This is a corrected version of the story that ran earlier today by AJ. In it we incorrectly stated that Bill Murray’s voice would not be in the game. We reconfirmed with Atari that Murray’s voice will be in the game. We apologise for any confusion.
Usually when a game goes for simultaneous multi-platform releases, I immediately write off the Wii version.
Can you blame me? Empirically, the Wii suffers from “bastard stepchild port” syndrome, which leaves Wii owners like yours truly high and dry when it comes to triple-A titles.
Luckily, Ghostbusters: The Video Game on Wii isn’t a port of the PS3/360 version, so much as a reimagining of the same game from the ground up. The voice work is similar and the script is almost entirely the same – but the level designs, control scheme, and cartoony style of animation are all made with the Wii in mind.
The DS version of Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the only place you’ll see Bill Murray’s character, Peter Venkman, in this new generation of ghostbusting games.
At Sierra’s preview event, I got a chance to take a look at an early build of the upcoming Ghostbusters game, in development by Terminal Reality and slated for a Fall release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, DS and PC. One of the big things I learned was how involved Dan Aykroyd, who played Ray Stantz in the films, was in the game production.
Apparently it was Aykroyd who got all of the other cast members on board to do the voice-overs, and he was so enthusiastic about the game that he helped name and create specs for many of the game’s weapons, to make sure they sounded and played like something that would have really been part of the franchise. In fact, Aykroyd is co-writing the entire script with fellow Ghostbusters writer Harold Ramis, so it’s a game adaptation with what look to be strong ties to the original material.
The city of New York plays a major role here, too, and from what I saw and was told, the developers are aiming for a true-to-life NYC that echoes the environment in the films, from indoors to out – the city as a “character”, as the reps said.
Down on the Wii version of Ghostbusters, are you? Think it’s too casual, too cartoony for your tastes? That’s because you’re not in possession of all the facts. Red Fly – the dev team behind the Wii/PS2 version of the game – have said that in the Wii version, you’ll be able to wirelessly connect your DS to the Wii and…use it as a PKE Meter. For real! As real as a full-torso apparition! And just as amazing. Ghostbusters allows you to connect DS to Wii as PKE meter [VG247]
So what the hell is Mushroom Men? I’ve been wondering the same thing ever since the game was first announced, and now Red Fly Studio designer Ryan Mattson takes us beyond the loud, 2D teaser we posted back in June to show us the actual gameplay. The weapons creation system certainly looks intriguing, and I’m a sucker for games that put me in the role of a tiny thing in a big world. Should be interesting to see how the fungus grows leading up to its release next fall.
