Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is now available digitally for the X-Box 360, Playsation 3, and PC. Atari has been hyping this one up for some time, but did we get something that’s worthy of the franchises legacy, or should you just stick to the 2009 release for your Ghostbusters fix?
LOVED:
Four different ways to take down ghosts:
Much like Atari’s 2009 release, SoS features four different functions for your proton pack. These are all color coded to match different forms of ghosts, and you’ll be cycliing through these in the later levels to do as much damage as possible. This actually works pretty well for a top down shooter, while adding a bit of spice to the gameplay.
4-Player Dominance:
I’ve had a few games online where everyone knew what they were doing. It’s an awesome feeling tearing through wave after wave of ghosts while talking it up with three fellow Ghostbusters fans. The game CAN definitely shine under these circumstances.
Connection to Ghostbusters II:
While I’ll touch on the actual main four original Ghostbusters next, I loved the fact that Janosz from Ghostbusters II makes an appearance. He’s easily one of my favourite characters in any form of Ghostbusters media, so more Janosz is always welcome.
UNDECIDED:
Comic Cut-Scenes:
I totally understand that Atari couldn’t get the original four Ghostbusters to come back and voice their characters. That’s fine. Still, I’d take the comic cut scenes with voice over work for the Rookie characters, and possibly a Janosz sound-alike, any day. Hell, maybe they could have even gotten Peter McNicol himself. Haven’t seen that guy since Numb3rs was cancelled. What I’m saying is, I think I’d possibly have enjoyed the story more if the original Ghostbusters weren’t even featured. I know it sounds odd. It’s just, aside from Egon, all four of them seemed rather out of place. Maybe an Extreme Ghostbusters styled storyline would have been better? The new Ghostbusters (semi-established) & Egon (voiced by Real/Extreme Ghostbusters Maurice Lamarche)? We do understand that SoS is a budget priced digital release, so they did’t have as much cash to make this one as they did with the 2009 release, but a guy can dream, can’t he?
The Rookies:
Atari’s 2009 release featured a silent Rookie character. Surprisingly he worked. Why? He said nothing, and let the original four Ghostbusters soak up all the lines. SoS features a brand new team. We really never get an actual introduction to them, as they get called out on their first job due to the original team being “too exhausted”. I would have much preferred an opening scene showing the new team lounging around the firehouse. They could have joked with one other, talked about what brought them into this line of work, or even interacted with Janine (by the way, GIVE THIS GIRL MORE LINES!). This way we could have at least felt some connection to them. Hey, it was done on Extreme Ghostbusters, and yes, it worked… well, to an extent.
Music:
Atari didn’t get the classic Elmer Bernstein score this time out. Instead we get less than a handful of sound-a-like songs. They’re not bad, but none of them scream “Ghostbusters!”, like the film’s original score would.
Online Co-Op:
I like being able to play through all the main levels from SoS online, but I’d love to have seen a survival mode. Unleash dozens of ghosts at one time. Think Call of Duty’s Nazi Zombies.
Story:
Despite some of the characters feeling a bit “off”, I think the base of the story was rather solid. It would have been better for some of the between level cut scenes to go into more detail regarding the plot, or even the team. After the first six levels, the majority of remaining scenes are used to try and get the player excited about playing the same level over for the second time, which brings me to this…
HATED:
RECYCLED LEVELS/ENVIROMENTS:
We all knew that SoS was using some of the ideas from Atari’s 2009 release. The return of the Sedgwick, cemetery, sewers, and even a spider themed level make their appearance throughout the game, but with Atari promising 12 levels, I thought we’d see variety. I was wrong. SoS has you revisiting several of these levels twice. Yes, it’s tied to the story, but why must I battle through this damn cemetery a second time? Actually, here’s a breakdown of all the levels in the game to give you a better idea:
WARNING: SEMI-SPOILERS?
1. Sedgewick Hotel
2. Mental Asylum
3. Sewers
4. Ecto Level
5. Boss fight
6. Cemetery
7. Sedgewick Hotel #2
8. Ecto Level #2
9. Sewers #2 (it’s now filled with spiders…)
10. Cemetery #2
11. Every end level boss you’ve beaten is on this level. You take them on back to back. Kind of like an Ecto-Gaunlet. Hehe. Ecto-Gaunlet.
12. Boss fight
I was really hoping for more diversity. Let’s throw the Ghostbusters in a circus. Maybe even a hospital? Oh, how about Liberty Island? I’d take anything over another recycled level.
LESSER KNOWN RETURNS:
We get the return of such Ghostbusters: The Video Characters as the bellhop ghosts, Master Chef LaBlog (Sarfossa/DeForrest), and even those damn construction workers that kept saying “Yeah, baby!”, but I can’t get a Stay Puft boss fight? I know, I complained about recycling things, but if you’re bringing characters back just to fill levels, you might as well bring back the ones we love. Slimer makes an appearance, but he just runs around on screen at random times until his power depletes. Oh, and an appearance from the Scoleri Brothers, or even a boss fight with something that favoured a Terror Dog would have went a long way.
A.I.:
If you’re playing this game, play it online (Sadly, not an option for PC players). The A.I. becomes near brain dead once the difficulty begins to rise. I almost through my 360 controller at the screen during level ten. I’d say during battles with more than five ghosts on screen, I was being revived only 25% of the time. My team would stand there and take unnecessary hits from enemies, or just run around in circles. A 10-15 second auto-revive would have made a huge difference, especially in later levels (Level #10, I’m looking at you!).
Recommend?:
If you’re a hard core Ghostbusters fan, then I’m pretty sure you’ll already have it. If you found this review on Google or you were linked in and you’re just a regular gamer, I’d say give the trial a download. See what you think. If you’re playing online, or better yet, local multiplayer, fun times could be had. Me? I’ll stick to the 2009 release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game for my next fix.
