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Time to return to your nearest convenient parallel dimension.

Usually when you get a game that's attached to a movie license, it's almost guaranteed to be awful. We did get a decent Wolverine game this year, but for a lot of fans, this is the game we've wanted to see ever since we got the first few screenshots of the Stay Puft fight from a long time ago. There was a point where it was almost up in the air if the game was going to see release, after getting shifted about quite a bit, and I imagine during that time period some suspected that it wasn't going to end up as the Ghostbusters game we were hoping for, but after sitting down with both the 360 and Wii versions of the game, I'd say you'll all be pretty pleased with the final product.

A lot of the appeal from the game comes from how much you appreciated the two films, I can't see the game being all that fantastic for people that have never seen Ghostbusters or Ghostbusters 2. They were both pretty awesome flicks, bringing together some of the staples of 80's comedy and tossing in a supernatural theme that managed to be creepy and humorous all at the same time. Tons of quotable lines, instantly recognizable imagery, and just an overall good feeling emanates from both movies. It's obvious that the developers behind the game were fans, and there's a ton of stuff tossed into the game as little easter eggs for the film lovers to check out and appreciate. It also helps the game tremendously that most of the original talent involved with the films made a return for the game, with all four Ghostbusters being voiced by their original counterparts, and a script delivered by Aykroyd and Ramis that really feels like a true sequel to the previous films.

You're introduced to the capture mechanics through a firehouse tutorial level, and this is where a lot of the detail starts to shine through. The firehouse is recreated extremely well, and while stuff is added in to flesh it out a bit more, the recreations of not only the homebase, but also the Ecto-1 are spot on from what I can tell. Also, other little details really stand out, like the way your on-screen HUD is actually displayed through your proton pack, which will give you your health details and when you need to "reload" by releasing the pressure in your pack. It's a pretty slick interface that's easy to read but at the same time adds a certain level of immersion to the game. Also, the costumes are dead on from what I remember in the movie, right down to the Ghostbusters patches on their sleeves. My only real complaint with the character models is that the facial animations feel a little wooden, certain lines don't seem to match up with their expressions, which looks a little uncanny on occasion. This is more for the in-game cutscene stuff, while the CGI scenes look remarkably better.

Combat plays out a lot like most third-person shooters, and if you've ever played something like Gears of War, you'll see a little similarity here. Using your beam to blast away at and capture ghosts is handled by the left trigger, and you can switch between a damaging blast to whittle away at their health or your capture beam to get them into a trap by holding down the LB. Most ghosts will require you to do some damage to them before you can capture them, and you'll notice that their health bar (visible when you're aimed at them) will go from green to red to let you know when to unleash the capture beam. The capture beam will actually kick in by itself unless you turn this option off, but I can't see any real reason to put it on manual. You can toss out the trap with X, and it'll give off a pillar of light to give you a rough idea of where to position your ghost to trigger the trap.

Of course, the game does manage to give you glimpses, or full on encounters with ghosts that you'll recognize from the films. I was happy to see a return from just about everyone, including Slimer and the Librarian. All of the ghost designs are spot on too, and Terminal Reality did a great job of capturing the movement and little mannerisms that you'll remember from the films.

Along with that, the stages are well designed, and while they are pretty linear, there's a lot of destruction you can cause with your beam, which the game actually keeps track of like an overall bill. These numbers are primarily tied into trophies and achievements, which boosts a little bit of replay value if you're attempting to get platinum or a 1000 point score for the game. The actual levels look really nice too, with some hidden objects to scan and collect, and a lot of small puzzles that aren't particularly complex but add a bit more to the experience outside of just running around and blasting ghosts. The Wii version, in particular, makes use of puzzles more than the 360/PS3 versions seem to, while the HD games will have you using your PKE meter more to uncover clues and the whereabouts of certain ghosts.

A few points I'd like to make about the Wii version, as there is enough of a difference between the two platforms to make them distinct:

The Wii version of the game (developed by Red Fly Studios instead of Terminal Reality) features the same storyline as the PS3/360 version, right down to the script and dialogue, along with the voice acting. However, while the level themes are the same (Library, Times Square, etc) the layout is pretty different, and certain aspects of it feel a little easier. The style of art that Red Fly went for benefits the hardware quite a bit though, opting for a more cartoony style for the characters and locations, meaning that it's far easier to get away with some low textures and lack of detail, and it looks pretty good. The only Ghostbuster that I didn't feel resembled their real life counterpart was Ray, but the other three do have more defined features that lend themselves to a cartoon style more than Dan Aykroyd.

Everything else works, and if you're a Wii only owner, then it's still worth picking up. However, if you own a HD system along with the Wii, I'd definitely suggest going with the 360 or PS3 version of the game. I did notice a few lines of dialogue that was cut on the Wii version compared to the other two, but nothing that really stood out as something you'd miss.

All together, Ghostbusters is a fantastic game, and definitely what I was hoping for when I first saw those initial screenshots a while back. The capturing mechanic is fun and interesting, while at the same time being tied into familiar third person controls for shooter fans, so there's nothing here that takes a lot of time to get used to. The game looks great, and while I've heard there are some graphical differences between the PS3 and 360 versions of the game, I haven't put up direct comparisons myself to give you an idea of what the differences might be. Even the Wii version is fun to play, but like I mentioned, the 360 and PS3 versions are definitely the ones to pick up. Also, there are multiplayer components, including a survival mode that plays a lot like the Horde mode in Gears 2, and a few other modes that allow up to four players to work together in taking down ghosts, defending artifacts, or clearing out specific areas within a time limit. The online stuff worked fine for me with no lag issues, and it's certainly worth checking out if you pick up the game.

I definitely suggest picking up Ghostbusters, especially if you're a fan of the movies. Some of the appeal will definitely be lost if you've never seen the films before, but even then the core gameplay is sufficient enough that I think most people will have no trouble getting into it. It doesn't break a lot of new ground outside of the whole capturing ghosts bit, and it's easy to see where the game has taken inspiration from other third person shooters, but I wouldn't hold that against it. It looks great, sounds great, and it's a lot of fun to play. Definitely not a purchase you'd be disappointed with.