Developer: Imagineering Publisher: Activision Released: 1990 Genre: Action
Words cannot express how terrible the original Ghostbusters for NES is. The movie was one of the films of the decade so naturally everyone wanted that in game form. Instead we got……that. I personally knew many, many poor bastards who got that game for their Birthday and were left disappointed. With that in mind no one looked forward to Ghostbusters II. Fool me once and all that. And we were right. While Ghostbusters II is an improvement over the first game you are still better off playing something else.
The video game version of Ghostbusters II follows the events of the movie pretty closely. A painting of sixteenth century magician Vigo comes to life and brainwashes enslaves Dana to bring him an infant child to reborn in. The Ghostbusters reassemble to stop his plan before it is too late. To an extent it would have been impossible to follow up the breakthrough success of the first film. The movie was a disappointment so I should not be surprised the game is as well. Yet developer HAL were able to craft a hidden gem around it but because Activision held the license in the US we never got it. Play that game instead.
Ghostbusters II is a multi-genre mashup sort of like its predecessor but keeps things simple. The main thrust of the game is side-scrolling action. The first thing you will notice is the controls: reverse buttons are a big no no in my book. It is annoying no matter how many times it happens but at least in this case jumping and platforming is minimal. The proton gun releases a row of slime (!) that can aim at multiple angles to cover a wide spread. It also rebounds off the ceiling which can be useful to catch faster enemies. Lastly you can release a trap to catch ghosts although this is far more difficult than it should be.
The best thing I can say about these levels is that they are competent. The mechanics are there but I have issues with their execution. Even though the slime cannon looks impressive it does not affect the vast majority of enemies. Some of these you can trap but placing the trap in the correct spot all while multiple bouncing enemies as well as the invincible spider which is essentially the clock approach mean you are better off avoiding everything. It is sad that in a ghost busting game running is more effective. Even with the reversed controls and odd right to left scrolling these parts are enjoyable until the finale where it goes bonkers. But more on that later.
Driving in the Ecto-1 is similar to Data East’s Breakthru. As you drive along the streets of New York you must dodge barriers, cones, and shoot ghosts. Surprisingly the platforming that was missing from the side-scrolling segments is here. As you pass strips that boost your speed you’ll have to navigate tight platforms left and right. It’s nothing too complicated but does add an extra dimension to what would otherwise be a straightforward driving segment.
Possibly the strangest aspect of the game is controlling the Statue of Liberty. This part of the game resembles a mobile Space Invaders as enemies spawn from all sides but most prominently from the sky. The controls are more complicated than they should be and weird. While you move left and right with the D-pad Up and Down are used to attack based on direction. It is an incredibly dumb setup that feels counterintuitive in practice. Eventually I was able to adapt but it never felt natural. These levels drag on far too long, to the point I began to wonder if something were wrong with the game. As bad as this is it leads into the worst part of the game.
As if the game were not annoying as is the final stage is truly special. The last level ratchets everything to eleven and fully exposes the weak controls. The game literally throws everything in your path and it will take a miracle to avoid brute forcing your way through. But you don’t do it once; you have to complete the last stage four times, once with each Ghostbuster. The layout and enemy patterns change but it still does not excuse the outright tedium of this “tactic”. Whether someone thought it was a good idea because they were proud of the level design or to drag the game out, it sucks.
In Closing
Ghostbusters II is a definite improvement over its dire predecessor. But that still does not mean it is a good game. It has many annoying problems of its own that prevent it from being solid. The framework is there but in the end it does not come together. The worst thing about Ghostbusters II is that it kept a far superior game from being released in America. Buy New Ghostbusters II instead.
