave Ghostbusters a score of 2 out of 10, arguing that it was "the most gruelingly insipid dual-stick shooter" he had ever reviewed, lacking variety insofar that it was a "perfect prison of monotony from which no fun could ever escape." He criticized the game's poor characterization and humor—joking that it made a commercial for Ghostbusters cereal "look like a 4K Blu-ray transfer of the 1984 film by comparison", and concluded that the game was a "deplorable, cynical bit of licensed drivel that wouldn't be worth the $50 asking price if the instruction manual were printed on a $50 bill."[11] GameSpot was similarly critical, noting a lack of variety in gameplay, environments, and enemy design, but did praise the soundtrack for "[evoking] the proper nostalgia". With a score of 3 out of 10, GameSpot felt that the previous ''Sanctum of Slime'' game was marginally better, concluded that "Ghostbusters has rare moments when it doesn't feel like an utter waste of time. But it's mostly a bizarre slog through mostly empty, overly cumbersome levels full of extreme repetition.".

Three days after the game was released, FireForge Games filed for bankruptcy, and ended up being approximately $12 million in debt.[1]

References
  1. Porter, Matt (August 1, 2016). "Ghostbusters Game Developer Files for Bankruptcy". IGN. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  2. McWhertor, Michael (April 14, 2016). "The new Ghostbusters video game won't feature the new cast (or the old one)". Polygon. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  3. "Ghostbusters for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  4. "Ghostbusters for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  5. "Ghostbusters for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  6. Makedonski, Brett (July 26, 2016). "Review: Ghostbusters". Destructoid. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  7. Carsillo, Ray (July 20, 2016). "Ghostbusters review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  8. Shea, Brian (July 15, 2016). "Call Somebody Else - Ghostbusters (2016) - PlayStation 4". Game Informer. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  9. D'Aprile, Jason (July 14, 2016). "Ghostbusters Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  10. Hafer, TJ (July 15, 2016). "Ghostbusters Review". IGN. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  11. McElroy, Justin (July 12, 2016). "Ghostbusters (2016) review". Polygon. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  12. Dietz, Jason (December 18, 2016). "10 Worst Videogames of 2016". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
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