Information Archive

Release Date: Fall 2008 Systems: DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360. Developers: Terminal Reality & Red Fly Studio Publisher: Sierra Entertainment Official Site: Full Site, Mini: PC/PS3/X360, Mini: PS2/Wii/DS, Sierra FTP Buy The Game: Amazon.com Additional Resources: Proton Charging, GB3 Blog, GB3 YouTube, GB.net, GBHQ, GBHQ Archive, GB Int., GB Live, IMDB, Wikipedia.

Images

• Game Logo (806x143) (alt url #1, alt url #2)
• Official Website/Message Board Banner - Burnt Stay Puft (use to help promote the game)
  * HTML Code:
  * IMG Code/BBCode:
• Official Website/Message Board Banner - Happy Stay Puft (use to help promote the game)
  * HTML Code:
  * IMG Code/BBCode:
  
• Official Instant Messenger Icon (use to help promote the game)
  
• Official Wallpaper - Slimer: 1024x768 | 1280x1024 | 1600x1200
• Game Informer website Title Image
• Game Informer website banners: Slimer, Stay Puft, Graveyard Guys.
• Hanging on the wall of Terminal Reality's Texas headquarters is a Ghostbusters movie poster recreation using the game character likenesses (too bad Cam Shea is blocking Venkman)
• Mass Download Direct Urls (alt url) - for many of the galleries below
• IGN: PC/PS3/X360 Gallery (alt url #1, alt url #2, some backed-up) - over 100 high-quality images!
• Worth Playing: PC/PS3/X360 Gallery
• CVG: PC/PS3/X360 Gallery
• GameSpot: PC/PS3/X360 Gallery (alt url #1, alt url #2) - high-quality images!
• Jeux Video Gallery - high-quality images! Game shots are the same size as GameSpot, but not as sharp (I did a comparison). However, their Ray promo shot seems larger than GameSpot's only because it has extra gray space at the bottom. So right now, I'd give GameSpot the #1 position and JeuxVideo a close second. All other sites pale in comparison as their shots are FAR smaller!
• IGN: Wii/PS2 Gallery
• Games Radar: Wii/PS2 Gallery (all images - ignore all of the low-quality duplicates with the suffixes "large", "small", "viewer_medium". The HQ images end simply with "screenshot.jpg")
• Large Stay Puft Shot (backup)
• Official Website Screen Shots (scroll to the very bottom of the page)
• Official Website Screen Shots - Now Hiring (another application shot)
• Official Website Screen Shots - Complete site mock-up, sans "office" area, which obviously is inside (assembled by Lanny White in Nov. 2007):
  Small (243x616, 150 Kb), Medium (489x1234, 775 Kb).
• Official Website Screen Shots - Files extracted from Site.swf:
  I used a SWF Decompiler to extract this content from the Shockwave Flash file used on the site. Most of these are the original extracted files. As you can see, the sign, Stay Puft, and the lights are not part of the original building image. (I enlarged my screen area to 1280x1024 [the only size where the swf displayed on the site was the same size as the original images] and did caps of the sign and Stay Puft on the site, but obviously on the site a filter is put over the image because they were not of the same brightness as the original image. If your skills are better than mine, feel free to try to put them into the complete image.) I did the complete building image by piecing together the original top and bottom images, and I modified the envelope to create a second image that is free of the address and stamp decorations. The two letter images make for great stationary, and the modified envelope image makes for a great envelope. Now your written correspondence can look like it's on official Ghostbusters business stationary!
  
  
  

Video

• Official Teaser Trailer - "Rule #1" (0:17)
  * Windows Media & Quicktime (Sierra FTP) - Downloads
  * Flash (GameSpot) - Streaming / Download
  * Hi-Res H.264 MP4 and Lo-Res MPEG & MP4 [IPOD/PSP] (GameSpot) - Downloads
  * Flash (YouTube) - Streaming / Download
  

• G4TV: Gameplay Footage (11/16/2007, 1:22)
  Busting Slimer in the ballroom, using the PKE meter, different beam settings, Mr. Stay Puft, and the library ghost is back. The original file was Flash Video (.flv), and has since been taken off the net by G4. They've even sent notices to YouTube to remove the copies that were uploaded there.
  HIGH-QUALITY (480x368):
  * Flash/FLV (MegaUpload) - Download (8.3 Mb) (extract from inside ZIP) (this is the original file)
  LOW-QUALITY (320x240):
  * AVI (MegaUpload) - Download (5.4 Mb) (extract from inside RAR)
  * AVI (HyperFileShare) - Download (5.4 Mb) (extract from inside RAR)

• G4TV Gameplay Footage Remix (1:38)
  Since G4 had YouTube remove the copies that were uploaded there, the GB Props folks took their footage and remixed it so that they can't claim copyright infringement. After all, G4 doesn't own the gameplay footage itself - Sierra/Vivendi does.
  * Flash (YouTube) - Streaming / Download
  

• Game1: Gameplay & Discussion (11/16/2007, 4:06, in Dutch)
  * Flash (Game1) - Streaming - Download (49.4 Mb)
  * Windows Media (Game1) - Download (36.3 Mb)
  * MP4 (Game1) - Download (45.8 Mb)
  * Flash (YouTube) - Streaming / Download
  

• G4TV: Attack of the Show "The Loop" Segment (aired 11/??/2007, 1:50)
  * Flash (G4TV) - Streaming / Download (small 5.3 Mb) / Download (large 8.5 Mb)
  

• Official Website: Files extracted from Site.swf:
  I used a SWF Decompiler to extract this content from the Shockwave Flash file used on the site. Besides the images seen above, there were four videos in the swf file: two of Slimer going around in a half circle in each directions (these are used on the site when it loads), the trap opening glow animation, and Slimer coming right at the screen (the teaser trailer seen on the site is its own file and is not embedded in the swf file). I have not seen this last Slimer animation ever used on the site. Now you can view it in all its short silent glory (there's no sound):
  * Flash/FLV (MegaUpload) - Download (0:03, 784x528, 326 Kb) (extract from inside ZIP)
  

News

September 2006:
Unbeknownst to any Ghostbusters fans, preliminary work on the game started as evident by concept art that would eventually appear on the Game Informer website in November 2007.

Slovenian video game developer, Zootfly, sneak-released a couple of videos onto YouTube, sans explaination. Those videos were quickly yanked off of YouTube "due to a copyright claim by Sony Pictures Entertainment". (Some of them have since been reuploaded to YouTube and GameTrailers.com and The Gamer Hub by other people.)

They also featured some concept art in a Summer 2006 company precis. Proton Charging has some wallpapers available of this artwork.

At the time, it was not known if this was some pre-hype by Zootfly prior to pursuing the Ghostbusters license, evidence that they just aquired the licence, or that they were just showing off their love of Ghostbusters.

Over the next few days, Zootfly staff would be interviewed by IGN, The Official Xbox Magazine podcast , GameSpot, and FiringSquad.com. What it all amounted to was them stating that they did NOT have the license, would love to get the license, and how much they loved Ghostbusters.

Oh, and they were sure to drop mention of a game they were working on called TimeO that just so happened to be based on the game engine the Ghostbusters prototype was running on, and that just so happened to have a plot not too dissimilar to Ghostbusters. This prompted Wired blogger Chris Kohler to point out that quite possibly Zootfly released the videos and images simply to create some buzz and establish some name recognition for TimeO. It turns out that he would be right.

(Special thanks to Proton Charging's Zootfly news archives for providing all of the info that I used to recap these events.)

[...]
As such, he hasn't much time left for Hollywood. Aside from a role in the Adam Sandler-starring I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, due out later this year, Aykroyd says he's pretty much done with acting after a fun, 30-plus year run.

He will, however, be revisiting the role of Dr. Raymond Stantz for a Ghostbusters video game.

"Universal purchased the rights from Sony for a game. I'm actually going to have to perform and do some motion capture for them. That will be next year."

Touring Canada with Jim Belushi as The Blues Brothers, Dan Aykroyd talked to the Edmonton Sun about a variety of things, one of which includes providing motion capture for a Ghostbusters video game, to be produced by VUE.

So, apparently VUE is going to publish the game - but does this mean Zootfly is going to be the developer? It now explains why Sony yanked the Zootfly videos from YouTube, but is it a thumbs up or a thumbs down for the Slovenian dev studio?

Interviewer: Ah, Ghostbusters 3. There's a big buzz on the internet. People are talking about it. People are asking about it. Is there like a good reason to think that maybe we'll have a chance to see that movie?

Dan Aykroyd: I would say more of a chance to see the video game in '08. That's gonna be a hot video game for all formats.

Interviewer: Are you working on that right now?

Dan Aykroyd: Ah, yes, yes, we're working on that. That is going to be very exciting. And the story in there will be really, really cool. And it will take people back to the feeling of the old movie. You get to play with the Ghostbusters as a team member. It's great.

