Today, we're going to review Ghostbusters for the NES. The movie was awesome, but the game..isn't. It's basicly the Commodore 64 version, ported to the NES. Anyway, let's turn on our Proton packs, open the traps, and catch some Ghosts in Ghostbusters!
Graphics, 6: The graphics are pretty mediocre for the NES. I looks better than some games, looks worse than most games. It came out in 1988, at that time, Contra was already out. That tells you something. It doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look good. The map screen with the Ghostbusters looks good. The logo looks really good. The driving stages look bad. The Ecto 1 looks bad, and the other cars are the same as the Ecto 1, but it's always gray. There's a few fire hydrants here and there, but there's nothing on the sidewalks. The stage were you catch ghosts looks good too. Why are the Ghosts yellow? Were white Ghosts hard to see? The backgrounds are bland, with a detailed building behind you, and to gray/black boxes next to them. Also, why do they catch Ghosts outside?
Sound, 5: The only sounds in this game is the Ghostbusters theme, which plays on a non-stop loop, which can make you play the game on mute. There's also sounds when the trap opens, and when you go inside the Zuul building, when the Ghostbusters get knocked down, but their mostly beeps.
Addictiveness, 4: This game is cool for the first 10 minutes, but then it gets repetitive. Constantly driving back and forth gets old after a while. I played maybe 30 minutes before I got bored.
Story, 3: There's really no story, the game just throws you in. I'm assuming it's the same as the movie. So, in the game, there are ghosts that are going inside the Zuul building. The ghostbusters have to catch enough ghosts to go inside the Zuul building and defeat Gozer. That's basically the story.
Depth, 6: There's not that much depth to this game. You can select a location on the map like the store, drive there, buy a Proton Pack and a Trap, go catch 4 Ghosts (if you can get all 4), then go to the GBHQ and empty the traps. Then you have to go get gas, if you run out they'll get out of the car, and push it there. If have to go back and forth between the Gas Station, where the ghosts are, and the GBHQ. You can buy multiple traps, which can reduce the number of visits to the HQ. If you catch Ghosts, you get money. You can use that money to buy equipment. After a while, you can go to the Zuul building. You drive there, and you walk up a flight of stairs to the rooftop, fight the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, then you fight Gozer. After you defeat Gozer, the worst/greatest End Screen pops up. "Conglatulation. You have completed a great game. And prooved the justice of our culture. Now go and rest our heroes!!!" That doesn't even make sense.
Difficulty, 7: This game goes from easy, to very hard, very fast. The driving stages are easy, you just avoid the cars that try to ram you off the road, and done. If you hold up, you can get to places faster, but caution, as you may get hit by the car. The ghost catching stages are easy as well. Put down the trap, turn on your Proton Pack, and catch them. If you take to long, they get away and you catch nothing. Then when you get to the Zuul building, you have to walk up a flight of stairs to the rooftop. There are ghosts (4 to be exact) that try to catch you, and if they touch you, you get knocked down, if you get knocked down 3 times, game over. You can buy "ghost food" which distracts them, but it only lasts about 5 seconds. After that, they keep coming after you. The stair case is the hardest part in this game! Once you get to the rooftop, you fight Gozer. While you're fighting Gozer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow man is climbing the building, which means you're on a time limit. If he gets to the top, game over. Gozer isn't that hard, you just dodge the bullets (or whatever they are), and keep shooting until she's dead. That's it. You win.
OVERALL: 5. Wow, I said A LOT. This game isn't bad but it isn't good. It's hard, and repetitive. So, that was Ghostbusters for the NES. Today, we're going to review Ghostbusters for the NES. The movie was awesome, but the game..isn't. It's basicly the Commodore 64 version, ported to the NES. Anyway, let's turn on our Proton packs, open the traps, and catch some Ghosts in Ghostbusters!
Graphics, 6: The graphics are pretty mediocre for the NES. I looks better than some games, looks worse than most games. It came out in 1988, at that time, Contra was already out. That tells you something. It doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look good. The map screen with the Ghostbusters looks good. The logo looks really good. The driving stages look bad. The Ecto 1 looks bad, and the other cars are the same as the Ecto 1, but it's always gray. There's a few fire hydrants here and there, but there's nothing on the sidewalks. The stage were you catch ghosts looks good too. Why are the Ghosts yellow? Were white Ghosts hard to see? The backgrounds are bland, with a detailed building behind you, and to gray/black boxes next to them. Also, why do they catch Ghosts outside?
Sound, 5: The only sounds in this game is the Ghostbusters theme, which plays on a non-stop loop, which can make you play the game on mute. There's also sounds when the trap opens, and when you go inside the Zuul building, when the Ghostbusters get knocked down, but their mostly beeps.
Addictiveness, 4: This game is cool for the first 10 minutes, but then it gets repetitive. Constantly driving back and forth gets old after a while. I played maybe 30 minutes before I got bored.
Story, 3: There's really no story, the game just throws you in. I'm assuming it's the same as the movie. So, in the game, there are ghosts that are going inside the Zuul building. The ghostbusters have to catch enough ghosts to go inside the Zuul building and defeat Gozer. That's basically the story.
Depth, 6: There's not that much depth to this game. You can select a location on the map like the store, drive there, buy a Proton Pack and a Trap, go catch 4 Ghosts (if you can get all 4), then go to the GBHQ and empty the traps. Then you have to go get gas, if you run out they'll get out of the car, and push it there. If have to go back and forth between the Gas Station, where the ghosts are, and the GBHQ. You can buy multiple traps, which can reduce the number of visits to the HQ. If you catch Ghosts, you get money. You can use that money to buy equipment. After a while, you can go to the Zuul building. You drive there, and you walk up a flight of stairs to the rooftop, fight the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, then you fight Gozer. After you defeat Gozer, the worst/greatest End Screen pops up. "Conglatulation. You have completed a great game. And prooved the justice of our culture. Now go and rest our heroes!!!" That doesn't even make sense.
Difficulty, 7: This game goes from easy, to very hard, very fast. The driving stages are easy, you just avoid the cars that try to ram you off the road, and done. If you hold up, you can get to places faster, but caution, as you may get hit by the car. The ghost catching stages are easy as well. Put down the trap, turn on your Proton Pack, and catch them. If you take to long, they get away and you catch nothing. Then when you get to the Zuul building, you have to walk up a flight of stairs to the rooftop. There are ghosts (4 to be exact) that try to catch you, and if they touch you, you get knocked down, if you get knocked down 3 times, game over. You can buy "ghost food" which distracts them, but it only lasts about 5 seconds. After that, they keep coming after you. The stair case is the hardest part in this game! Once you get to the rooftop, you fight Gozer. While you're fighting Gozer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow man is climbing the building, which means you're on a time limit. If he gets to the top, game over. Gozer isn't that hard, you just dodge the bullets (or whatever they are), and keep shooting until she's dead. That's it. You win.
OVERALL: 5. Wow, I said A LOT. This game isn't bad but it isn't good. It's hard, and repetitive. So, that was Ghostbusters for the NES. |