PC Gamer - UK 2020-04)

I

feellikeGhostbusters:The
VideoGameiswhatseven-
year-oldmewouldhaveasked
for fromtheMakeAWish
foundation.Theattentiontodetail
is almostoverwhelming.Proton
packsjangleasyourun.PKE
metersbloopinexactlytheright
way. And somehow, a soundtrack
from a 35-year-old movie is expertly
retrofitted to a modern(ish) action
game. I get misty eyed just hearing
the menu music.

But the most striking thing is still the
characters. Murray oozes back into
Venkman’s sleazy charm. Ray is
relentlessly chipper. And Winston is
inexplicably missing from the first
hour, just as he was in the movie. It’s
amusing, well written, and
implemented in a way that rarely
feels forced, although the new recruit
could hardly be more generic if a
team of CIA plastic surgeons spent

monthsdiscussinghowtomakehis

facemoreforgettable.Youcould

argueit’sallabouttheestablished

cast–becauseitis–butplayingasa

positroncolliderstrappedtoacrash

testdummydoesrobthegameof

somecharacter.

There’sasimplejoyinshooting

up famous locations with a pretend

spook laser. Getting this right was

almost as important as nailing the

script, and they feel fun to fire. The

whole process of wrangling ghosts

and slamming them into traps is

satisfying, too. The game becomes

unwieldy when there’s loads going

on, but the chaos is quite exhilarating.

You even have to balance the amount

of damage you cause against the

amount you earn, which feels like the

perfect way to adapt a film

celebrating the triumph of

private enterprise over

environmental

protection standards.

NostalgiainGHOSTBUSTERS:THEVIDEOGAME

EXPECTTOPAY

£20

DEVELOPER

Saber Interactive

PUBLISHER

Mad Dog Games

NEED TO KNOW

They didn’t even make a Phantom

of the Opera quip here...

The UK Ghostbusters features

Bertie Bassett scaling a Weatherspoons.

GOZER FUND ME

75

A

notherghostlytitlesetinNew
York, The Blackwell Legacywas
the second game from Unavowed’s
Dave Gilbert, released back in2006.
Luckily, point-and-click gamesdon’t
age. The story holds up and mostof
the scenes have conflict and purpose.
The stakes are clear for hero Rosa,
who has to work with spectralguide
Joey or risk being institutionalised.
It’s a knowing adventure game:
there’s even an animal puzzlethat
nods to Broken Sword’s wretched
goat. Couple this with charactersthat
feel relatable if not always likeable,
and it’s a good alternative to
the Ghostbusters approach to
undead relations.

THE BLACKWELL

LEGACY

84

T

his“micro-adventure game”

presents you with six bite-sized

bits of paranormal investigation, each

lasting around 40 minutes. That

sounds short, but that’s the point – I

love being able to dip in, complete a

case, then come back another day. It’s

a simple, dialogue-led adventure: the

characters don’t even move, but I’m

too busy enjoying the buffoonery of

Officer Dooley to notice. And it’s a

game that nods to so many other

mediums that it looks like it has a

nervous twitch. Thanks to its humour

and episodic presentation, it’slikethe

video game adaptation of

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

we never knew we needed.

THE DARKSIDE

DETECTIVE

78

I

nTheSims,it’susuallyanaccident

when yourinhabitantsendup

being terrorisedbyavengefulspirit.

(That, or you’veentombedthe

deceased’s ashesinasecret

compartmentsotheycanneverfind

peace.) Butin2003’sGhostMaster,

it’s preciselythepoint.It’sessentially

a haunted puzzlegameinwhichyou

have to scarepeoplebytethering

ghosts andghoulstospecificitemsor

areas. The resultfeelslikeifJames

Wan producedamovieabout

the disappearanceof

Mortimer Goth.

GHOSTMASTER

70

Rosa freelances for PC Gamer, apparently.

Cursed door or sexy club?

Let’s explore together.

Anything consenting

between adults and ghosts.

REVIEW