Interviewer: That will be something.

Dan Aykroyd: Yeah.

You can watch the interview either in its entirety...

* Windows Media (Canoe) - Streaming / Download (7:15, 13.5 Mb)
* Flash (YouTube) - Streaming / Download (7:15, 17.6 Mb)
* Flash (YouTube) - Streaming / Download (7:15, 17.6 Mb)
Dan takes some time to go on Montreal morning TV to pitch some tequila, talk about opening a House of Blues, and Ghostbusters 3 as a video game (yes, video game - not movie). Some French spoken at beginning, but it's mostly Dan explaining that his French isn't great. Dan comments on Ghostbusters from 6:14 to 6:44.

...or just his comments on Ghostbusters 3:

* Flash (YouTube) - Streaming / Download (1:15, 3.0 Mb)
* Flash (YouTube) - Streaming / Download (1:15, 3.0 Mb)
This clip looks like it was recorded off of a tv screen or computer monitor.

I should learn to go with my first instinct - given how close together Dan Aykroyd was talking about GB3, a GB video game, and how GB3 would be CGI, I initially assumed that he might have meant GB3 would be a video game. After hearing him on the radio interview, I second guessed myself.

And now, I'm going back to my original supposition - according to more talk from Aykroyd, GB3 will be a video game.

Caramie Schnell: Any chance of a third Ghostbusters?

Harold Ramis: The chance is slim. I would say the bigger question is, is there a chance for a third Ghostbusters that involved me, Dan and Bill? That seems slim to me. Danny's kept it alive forever. He's the one that originated the whole thing in the first place. We've talked to Columbia about doing a fully and digitally animated Ghostbusters and that's another possibility. The only thing I know for sure is there is a video game coming out that Danny and I are going to do the voices for. So that'll be fun.

CS: When will that happen?

HR: We haven't recorded yet, but they've showed me all the animations for the game and the game settings and the characters. It's all in the works now. I guess it's a long development period on games and very expensive - they invest a lot of money in these things.

Despite showing early promise in the form of low-resolution unlicensed YouTube videos, which you can still see here, Zootfly's in-development Ghostbusters title will never ever see the light of day.

While many nostalgic hopefuls have been praying since January that Zootfly would be able to eventually overcome the red tape and legal tedium standing in the way of the release of its Ghostbusters title, it simply can't happen – the license has been given to another developer who is working on its own as-yet unseen game.

"We're currently working on a licensed IP project about which I am not at liberty to discuss. It's not Ghostbusters, though," Zootfly CEO Bostjan Troha recently told us.

"Ghostbusters [is] in development, but not by us," he confirmed.

Essentially, the game that lit up YouTube in January is off and will never be seen again, but a Ghostbusters game by someone else is on – quite how similar this game will be to the Zootfly videos, though, remains to be seen. Maybe it'll be better; maybe it'll be worse. Maybe it'll be based on the cartoons rather than the films from which Zootfly clearly drew inspiration...

What we do know is that this will undoubtedly be the game with which Ghostbuster himself, Dan Aykroyd, is involved. Aykroyd admitted that he would be appearing in such a game when speaking to the Edmonton Sun back in February, just weeks after the Zootfly videos 'escaped' onto YouTube.

Depressingly though, what we now realise is that while Zootfly was putting together its proposal game and releasing exciting YouTube videos, a different Ghostbusters deal had already been struck – a deal big enough to have secured participation from Aykroyd himself – and Zootfly was never going to be able to get the permission.

Unlucky.

Still, Zootfly assures us that its other title, Time0, is still on, as is this new (and mostly importantly, official) licensed IP mentioned further up this article. Zootfly won't tell us what it is, but did confirm that it will be an Xbox 360 title.

While you're probably busy being buried by this year's holiday releases, we're busy bringing you the biggest world exclusives in Game Informer Magazine. Today, we're dropping the bomb on our December world-exclusive cover story – Ghostbusters!

Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd are getting back together and revisiting their roles to make a sequel to Ghostbusters 1 and 2 – in video-game form, and we've got the first details. Both Aykroyd and Ramis are teaming up for scriptwriting duties and are going far beyond just the typical licensed add-your-voice-to-the-game-you-had-nothing-to-do-with formula. And no, this has nothing to do with the Ghostbusters Zootfly video demonstration that floated around the internet in January.

The December Issue also features our Holiday Buying Guide 2007, an in-depth hands-on with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and all the reviews that'll get you all set for your holiday gift list.

Plus, for Game Informer subscribers, Game Informer Unlimited hits this Friday with loads on Ghostbusters and much more!

Vivendi Games is pacting with Sony Pictures to turn "Ghostbusters" into a videogame franchise.

First title in what the publisher hopes will be a series of "Ghostbusters" games is set for release in fall '08 from Vivendi's Sierra label.

All four members of the movie team -- Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis -- will be giving voice and likeness rights for the game. Some supporting castmembers have signed up as well, including William Atherton, Brian Doyle Murray and Annie Potts.

In addition, film scribes Aykroyd and Ramis will pen a story for the vidgame that takes place in the early '90s, after "Ghostbusters II," during a new ghoul invasion of New York City.

Deal comes on the heels of several other classic movies that have recently been adapted into successful vidgames, including EA's "The Godfather" and Vivendi's own "Scarface: The World Is Yours."

"We noticed we did well on 'Scarface' and were alert for new opportunities to turn iconic film products into games in a way that is a new manifestation of the franchise," Vivendi Games CEO Bruce Hack said. "'Ghostbusters' is unquestionably among the small number of movies in that class."

Vivendi has sold more than 2.5 million units of last year's "Scarface" game worldwide, grossing more than $125 million and making it a solid success, if not quite at the level of top franchises like "Halo." Though Vivendi hasn't yet confirmed plans, a sequel is known to be in the works.

Hack noted that, in making both deals, Vivendi did a survey of gamers asking which movie properties they would like to see turned into videogames. "Scarface" and "Ghostbusters" were both in the top five.

Publisher is particularly optimistic for the chances of "Ghostbusters" because, unlike the young male-targeted "Scarface," it has the potential to appeal to children and adults. Developer Terminal Reality is making a "Ghostbusters" game for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 aimed primarily at the core gamer demographic, while Red Fly Studios is making a version for Playstation 2, Wii and DS designed more for families and casual gamers.

With the addition of "Ghostbusters," Vivendi now has several licensed franchises in its portfolio, including "Scarface," the Robert Ludlum books such as "Bourne Identity" and "Covert One," and rapper 50 Cent.

It's the first major vidgame deal for one of its library titles that Sony Pictures has made. Studio talked with several publishers before making a deal with Vivendi. Such deals can be quite lucrative because licensing revenue comes in with very little spending on the studio's side. Advances for multiyear deals on major franchises such as "Ghostbusters" are typically in the tens of millions of dollars.

"This brand is a very important asset for the studio, and we feel it's prime time for it to be rediscovered through videogames," said Mark Caplan, VP of Sony's consumer products division.

Several "Ghostbusters" games came out around the time of the two movies, and one in the past decade has been tied to the animated series "Extreme Ghostbusters."

SIERRA ENTERTAINMENT AND SONY PICTURES CONSUMER PRODUCTS CALLS ON THE GHOSTBUSTERS™ TO SAVE THE WORLD AGAIN

Ghostbusters™ The Video Game to Bring Back Original Film Cast to Deliver Next Chapter to Blockbuster Films

Los Angeles, CA - November 16, 2007 - Sierra Entertainment and Sony Pictures Consumer Products jointly announced today development of Ghostbusters™ The Video Game, based on the classic films that have transcended and entertained generations of audiences. To deliver a special gaming experience to the tremendous Ghostbusters' fan base around the world, the game will feature the original film cast from Columbia Pictures' classic Ghostbusters films, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson, back again for the first time in more than 20 years. Supporting the ghost busting crew are the talents of Annie Potts, Brian Doyle Murray and William Atherton. Equipped with a variety of unique weapons and gadgets, players will hunt, fight and capture a wide range of supernatural villains in a funny and frightening battle to save New York City from its latest paranormal plague.

Ghostbusters The Video Game is expected to ship Fall 2008.

"Sierra Entertainment is extremely excited to not only deliver fans, old and new, this next chapter in the Ghostbusters universe, but to allow them inside the universe for the first time," said Martin Tremblay, president, Worldwide Studios for Sierra Entertainment. "Our collaboration includes working closely alongside the team at Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Terminal Reality and Red Fly Studio. Together we will create the ultimate Ghostbusters experience, full of the characters, ghosts and other paranormal creatures so many have come to adore over the years."

