Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed is a new multiplayer game where you join the legendary Ghostbusters and go bustin’! From the people that brought you Friday the 13th: the Game and Predator: Hunting Grounds comes a 5-player multiplayer experience of a 4-on-1 battle ensues. Four players from THE FIREHOUSE play the Ghostbusters, and the other player from the great unknown as a ghost! With Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson reprising their iconic roles of Ray and Winston, what more could you want? But if you don’t believe this fun, upbeat description, then read some more from a few new busters!
JAKE
So far, I have really enjoyed the game for all the parts. First it sets a great atmosphere with its storytelling to introduce you to the world. Then you get to customize your character, and I love that right off the bat I could make him look like a guy that loves shotgunning beers! There’s a good bit of customization to the character while maintaining the uniform.
The Ghostbusters have a lot of fun gadgets to find stuff, but in terms of catching ghosts I think it can be a bit harder than it needs to be. Since there’s only a single ghost player, they obviously have the advantage, but, at times, it feels like too much of one. In my time playing, only one match had the ghost lose because of the large maps with short hallways that any turn can break the chance at tethering. With that said, the game is probably easier populated by friends to coordinate with since, in a lobby with strangers it can get a bit hectic. It would be easier if the tether was just a little bit quicker, which it is if everyone works together. The large maps give maybe too much of an advantage to the ghost because you can’t shut down a rift or catch a ghost with the team if you’re on the other side of the map. But those are pretty simple things that can be fixed through patches or clear teamwork.
Overall, I think this game is great with friends, but definitely harder by yourself. Unless, that is, if you are the ghost! Which I only played the tutorial for and not in an actual match. There are so many things they can do to haunt the map, like possession, haunting, moving through certain walls, moving the rifts, scaring civilians, creating minions, creating tornados, sabotage, and slime everything, including the busters. Now the ghost does have a power bar that it needs to refill slowly over time or possess an object for a faster refill to use these powers, and with the slime, minions, and tornado having cooldown timers after use. From what I played in the tutorial, it seems like it’s a lot of fun, so hopefully I’ll get to in my next session of quick play matches.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is definitely worth picking up to play with your friends on a game night.
MIKE
I have played a little bit, and so far, what I have seen, I have enjoyed. The game starts off letting you see the firehouse restored back to its original glory. As the game starts, you meet two of the original Ghostbusters (Ray and Winston) and two new ones. Once you are done with the intro, you get to start designing your character. I went with a basic design, but there are a lot of ways to make them as goofy as you want, and as you level up, you will be able to make many more changes. After that, you get a little rundown on how to use your equipment, and then it’s off to hunting ghosts.
Hunting the ghosts can be challenging; each game has four Ghostbusters and one ghost. That may not sound that hard, but while in the level, you have to use your P.K.E Meter to find and close ghost rifts, calm down citizens in the area you are hunting, and then eventually catch the ghost. As you look for the ghost, you can also collect growing mushrooms, and once you collect a certain percent of them, you get huge amounts of exp. Upstairs in the firehouse, you can see your progress. There are a couple of different maps, but they are pretty large, making the hunt harder than it needs to be.
There is also the option to play the ghost, which I had a chance to experience. The one time I got to play that role, it was pretty easy. You have two meters at the top of your screen, one to tell you how haunted the room you’re in is and one to tell you how haunted the building is. You can also possess and haunt items in the building. As well as have a couple of abilities that help you scare the citizens in the buildings. Your main objective as the ghost is to haunt the building 100% and not to get caught. In the likelihood that you do, you have the ability to come back as long as your rifts are still open.
As you play the game as either a Ghostbuster or a ghost, you have the ability to level up and upgrade. The Ghostbuster equipment can be upgraded the more you use them, and as you level up your ghost, you can change the design and abilities. You will also be able to make changes to your characters.
Overall I enjoyed Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, though it definitely is better when you have a team of people you know and can talk to. But even if I am playing alone, the ability to play the ghost and mess with someone’s game is pretty fun. The game is designed beautifully; I recommend just walking around the firehouse and rays store to just see all of the different things they added in from the movies. If you enjoy prop hunt and Ghostbusters, this is the game for you.