Ghostbusters: The Video Game – Egon is not your typical video game hero

A reader takes a look back at the last gen Ghostbusters game and finds it has a lot to teach modern games about likeable heroes.

Given the recent disappointment over the new Ghostbusters film and game (I didn’t like either but the game was definitely the worst of the two) I decided to boot up my Xbox 360 and have another play through of the 2009 game Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

As fans will know the game is the closest we ever got to a proper Ghostbusters 3, with the four main cast members, even Bill Murray, returning to do the voiceovers and the original writers helping out with the story (although how much seems to be a question of some debate).



As a game it’s not a world beater, but as a tribute to the original two films it’s fantastic. But I actually think there’s a lot other games could learn from it – and not just in terms of making better movie tie-ins.


What the game illustrates is how narrow the aspirations and range of most video games are, when trying to emulate a cinematic experience. In terms of music and characters Ghostbusters stands completely apart from almost any other title.

Of course there’s the iconic theme tune but the game also makes good use of the first film’s other incidental music. Although it ends up being overused (it was only created for a two-hour film) the light-hearted piano pieces and cheesy ghost themes are a world away from the usual overblown orchestral soundtracks used in most games.

The game is a primarily a comedy, but it has some effective scares too. In reusing a Hollywood soundtrack the Ghostbusters game creates a window into a much wider range of musical possibilities and the different kinds of atmosphere they create.

The characters too are completely different from the video game norm. There are no overconfident bald space marines here or ridiculously bosomed girls, just badly coiffured nerds and blue collar workers.

There is Venkman of course, but although Bill Murray’s voiceover is better than you might imagine, the writing isn’t as sharp as the films and he actually comes across as a relatively unlikeable smart alec. As a result he seems the most like a traditional video games character.

Why arrogant show-offs have become the standard template for video game heroes is a mystery. Of course there are some charismatic game characters, such as the affable Nathan Drake from Uncharted or classic losers such as The Secret Of Monkey Island’s Gubrush Threepwood, but these are very much the exceptions to the rule.

While storytelling in games still comes under justifiable criticism it should be remembered that most Hollywood blockbusters only have the slimmest and most unlikely of plotlines. They make up for it (or at least the good ones do) in terms of characters that you’d not only want to be but that you’d actually like to meet as well.

Which is not something you could say of the antisocial miseries in most games. By putting the Ghostbusters into a video game you get a rare look at what games would be like if their heroes weren’t all still targeted at angst-ridden 14-year-olds.



The game’s seven years old now, and I’m sad to say very little has changed in that time. Or at least change has been very slow. Kratos from God Of War now seems slightly less psychopathic than usual and there are slightly more women as leads now. Maybe in another seven years we’ll have a majority of game characters that are actually decent, likeable people. That certainly seems more likely than another decent Ghostbusters game…

By reader Ranko

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.