"Ghostbusters is one of Sony Picture's most beloved film franchises," said Mark Caplan, vice president, Licensing for Sony Pictures Consumer Products. "In setting out to develop this property, our criterion was to find a game company who was interested in keeping true and faithful to the Ghostbusters universe that talent and filmmakers had originally created. The team at Sierra Entertainment took the time to prove to us they had what it takes. From the moment we green-lit the game, we have certainly seen a lot of passion and commitment coming from Sierra Entertainment and both development teams. We believe fans are going to be impressed with the game's ability to deliver a very authentic Ghostbusters experience, as well as its capacity to expand the Ghostbusters universe that they currently know."

Like the films before it, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis will return to script and event-driven storyline for the video game that will lead the player through the trials and tribulations of the world's leading paranormal ghost busting team. Ghostbusters The Video Game will create a totally unique experience and gameplay environment that authentically recreates the time period of the film, expanding the lore and supernatural events that seemingly plague New York City.

About the Game
When Manhattan is once again overrun by ghosts and other supernatural creatures, players will take on the role of a new recruit joining the famous Ghostbusters team. Developed by acclaimed studio Terminal Reality, Ghostbusters The Video Game will make its debut on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC and Red Fly Studio will develop the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ versions of this seminal entertainment brand.

For more information about Ghostbusters The Video Game, please visit the official website at www.ghostbustersgame.com.

About the Film
Ghostbusters, released in 1984, is one of Columbia Pictures' highest grossing films, spawning a hit sequel in 1989 and three successful animated television shows. Ghostbusters and its sequel grossed over $580 million worldwide. Ghostbusters merchandise has exceeded $1 billion in retail sales. The original film, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, produced and directed by Ivan Reitman, starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as ghost hunters for hire, cleaning up Manhattan's buildings of slime-spewing spooks.

About Sony Pictures Consumer Products
Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP), a Division of Columbia TriStar Consumer Marketing (CTCM), is based in Los Angeles and handles the merchandising and branding efforts for some of the most recognized properties in film and television.

Columbia TriStar Consumer Marketing is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). SPE is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

About Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment (www.sierra.com), a global division of Vivendi Games, creates and publishes innovative, high-quality interactive entertainment for video game systems, handheld gaming devices and personal computers. Sierra Entertainment features a portfolio of titles based on original IP and popular licenses from industry-leading content partners, including F.E.A.R.™, Crash Bandicoot®, Spyro the Dragon®, Scarface™ and Ice Age™. Sierra Entertainment has four integrated internal studios providing creative talents and development capabilities across multiple gaming genres: High Moon Studios in San Diego, CA; Massive Entertainment in Malmö, Sweden; Radical Entertainment in Vancouver, BC; and Swordfish Studios in Birmingham and Manchester, England.

# # #

"GHOSTBUSTERS", the video game © 2008 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. "GHOSTBUSTERS" with the "GHOST DESIGN" is a registered trademark of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. "GHOSTBUSTERS", and "GHOSTBUSTERS 2" movies © 1984, © 1989 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Game Software excluding Columbia Pictures Elements © 2008 Vivendi Games, Inc. All rights reserved.

Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2006 Nintendo.

Ghostbustersgame.com has gone live, with a teaser trailer and two more screenshots to look at (including a nice look at a certain Doctor Stantz.) Also mentioned on the site, is that the game features you (yes, you!) as a new recruit to the Ghostbusters franchise.

GhostbustersGame.com - Game Info
The Ghostbusters™ are back in an all new story penned by the original creators! With Manhattan newly overrun by ghosts and other supernatural creatures, it's up to you to take on the role of a new recruit joining the original film cast of the famous Ghostbusters team. Equipped with a variety of unique weapons and gadgets, you will hunt, fight and capture a wide range of uncanny phantasms and demons in an all new funny and frightening battle to save New York City from its latest paranormal plague.
[this snippet typed in and added by me - it does not appear in the original PC article]

[For screen shots of the new site, check out the very bottom of this page]

The "Real" Ghostbusters
by Game Informer Staff (no author credited)

Back in January of this year, a series of videos appeared on YouTube showcasing a prototype of a Ghostbusters game running on Xbox 360. The Internet went ablaze as fans rallied around the possibility of blasting ghosts on next-gen systems.

Shortly thereafter, Slovenian developer Zootfly confirmed that it was working on the game, but they had reached a slight "snag" in securing the rights to the series. An online petition surfaced with nearly 5,000 signatures pleading with Sony Pictures to grant the license to no avail. It seemed the project was dead on arrival. In the following weeks, however, Dan Aykroyd rekindled the excitement by indicating that he would be involved in a Ghostbusters game. Would this be the push that finally convinced some mystery publisher to step forward? Nope. As the months flew by with no official announcement, rumor mongering and speculation turned elsewhere.

Little did the gaming community know, the official Ghostbusters game was already well into development long before any videos started showing up. The team behind it brings comedy experience from The Simpsons: Hit & Run and horror know-how from F.E.A.R., a publisher known for quality games like The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, and a developer with a groundbreaking new engine capable of slick visuals and untold amounts of destruction physics. But the most exciting piece of the puzzle is the involvement of all four Ghostbusters: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson. This isn't just an afternoon of voiceover sessions; Aykroyd and Ramis (the writers of the original films) are penning the entire script and actively participating in the game's development. Bustin' never felt so good.

Last spring, a crucial moment in Ghostbusters history went down. Sony Pictures agreed to meet with Sierra Entertainment and developer Terminal Reality in order to see a gameplay demo and discuss the possibility of granting the rights to one of their most notoriously hard-to-get properties. "We've been searching for the right partner to relaunch a Ghostbusters video game for years," says Sony Pictures consumer products VP Mark Caplan. "We wanted to make sure we found a game engine and developer who had what it takes to make a great game!

Sierra had been circling Ghostbusters long before approaching Sony. In a similar approach to last year's hit, Scarface: The World is Yours, Sierra was looking to resurrect a classic franchise. "At Sierra there are a couple of us that have been talking about [a Ghostbusters game] for years, but we wanted the tech to be better than the special effects from the 1984 movie," says executive producer John Melchior. The launch of Xbox 360 in late 2005 and impending release of PlayStation 3 satisfied the need for horsepower, but after almost 20 years, did anyone still care about the Ghostbusters? Sierra dug into the data.

"We did a lot of market research about old film titles and this thing scored number one above things like Godfather," Melchior remembers. "Nobody dislikes Ghostbusters. Some people might love it. Some people might like it. But nobody says 'I hate it.'" Sierra also found that the Ghostbusters logo is the second most recognized in the world – the first being Coca-Cola. Upon first reaching out to Sony Pictures, Sierra ran into an exacting list of standards to meet before they had any chance of securing the rights, so they set out to find the right developer.

Terminal Reality was on the road to promote Infernal, a next-gen version of their proprietary engine, and eventually crossed paths with Sierra. "After seeing the tech demo that we presented, Sierra came back and said 'Hey, how would you guys feel about working on the Ghostbusters property?" Terminal Reality development director Brendan Goss says. "We [had] to be involved in this. It's just a huge thing." The two companies joined up and crafted a demo that blew Sony away. Then the real work began.

Instead of rehashing the movie plots that everyone knows backwards and forwards, the Ghostbusters game will follow an all-new storyline set in 1991 – two years after the last movie. And with original creators Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis writing the script, this is as close as it gets to an actual Ghostbusters 3. In fact, discussions are currently in progress as to whether to make that the official title.

At the start of Ghostbusters 2, the Busters were barely scraping by. Despised by the citizens of New York, they faced a load of lawsuits and were forced to perform song and dance routines at children's birthday parties. As the new story begins, however, the city has embraced them for halting the resurrection of Vigo, the scourge of Carpathia. Business is going so well, in fact, that the Ghostbusters want to start franchising so they can cut down on the 60-hour work weeks. But in order to realize their dreams of relaxation, they have to earn a franchise license from the city. Before granting their request, the new mayor institutes a paranormal oversight commission to see how they do business. The man in charge has the power to grant the franchise or deny it. Unfortunately for the Ghostbusters, this man is former EPA agent Walter Peck (actor William Atherton will be returning to the role). "They are constantly under him throughout the game having to deal with his bureaucratic constraints," Terminal Reality creative director Drew Haworth says.

Players will take on the role of a new recruit hired as an "experimental weapons technician," which basically means they'll be a guinea pig for all of Ray and Egon's new inventions. Shortly after you're hired, an ancient evil envelops the city, causing a massive surge in ghost activity. The Ghostbusters must get to the bottom of what's going on before the city is literally torn apart.

This spirit surge not only prompts a wave of entirely new ghosts, but a few old rivals as well. The first assignment is to go to a certain ballroom and deal with a little green blob of ectoplasm. Upon his release from the Ghostbusters' containment grid, Slimer makes a beeline for the place with the best buffet in town, The Sedgwick Hotel. Just like the original movie, this is the first chance you'll get to test your hi-tech equipment.

The game uses a third-person camera angle similar to Resident Evil 4, placing a particular focus on the intricately detailed proton pack. The various lights and glowing bars on the pack will serve as your HUD, displaying information like health, weapon charge, and the amount of "slam" you have left (we'll get to that in a moment).

As we wandered through the halls in our hands-on demo of the Xbox 360 version, the only sound we could hear was the sweet hum of the proton pack and the chatter of Egon and Ray over the radio explaining that they were stuck in an elevator. But soon, noises of gulping, slurping and burping came into earshot, and as we rounded a corner we spotted Slimer chowing down on the contents of a room service cart. Instinctually, we lot loose a stream of proton energy, but Slimer phased through a nearby wall before we could get him. A line of familiar black char remained on the blast spot.

The next area opened up into the expansive famous ballroom, intricately detailed from the brightly lit chandelier down to individual table settings. But with Slimer chucking turkey legs and charging at us, we didn't have much time to admire the surroundings. We tried our best to track the speedy green ghost, but some paintings, tables, and wine racks may have received some collateral damage. At one point, Slimer zipped around the chandelier and our proton beam sent it crashing to the floor, significantly dimming the room.

Taking advantage of our momentary distraction, Slimer charged at us head on and covered us in green goop. It was time to change tactics. As Slimer hid behind a bar, we started blasting it and clicked the left trigger to send a surging ball of energy down the beam. The bar exploded into bits and pieces. With the ghost significantly damaged we unleashed the wrangling beam, slamming him into all manner of destructible objects with the right stick. This push and pull mechanic has a distinct fishing feel, a goal Terminal Reality is purposely trying to achieve. A quick tap of the d-pad deploys the trap, and it isn't long before we manage to force Slimer in. Ray congratulated us over the air and Egon offered a reminder that was perhaps bit too late. "I almost forgot. We promised the manager we'd be very careful in the ballroom this time. It's already set up for a bar mitzvah in half an hour."

Players won't have to worry about keeping things nice, however. All damage is converted into one big bill that goes directly to the city's insurance company. You are working for a government branch, after all. Not only do you earn bonuses for higher tallies, you also get the pleasure of infuriating Peck. "If Peck didn't have enough hate for you already, wait till he gets $35 million worth of bills," Melchior jokes.

The massive amount of destruction players will leave in their wake is a key component of the new Infernal engine. President of Terminal Reality and engine mastermind Mark Randel has been working on Infernal for seven years, with the last three devoted to the next-gen elements featured in Ghostbusters. "We feel that we can do a better job in-house than we can by licensing other products," Randel says. "If we license a physics engine, and there are really competent physics engines out there, but we'd be just like other games. We want to push the envelope and invent new things and do more. The only way to do that is to write our own"

Randel drops hundreds of boxes, ragdoll bodies, and even a few cars into a variety of demo environments. Everything tumbles and flops over with no hit to the framerate. The bodies land in all manner of twisted macabre positions in a library reading room full of desks with absolutely none of the twitching seen in recent games like BioShock and Halo 3. When the cars drop in from the ceiling they crush the desks to splinters. Randel is particularly proud of Infernal's ability to accurately simulate weight variations, a physics conundrum he says is of the most difficult to solve. He estimates that the engine will be able to simulate 1,000 objects at any given time while still running everything else like lighting, self shadowing, and slick character models.

The entire engine demo is running on a PlayStation 3 to show that the system poses no hurdles to the developer. "We've have a really good time on the PS3 because we wrote our engine for the PS2, which is a low level system," Randel says. "Then we moved up to the PC and Xbox so people who have gone from PC land and Xbox land to the PS3 are having a really hard time. For us, we're having fun, because we've had access to all the parallel processing and all of the goodies right away."

He hands the controller over and allows us to wreak havoc on the reading room. Here we experiment with an intriguing new weapon called the slime gun. You basically shoot a long rope of green goop towards an object and then fire the remaining end at something else. What looks like a snot trail pulls the two objects towards each other, or, in the case of a wall or ceiling, the rope will draw the smaller object towards the anchored one. It wasn't long before we were sticking guys to the ceiling or shooting the gun at a wall behind a desk and having them smash through. We were even able to string a car up to the ceiling after using several tethers. In battles, you'll be able to tether ghosts to a wall to make them easier to shoot or even create a giant web of slime to snag several at the same time. We can't imagine what kind of puzzle opportunities this thing will provide.

So far we've only seen solo action, but the Ghostbusters have always been about teamwork. The team showed us a level set in the very same library from the opening scene of the first Ghostbusters movie. You emerge from the Ecto-1 to a riled up crowd held back by a police barricade. Ray and Egon pause for a photo op. The character models are spitting images of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as they appeared back in '84. "Officer O'Reilly says there was a massive disturbance, a real fireworks show," Ray says. "Check around for valences" Sound-alikes are filling in for the stars at this point in development so that the team can nail the comedic and story aspects alongside the action. This and the Elmer Bernstein score from Ghostbusters do a lot to sell the feel of the movies. No other songs from the classic soundtracks have been confirmed yet, but we would be very surprised if Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" theme didn't make an appearance.

As the guys ascend the front stairs, Egon pulls out his PKE meter to scan the surroundings and finds suspicious readings next to some nearby statues. All of a sudden, the statues shatter and two ghosts come flying out, Ray and Egon throw out traps and help with ghost wrangling and soon the situation is under control. AI teammates will perform actions like these automatically without any sort of squad interface.

The Ghostbusters wind through several rooms catching ghosts and following the ectoplasmic trail. "I've never seen readings like this before," Egon says. "They're off the charts...and I happen to make very good charts." Eventually they make their way down to the basement and come across a familiar face: the librarian ghost. For Ray she's always been the one that got away. "I've waited a long time for this one," Ray says. The librarian shushes him and flies off. As you press on with only your flashlight to guide you, book shelves start to crashing down and rotating out to block your path. Books are flying everywhere and Dewey Decimal cards start shooting out of their drawers. Invisible ghosts called animators possess some of the flying books to form humanoid enemies. To defeat them you'll have to use the wrangling beam to rip off their shields and use a new weapon called the electron beam.

The polar opposite of the proton beam, this blue arc of light freezes ghosts in their tracks and its shotgun-like secondary fire shatters them to pieces. While this is an effective strategy for certain enemies, it's not wise to use it on every ghost. Players only earn money for purchasing upgrades by trapping. "We're working on a style system where you get bonuses if you can slam dunk into the trap or do a three-hit slam," Haworth says. "You get flash points and more money." Speaking of extras, miniature collectibles like Stay Puft Marshmallow Men and Ecto-1s are scattered throughout every stage to unlock achievements, interviews with the actors, and the like.

After getting past a few columns of symmetrically stacked books, you meet up with Ray, who has just fallen out of an air vent. "Someone you've been wanting to meet again is here," Egon squawks over the radio. "Keep her there. We're on our way," Ray replies excitedly. We track Egon to small room that at first appears to be a dead end. We pull out our own PKE meter to scan the room. This device serves as a way to discern where to go next, and can also be used to scan enemies and gain information on them. The PKE's little mechanical arms rise up near one of the bookshelves. "Hey, check this out. I feel a breeze," Ray says as he inspects the suspicious area. The shelf slides aside abruptly, revealing a dank staircase. "Aw cool, a secret passage," Ray says. "These are great!"

"Everybody knows that comedy's very hard in games," says Melchior, who previously worked on games in The Simpsons franchise. "The reason that Hit & Run worked so much better than Road Rage is we leaned on the talent. We went to the writers and Matt Groening and Gracie Films and we said 'We really want to make this a virtual episode, and we want you to take the helm." The team is taking a similar approach this time around, relying on Aykroyd and Ramis for the bulk of the comedy and making it work in a gameplay setting.

"I think that's one of the biggest reasons that you play as the new recruit because it's important to them that those guys' interaction with each other is so flawless and so conversational that we couldn't screw up that timing," Melchior says. "If you were playing as Ray and [you had to] hit X to talk to Egon, you're chunking up the dialogue. We want you to play the game but feel like you're watching the movie."

Mixing these laughs with scares is a key component of Ghostbusters. "There's something we always say: it's got to be fun, funny, or scary," says lead level designer Andy Dumbroski, who knows a thing or two about horror. Before joining Terminal Reality, he worked at Monolith, the developer of F.E.A.R. "With most of the environments you've seen we try to create questions in the player's mind. You go through and there are what we call 'points of possibility,'" Dumbrowski says. In any average hallway, for example, ghosts could smash through a window, pop out from behind a vending machine, or come down from the ceiling. It's this uncertainty that creates tension in the player. "One of the cool things here that we can do that, for example, F.E.A.R. didn't do is accentuate tension with humor, which just wasn't appropriate in certain kinds of games. But it is appropriate here to just throw a joke out. It's nice to have a little more flexibility."

As we enter the creepy secret passage, it seems brimming with these so-called possibilities. A glowing red book floats over a podium up ahead. "Whoa, look at that. A Gozerian codex," Ray says as he zips over to take a closer look. Egon yells after him, "Ray, I'm not entirely convinced that this is the best way to..."

"Wait, this might be a trap," Ray mutters just before the book snaps shut and floats away. "That's using your head, Ray," Egon says. Faced with no other choice, we follow the book. It leads us to an area with dozens of books floating in shallow water. As we start to wade through, all of the books join together to form a huge golem. One swipe from this thing and it's lights out. But if you do happen to bite it when there are other Ghostbusters around, they will run over and revive you. Your teammates will also revive each other, so you don't have to worry about putting yourself in the line of fire a la Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. However, there will be plenty of times when you'll be separated from your buddies, so don't get too accustomed to them bailing you out.

We eventually take out the golem, and move on to the librarian's chamber where she's calmly reading the Gozerian codex. "That book she's reading, it's not Dianetics. It's emitting an enormous amount of energy," Egon cautions. "That's your cue, killer. Go get 'em," Ray says. Yes, they want you to steal a book from a ghost that, up until now, has been perfectly harmless. After a moment of hesitation, we snatch the book and back up quickly. She looks up and simply fades away.

"She took that better than I expected," Egon says.

"It makes perfect sense. All of her energy's tied to the book," Ray surmises. "Now that we have it she's released. She's gone."

"I'm not entirely sure about that, Ray."

"Oh no," Ray says as the librarian reappears in the spooky form that she used to scare the Ghostbusters all of those years ago. This time, however, they have proton packs. The librarian shields herself with a sphere of books. As you blast away, she sends books after you that fly like bats. It takes a whole lot of wrangling from all three Ghostbusters, but in the end they're able to position her over the trap and take care of business.

After any hard day of work, it's nice to have a place to hang up your jumpsuit. The Ghostbusters' old converted firehouse serves as a hub where you can chat it up with Janine the secretary (Annie Potts has agreed to do the voice work), peek in on Egon's latest inventions, see Ray fiddling with Ecto-1's engine, perform scientific experiments, or check out trophies you've earned from missions. "But most importantly, you'll be able to go down the fire pole," says Red Fly's Jeff Mills, developer of the Wii and PS2 versions of the game (see sidebar). Unlike the Ghostbusters first few months in business, however, it won't be long before you've got another client to help.

In the final part of our demo, we found ourselves dangling over the edge of a skyscraper with Ray and Egon holding the rope on the roof. If we're the worm on a hook, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is the fish. "He looks upset to me. I think he remembers us," Egon says. "Oh boy, he sure does. Fire him up, kiddo," Ray replies. While Stay Puft begins to scale the side of the building, a helicopter putters into view. The fluffy white monster crushes it and tosses it at you. "The pilot got out just in time," Egon notices (the team is shooting for a T rating, after all). Stay Puft sends out swarms of evil marshmallow minis. Once you connect with the proton beam, gravity takes hold of these minions and they fall and bounce realistically off of their maker's face. As Marshmallow Man gets zapped in the face, it leaves toasty black scarring...and, makes him incredibly angry. "This doesn't hurt him at all," Dumbroski says as he torments the boss. "I just think it's fun to do." The only way to damage Stay Puft is to wait for him to send out a flaming marshmallow mini and blast it back at him. After enough damage, Stay Puft falls dozens of stories and splats marshmallow gunk across several city blocks.

Though this boss battle was epic in scale, it's apparently only the beginning. "I don't want to get into the full story because of Dan and Harold, but you're going to like the way it ties together," Melchior says. "They did a really good job with the story and who the big boss is - like Stay Puft is early in the game." If the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is low on the totem pole, we can't wait to see who's on top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GAME INFO FROM PHOTO CAPTIONS

• Ecto-1 will not be drivable, but will still somehow mysteriously be involved in gameplay.
• At one point in the game, New York's Central Park transforms into one giant cemetary.
• Your psychiatrist [is] played by Brian Doyle Murray.
• The developers are using an overheat mechanic and automatic healing rather than ammo and health pickups.
• Multiplayer is still under construction, though nothing has been confirmed yet.
• Possessing ghosts will take on the various properties of whatever they inhibit.
• Terminal Reality is still working on an appropriate consequence/awesome effect for crossing the streams.

Bustin' With Buddies

Wii and PlayStation 2 owners will also be able to get in on the fun next Halloween with a cartoon-styled version of Ghostbusters. "The storyline from the next-gen version will be carried out in its entirety in our game, but our primary focus is on multi-player," says Red Flys Jeff Mills. "So we'll reproduce everything that you do in the game, but then we'll repurposed the maps for various multi-player things and introduce new maps for multiplayer scenarios as well."

The entire single-player campaign can be tackled by up to four players via splitscreen co-op or a Halo 3 style competitive mode. But the largest difference from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions is found in the adversarial modes where players battle it out in a ghosts versus Ghostbusters free for all. Ghosts will be able to phase through certain points in the walls, floors, and ceiling. And many, like Slimer, have the ability to fly. Ghosts can also sneak up behind players and scare them, temporarily reducing their max health. Busters are equipped with a standard array of proton packs and traps and each one has a different special ability. Ray, for example, will be able to spot where ghosts are going to come through the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAN AYKROYD INTERVIEW

Dan Aykroyd On The Return To Ghostbusters

The interview printed in the magazine has been shortened with questions moved around. Since the entire interview is reprinted in the next section, it is pointless to reprinted the edited version here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The above scans came from a 2.5 Mb PDF file assembled by AJ Quick. You can also get a different high-quality scan of page 83 (alt url), and you can also find photographs of the pages at the following places (the same photos are at each place):
Location #1 All pages
Location #2: Page 74, Page 75, Page 76, Page 77, Page 78, Page 79, Page 80, Page 81, Page 82, Page 83.
Location #3: Page 74, Page 75, Page 76, Page 77, Page 78, Page 79, Page 80, Page 81, Page 82, Page 83.

In addition to the article and photos they printed in their magazine (see above), Game Informer added some exclusive content to their website. Since this content is only available to their paid subscribers, I would not normally publish it here. However, out of the three exclusive items, two have already been made public elsewhere, so I'm just simply archiving what is already out there. No harm in that.

• Ghostbusters Exclusive Screenshots And Artwork
  Most of these 20 images have since been made freely available by IGN (see gallery link at the top of this page). There may be a few that have not shown up elsewhere. Eventually I'll try to figure out which ones they are, and I'll add them to this page. In the meantime Chris over at Proton Charging has made all 20 freely available, however these are not the original images. The person that provided them to Chris chose to screen capture the images as displayed on the site instead of saving them directly (as I have done for my personal collection). So what follows are best described as copies of the original images and not the original images themselves (closely compare Image04 with the original image that is thumbnailed below to see that the copies have a loss in quality and a border): Image 01, Image 02, Image 03, Image 04, Image 05, Image 06, Image 07, Image 08, Image 09, Image 10, Image 11, Image 12, Image 13, Image 14, Image 15, Image 16, Image 17, Image 18, Image 19, Image 20.
  
  

• Raymond Stantz Unplugged: The Dan Aykroyd Interview
  This is the entire interview (only a portion of which is reprinted in the magazine), which has since been made freely available via a forum post by "Qzeddemoore".

  We spoke with original Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd on his role as writer and actor in the upcoming Ghostbusters game.

  Game Informer: How does it feel to come back to the Ghostbuster universe after all this time? Do you still get a lot of people coming up to you on the street asking about another movie?

  Dan Aykroyd: Well, practically and realistically, I've been telling people it's very doubtful that there's going to be a third movie. But now that I've seen the work on the video game, I've watched it progress, my rap now to people is, "This is essentially the third movie." And it's better than the third movie because it lasts longer, there's more development of the characters, there's more of a need for story layers. The guys have done a great job putting story layers in there that I can begin to embellish and work with. And I tell people this: "If you have an appetite for the third movie, then the video game is it." And I really do believe that at this point, from having seen what they've done there.

  Naturally, I've never been distant from the concept because people ask me all of the time about it. People bring me the reissued GB 1 and 2 on the disc to sign when I'm doing other business ventures. They always bring me Ghostbusters stuff. Somebody's always telling me that their kid is into it now and these are kids now 3, 4, 5 years old. A whole new generation is discovering it. It's not like I ever sort of put it in my past and locked the vault and walked away. It's always there as an active part of my creative life.

  GI: You and Harold Ramis wrote the first two movie scripts together, and I imagine it's quite exciting to work with him on this new game script.

  Aykroyd: Yes, he's by far my favorite collaborator. He's very intelligent, and, of course, does not believe in ghosts or the paranormal or supernatural in any way, shape or form. So it's fun to work with him because he's a complete skeptic. I am a believer and he is a skeptic, so the two of us make a great team.

  GI: What was it about the game that got you interested?

  Aykroyd: Well, it was just the idea of having a game based upon the characters and the premise. And then when we started to see the first renderings of how they were going to do it, what excited me was the look directly references the first movie. We're going back to a look that people know, the familiarity of the characters in terms of the way they behave and the way they look and the way they talk and the adversaries, because I think the first movie was really the best in the form and to have it depicted and not trying something new is the proper way to go. It almost has a classic kind of feel to it, which really works in terms of an animated and computer-generated piece of entertainment. Some of the games today are almost too, you know, there's no sort of sense of real characters in them. It's almost too processed. I don't know. Too computerized. These figures they walk and talk like real people. I think people are going to respond to it.

  GI: You mentioned earlier that Harold is the skeptic and you're the believer. Can you talk about your interest in the paranormal?

  Aykroyd: Yeah, it goes back to my great grandfather Sam Aykroyd, he was a dentist in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. And he, like many at that time, was interested in psychic research. Oliver Lodge, the great physicist and scientist, Arthur Conan Doyle--there were many physicians and scientists who were trying to figure out what's happening here in terms of the survival hypothesis.

  Ghost stories and stories of people channeling entities from the other side, people generating ectoplasm, levitating, speaking in trans-medium voices that seem to speak from the other side or the beyond. This intrigued scientists, physicians and researchers at the turn of the century, and there was a very strong movement called spiritualism, which today survives in many senses.

  We've got John Edwards on television, this new girl Lisa Williams. Check out your networks today. I think five shows deal with seeing ghosts, dealing with ghosts, and underwriting and underlying the concept that we do survive after death. This was a quest that my great grandfather was not alone in, and all of the journals from the British Society for Psychical Research and the American counterpart, the American Society for Psychical Research, which has probably the most extensive library on the paranormal and the supernatural in the world. They're in New York on West 77th street. Just magazines and stuff that my father had around the house. I grew up with this kind of stuff.

  Hearing about the séances that went on in the old farm house in the time of my grandfather, who was the son of Sam Aykroyd, and my dad, who was my grandfather's son. It goes really to four generations of Aykroyds interested in this. And I read an article in the ASPR about quantum physics and parapsychology and "ding," that's when it hit me. "Wouldn't it be great to do an old-style ghost comedy?" But treat it in a way that serious researchers are treating the material today.

  You know, Duke University had a paranormal program for the longest time, and in Brooklyn there was something called the Maimonides Dream Lab, and they were doing some really exciting research. I don't think there's a paranormal division in a university today in America.

  GI: That sounds kind of like Raymond Stanz. Are you excited to get back into the character of Ray? Will it be strange doing it in a voiceover studio rather than running around with a proton pack?

  Aykroyd: It's going to be fun. It is, as you say, there's a genuine enthusiasm that I feel personally and that I did infuse in the character. It's going to be great to go back and do that. I'm quite excited about it because the Ray character is a little bit over the top almost. Very enthusiastic, very vocal, almost sort of adolescent or childlike in the pursuit of all this stuff, and it's going to be great to be able to play that again. Not to worry too much about constraining the character. It's not a constrained character. It's the kind of character that will be able to shout and scream. So that's one of the elements I'm very excited about is participating firsthand again and getting to do that enthusiastic and unbridled character again.

  GI: Speaking of voiceovers, we understand that the team is trying to round up the principle cast members from the original movies. Are you interested in the possibility of getting the team back together?

  Aykroyd: I am. I hope we'll be able to work together and do some group work in the studio. I'll probably end up working with Harold and maybe Annie Potts and Bill Atherton. I don't know whether I'll do my sessions with [Bill] Murray or he'll do them with me. That would be the dream, because we'd get to go back to something that we both enjoyed working on in its original sense. And hopefully Harold and I will be strong on it and be able to share the studio together. Obviously, that's more exciting and will probably produce better quality if you have another actor there to play off than just being alone with the director. But I'll do the job however they present it to me, and it's going to be great.

  GI: Kind of going back to the writing side, how is it different writing for an interactive medium like video games versus writing for a movie?

  Aykroyd: Certainly the volume aspect is one that's daunting. We've got to come up with perhaps a little more variety in terms of expression and more volume in terms of dialogue. You know, a movie is only an hour and a half, whereas video play gets into the 10-hour stretches. So we probably are going to be retooling some terms, reinventing some terms, maybe originating new ideas, new concepts, new terms to address the aspect of the scientific research and the discipline, and then also the reactions to the various threats that we're seeing.

  We're going to be definitely marching over new territory here, and the differences are quite obvious because of the time involved in the play and the screenplay or the play in the game. There's a significant difference there because of the volume and the time that will impact how we approach the writing. And it's going to be challenging, but it's all going to be fun. Make up new words, new ideas, new concepts, new screams, new moans, new yells, new attitudes, some crankiness, some fear, some tenderness, some abject panic, hysteria. And Harold's sort of rational personality coming through. It'll be a nice blend of work again.

  GI: With the game being set in 1991 (two years after Ghostbusters 2), how did you decide on this time period and where do you think the characters are at this point?

  Aykroyd: It was obvious if we are going with the premise that this is the third story that it would have to advance in time somewhat. And I think the characters run a more successful business, it's accepted as matter of fact in the world that this is a company that exists and you call when there's trouble from the paranormal, supernatural realm. Just the fact that it's an accepted part of American life I think is a great element in the premise.

  Just the idea that these characters are now older, more experienced, perhaps a little more jaded, more tough, with maybe not as compassionate a view of the spirits that they used to have because these spirits come in and crash into our dimension. They're a pestilence. You have to balance the extermination view with the compassion view so that will be a whole attitude that wasn't there in the first two movies. We don't want to treat them mean, but we want to get rid of them because we've got clients who can't have them around. It's really that difference between elimination and understanding of the departed soul. I think that'll play in the writing and the performance and the attitude and the tone of the third piece.

  GI: Is it strange seeing a version of yourself 20 years ago running around in the game?

  Aykroyd: I like that because they were able to lose all of the weight I haven't been able to in the video game. I think, again, it's what people remember. It's what people are watching today, that first and second movie. So it's better that we hearken back to those original characters than try to depict the way Harold and I look today or the way we are today. It's almost a suspended moment in time, and I think the audiences will relate totally to the characters as they play because they're familiar with them in the form that they were seeing in the first two movies.

  GI: There have been a few Ghostbusters games in the past. Did you have the chance to play them when they came out and what did you think of them?

  Aykroyd: Yeah, they were done on more primitive platforms than are available today in more primitive formats. Obviously, you've seen what these guys are doing here. This takes it right into the 21st century of video-game technology and the concept of having an adult format and an adolescent format playing across all platforms really I don't think it could have come out maybe four or five years ago. And just the sophistication of the platforms, the uniformity almost that you can have a game that plays on all three, the Xbox, the PlayStation and the Wii. When the Genesis game came out, that option wasn't there. And these other games aren't as sharp-looking--they're pretty primitive if you look at them.

  GI: Do you play many video games these days?

  Aykroyd: I play with younger people usually. It's not something I sit down and do myself at this stage. Of course, I've played the Dungeons & Dragons, and House of the Dead, and I'm excited about sitting down to play some Halo because this is really, again, new cutting-edge technology, great story writing and great gameplay. That seems to have caught on fire around the world, and I'd like to familiarize myself with that--playing with a younger, more agile, expert player who can teach me some things.

  GI: Outside of this Ghostbusters project what other creative endeavors can we look forward to?

  Aykroyd: We're developing House of Blues out to more North American cities and then taking it around the world. So I'll be spending time basically opening them and doing publicity at the time of the opening. Doing pre-construction launch publicity, then investor relations and partnership relations, and after the places are built I'll come publicize them and bring my band to play.

  The other component of my life includes music and that's with Jim Belushi, the blood brother of Jake Blues. We have an act called the Blues Brothers Formal Classic Review and we do great songs and have wonderful musicians and we play casinos and private events and some charity events occasionally. We have quite a busy concert schedule coming up.

• A Sordid Gaming Past: The History Of Ghostbuster Video Games
  This article isn't freely available, and quite frankly, it doesn't really matter because it has nothing to do with the new game and isn't a very good read anyway. It doesn't cover all of the past Ghostbusters games, and the few that it does cover you probably already know more about than the article says. There are only two medium-sized screen shots. One from the New Ghostbusters II NES game (put in the wrong place on the page) and another from the Ghostbusters II NES game. If you already have a subscription, feel free to check out this article on the Game Informer website. However, this article is NOT worth buying a subscription for.

This morning the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man paid a visit to our GameStop Store Support Center in Grapevine, TX. This time, he wasn't trying to destroy the world as we know it. He just brought muffins.

The corpulent confection's appearance was in celebration of an announcement from Vivendi Games that Ghostbusters: The Video Game is officially in development and slated for an October 2008 release.

Writers and stars of the original Ghostbusters movies Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd teamed up to compose the script for the new game, and Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson will add their voice talents to the duo to reprise their roles, as well.

Although we're not sure whether it's "Who you gonna call?" or "Whom you gonna call?" we are sure you can pre-order your copy here.

In two separate places on their website, Jeff Mills from Red Fly Studio revealed more information on the Wii and PS2 versions of the game.

November 20, 2007 at 9:21 am:

1.) Our Wii/PS2 development is done in-house with a dedicated team for each project. Zen Studios (see About page for more info) handles our DS builds.

2.)The Nintendo Wii is our primary version of the Ghostbusters game. We are pushing that hardware to its maximum potential. Where necessary, the PS2 might have some aspects reduced (i.e. only 2-player multiplayer instead of the Wii's 4-player). But overall, Terminal Reality's Infernal Engine allows us to maximize each hardware set easily.

3.) There might be an occasional peek at the game on these pages, but hi-res images will come from Sierra throughout their marketing campaign in the coming year.

November 27, 2007:

I am here to assure you that Red Fly Studio is dedicated to the Nintendo Wii. Mushroom Men is exclusively designed for the Nintendo hardware, so our focus since the studio was born has been on making the best Wii experience possible. We've iterated on controls endlessly to find the best balance of traditional control while still taking full advantage of the possibilities offered by the Wii's unique hardware. Our biggest concern is not how to force motion controls onto a PS2 version of a game but how to squeeze the full-sized Wii game down to fit on the PS2.

That's not to say that the PS2 will be watered down. We're using Terminal Reality's Infernal Engine which has been extensively optimized over the past eight years. Portions of the engine are written directly to the PS2's hardware, allowing us to push the PS2 in ways no other engine can. That goes a long way toward allowing the Wii version of the game fit on the PS2.

Our product is not a simple down-port of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. It's a unique experience built from the ground up to make full and extensive use of the Wii's unique and powerful hardware as well as providing unique multiplayer experiences.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that holding the Wii remote should feel like you're holding the proton gun. That is the first thing everyone says when we mention "Ghostbusters" and "Wii" in the same sentence. There are a few other special treats for players who pick up the Wii version that will further immerse them into the game experience due to the Wii's controller. More will be revealed in the coming months.

Our primary objective as we develop this project is to make you feel like a Ghostbuster when you play our game. The Wii remote and nunchuck allow us to do that in so many ways. So Nintendo fans rejoice! Next year, you will bust some ghosts.

Author Martin Korda wrote an article about the game that was reworked into a few variations, quotes and all, which were published in different magazines. This news item reprints a few (all?) of the variations on his article. Although it's quite lazy to write one article, change it up, and have it reprinted in various magazines, I bet he got paid full price for each version - so more power to you Mr. Korda!

GHOSTBUSTERS
There's somethin' strange, in your neighbourhood. Who you gonna call?
by Martin Korda

New Yorkers are going ghost-crazy. No, not because it's 1984 and nerdy accountant Rick Moranis and cello-playing lovely Sigourney Weaver have just been turned into eight-foot-long hell dogs by a satanic being called Gozer, who looks uncannily like a female version of Prince. And no, not because it's 1989 and the Statue of Liberty is schlepping between the city blocks to take on a pug-nosed 3D painting of a 17th century Moldavian nutjob. No, the reason for this supernatural hysteria is because it's 1991, and the Ghostbusters, mercifully redeemed from their lowly status as children's party entertainers, are back in vogue, back in business and back to their best in a videogame that's shaping up to be the spiritual successor to the two movies.

Ghostbusters the game isn't so much a belated homage to one of the finest comedy movies of the 1980s (and arguably of all time) as it is a threequel - and what's more, it's one penned by none other than the comedy-writing dream team of Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, who made the first two movies such wildly enjoyable romps. Okay, okay - who made the first movie such a wildly enjoyable romp.

Ghostbusters III?

Picking up the story in 1991 (two years after Ghostbusters II), we find the lads are enjoying so much success that they've decided to start up a franchise. And as with any expanding business, that means taking on some new recruits - in this case, you. A third-person action blaster, Ghostbusters is already promising as many thrills as chills, plus a full case of new and goofily terrifying creatures to complement some old favorites set to rise from their graves to reprise their roles from the two films.

While business may be booming for the 'Busters, sinister happenings in New York signal the start of another potential apocalypse. With New Yorkers increasingly seduced by the allure of Gozerian law and with the imminent opening of a museum of Gozerian exhibits, the boys in boiler suits suddenly find themselves busier than ever and tackling some of their deadliest adversaries to date.

"All of the significant ghosts from the two films will be making a return, such as the two brothers who were prisoners. Some ghosts will have stories; others will be simpler," promises the game's executive producer John Melchior, as we sit down with the development team in the office of Terminal Reality.

Shhhhhhhhhhhh

One example of a familiar spook returning for a second outing is the impatient shushing librarian from the original movie, a character whose true motivations were never revealed. "A lot of ghosts like the librarian will have a lot of background information about them that you'll be able to read up on in Tobin's Spirit Guide," explains Drew Haworth, the game's creative director. "We're trying to hit the main points about the ghosts with backstories in the FMVs. When you go back to the firehouse, you'll be able to see ghosts inside the containment unit and find out more information about them there." And speaking of the firehouse, yes, you will be able to slide down the pole.

The librarian features in an early level that'll see you visiting every shadow in the giant book depository. Through careful pacing and carefully planned scares, the team at Terminal Reality is hoping it can generate a sense of genuine unease, punctuated by moments of humour, as the 'Busters exchange their trademark wisecracks, acerbic observations and exclamations of childlike excitement at the sighting of a real ghost. "We're trying to rely on tension rather than gore," says lead level designer Andy Dombroski as he leads us through the game's opening library level, which takes him deep underground into the basement in search of the book-minding apparition. "There are sections in which you'll jump and be genuinely scared, but we don't use gore unless it's funny gore, just like the films."

Spirited away

Melding subtle use of understated sounds, wheeling, elongated, screeching violin notes and clever use of shadow, the library level exudes a palpable sense of dread. As Dombroski stalks through the building, he uses his handy PKE meter to track down the locations of nearby ghosts. "One of your tasks will be to scan ghosts," says Haworth as his colleague makes his way through meandering corridors of books. "As soon as you scan a ghost with the PKE meter, you'll be able to access all of the information about it in Tobin's Spirit Guide. It's also used as a guiding rod to show you which way you need to go or give you clues as to where clues are."

Suddenly books are sucked off the shelves and form lumbering warrior apparitions with shields forged from hardbacks. Dombroski assaults his attackers with a pulse blast from his Proton Pack, propelling books against tightly packed shelves and dislodging a wealth of reading material. Every object moves with incredible realism thanks to Terminal Reality's revamped Infernal engine, which appears to be fully utilising next-gen tech.

Having fought his way through the eerie basement, Dombroski brings the level to a close with the librarian herself, who spews countless minions forth to distract the 'Busters before being sucked into a well-positioned trap.

Movie magic

"We're trying to deliver a cinematic experience," explains Haworth. "Our emphasis is on lots of physics, lots of action and environmental manipulation, as well as all of the weapons and gadgets you've seen in the movies."

We're sufficiently impressed by what we've seen to believe that Ghostbusters has the potential to become an electrifying blaster, one admirably complemented by clever pacing, psychological terror and some of the best one-liners this side of Hollywood. With Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd already on board, and working closely with Terminal Reality to ensure that the game remains true to the franchise from opening shock to terrifying climax - and with all of the other major cast members (Sigourney Weaver aside) being approached to reprise their roles for their third ghost-hunting adventure (apparently, none have yet refused, although deals are still to be finalised) - there's plenty to feel positive about.

Perhaps our only concern at this stage is that the game could become a little repetitive over the course of its eight-to-ten-hour duration if it sticks rigidly to the tension/action formula of the levels we saw, so here's hoping Terminal Reality has a few tricks up its sleeves to mix things up a little and ensure that this hugely promising blaster fully lives up to its potential and the Ghostbusters legacy.

It may be 23 years since the original movie captured our young hearts and imaginations with such aplomb, but judging by the witty dialogue, the mix of familiar ghosts and locations with all-new challenges, and the superb action sequences and physics on show, this console incarnation of Ghostbusters is shaping up to be not only the first truly great Ghostbusters game, but also a genuine spiritual successor to the movies. New Yorkers may be going ghost-crazy, but if Terminal Reality can manage to pull this off, they definitely won't be the only ones.

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Did you know?
BUSTIN' THROUGH TIME

In the original draft of the first film, the story was set in the future, with teams of Ghostbusters being similar to firefighters. But the studio baulked at the projected $300 million cost, and brought in Harold Ramis to rewrite the script in a modern-day setting.
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COMPETITIVE BUSTERS
What's in store online and in the store?

While Terminal Reality wouldn't talk about multiplayer on Xbox 360, the developer did divulge plenty of info about the PS2 and Wii multiplayer modes, which will no doubt influence the Xbox version. These include Ghosts vs Busters missions - which see you playing either as apparitions who can walk through walls and slime their opponents or as heavily armed members of the team - and ghost-catching challenges, in which, unsurprisingly, you'll need to capture as many ghosts as possible. Co-op play in under consideration, though the developer's commitment to making you feel like a new member of an established team may prevent this feature from coming to fruition. Extras such as new ghosts, weapons and levels are likely to form the backbone of the game's additional downloadable content.
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ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Its time to grill some ghosts...

The game is set to feature a wide range of upgradable ghost-busting weaponry. As well as the standard proton gun, you'll get to fire proton torpedoes and shotguns, 'slam beams' and 'electron beams'. There's also a Tether Gun, with which you can connect objects together with goo.
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Did you know?
ON THE CASTING COUCH

The original plan for the film's cast was very different to what you see on screen. The role of Dr. Peter Venkman was intended for John Belushi, John Candy was supposed to play Louis Tully, and the role of Winston Zeddemore was written for Eddie Murphy.
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SETTING THE SCENE
New and old action sequences set to blow you away...

STAY PUFT
A sequence in which you dodge cars hurled by Mr. Stay Puft and a rematch of the skyscraper battle from the original film mean the Michelin Man wannabe will be playing a major role.

SLIMER
That cheeky blob Slimer is one of the most recognisable ghosts in history. You'll catch him in a posh dining hall and wreak utter carnage just like in the original movie.

ECTO-1
While you won't get a chance to drive it, there will be several action sequences involving Ecto-1, during which you'll have to fend off waves of ghosts attacks to protect the famous vehicle.
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1224x1632, 541kb

Bustin' Makes Us Feel Good...
GHOSTBUSTERS
Keymaster Martin Korda travels to Dallas to take the world's first look at the new Ghostbusters game and answer the big question on everybody's mind... how is Elvis?
There's nothing quite like a comeback story to capture the imagination. In 1989, the Ghostbusters were down and out, broke and about as popular as a council health inspector about to rupture a spirit containment system. Forced to suffer the ignominy of making guest appearances at the parties of ungrateful snot-nosed brats in exchange for a few bucks, the boys in boiler suits were about as low as they could get without actually being scalded by the Earth's core.

Gone were the days when they stood proudly atop skyscrapers battling giant sweet icons with their nuclear-accelerated proton packs in a last-ditch bid to save the world. The dream was over. Obscurity beckoned. Bankruptcy was knocking at their door like a restless poltergeist. And then, everything changed. One pug-nosed painting with a god complex, a dancing toaster, and an animated iconic US statue later, and the boys were back in vogue. The film was a bit shit, and Slimer drove Rick Moranis around in a bus for no apparent reason, but the 'busters were back in business.

SO SHE'S A DOG...
You rejoin the 'busters in 1991, when they find themselves busier than ever, since New York has adopted an unhealthy interest in Gozarian law. Now Gozer was the lady with the '80s hair who pranced around in the altogether at the close of the first film having many aeons ago been 'very big in Sumeria'. But now, horror of horrors, the short attention span of New Yorkers has led to the opening of a Gozerian museum. This coincides with a worrying, if inevitable, spike in paranormal activity, so the 'busters are forced to employ a new recruit (you) to deal with the workload.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Ghostbusters (the game) - apart from the fact that you'll be able to slide down the firehouse pole - is that it has the potential to be a real sequel to the two movies, thanks to the involvement of screenwriters and cast members Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The duo has jumped onboard to write the script, to ensure the game remains true to the Ghostbusters films and reprise their roles as the hyperactive Dr Raymond Stantz and acerbic Dr Egon Spengler.

"Dan and Harold have always bounced around the idea of doing something else with Ghostbusters," explained the game's executive producer John Melchior during our recent visit to Dallas-based Terminal Reality. "We made a prototype and took it to Dan and Harold. As soon as they saw it, it was perfect for them. They were at the point where they were willing to discuss Ghostbusters again. Harold and Dan have come up with the overarching storyline. They gave us the framework, characters and locations and then we made them and went back to them. Harold and Dan are extremely involved in the production process."

OLD AND NEW
While Ghostbusters is very much a continuation of the movies, Terminal Reality is keen to ensure that the first few hours of this third-person shooter will be instantly familiar to fans, with numerous well-known faces making an appearance in the opening few levels, including floating green pustule Slimer and the intolerant librarian from the start of the original flick.

Creative director Drew Haworth explained that he and his team were using these reappearances as a chance to delve more deeply into the background of each ghost. "One of your tasks will be to scan ghosts," explained Drew as he fired up the game's library level. "You'll have to scan the ghosts with your PKE meter to be able to access information about them in Tobin's Spirit Guide."

"All of the significant ghosts will be making a return," interjected John as Drew descended into the library's basement. "We're making a lot of ghosts that are more set-piece contextual ghosts, such as two brothers who were prisoners. Some ghosts will have stories, others will be simpler. Many ghosts, like the Librarian, will have a lot of background information about them."

GOOFBALL GHOULS
Meanwhile, strange things were afoot in the basement, where a genuine sense of unease was being generated by haunting glissando violins, subtle sound effects and excellent use of shadows. Drew stalked through the level, guided by the fluctuations of his PKE meter. Suddenly, books leapt from shelves like popcorn from a furnace, then formed into lumbering hardback warriors that Drew incinerated with a volley from his proton pack. Drew only stopped dispatching these spooks when he met his fellow 'busters, who dispelled the tension with the genius comedic one-liners that made the movies.

"We're trying to rely on tension rather than gore," explained lead level designer Andy Dombroski as an on-screen Egon remarked how the off the chart paranormal readings were going to force him to make new charts.

"There are sections in which you'll jump and be genuinely scared," continued Andy. "We don't use gore unless it's funny gore. Our uneasiness and scares are usually kind of goofy, just like in the movies."

One of the less goofy scares came from the Librarian, who turned her frail frame into a whirring ball of power that sucked books into its core and spat them out as legions of apparitions. The 'busters - rather than running away screaming as they had when they first met her - fought frantically to stem the tide, using an array of weaponry previously unseen in the movies, including proton torpedoes, electron pulses, and even shotgun-style particle-accelerated blasts. After repelling all that the Librarian threw at them, the 'busters captured the fleeing ghoul in their beams, slammed her against shelves to soften her up (causing no end of destruction thanks to the superb physics of Terminal Reality's Infernal engine) and then sucked her into a trap, ready to be deposited into the containment unit back at the firehouse.

"Our emphasis is on lots of physics, lots of action and environmental manipulation, as well as all of the weapons and gadgets you've seen in the movies," enthused Drew as the level came to a close with a couple more wisecracks from the victorious 'busters. "Every ghost that you trap you'll earn money for," he continued. "We're looking into letting you earn more cash if you manage to capture a ghost in impressive ways, like bouncing it off a wall and straight into a trap."

Apart from the tether gun (a goo-firing weapon that'll allow you to link objects in order to solve physics-based puzzles), all of the game's weapons will be fired from the proton pack, which will double as a HUD. You'll also be able to upgrade each weapon with the cash you earn, bolstering each one's range and ability to inflict damage.

THERE IS NO DANA
Also making an appearance will be the 'busters' decrepit shaggin' wagon Ecto 1, which is set to feature in a race towards Times Square.

"Leading up to Times Square, the streets will be like a disaster movie. So you'll have to escort Ecto 1 through the carnage as it's being massively attacked by spooks."

Conversation then, once again, drifted to the return of the series' founders and the legendary cast of supporting characters that made the movies such a triumph.

"We've gone after everybody that has ever appeared in a Ghostbusters movie," explained John when pressed on who might be returning for another ghost-catching escapade. And haven't they just? Alongside Ramis and Ackroyd, Bill Murray is set to reappear as comedy-anchor Peter Venkman while Ernie Hudson (who surely doesn't have the busiest of calendars) is back as Winston Zeddmore.

Add into this the nasty busybody Walter Peck, ginger receptionist Janice... Essentially the only one not confirmed is that ghost that fellated Ray one night, when he might have only been dreaming. This said, a definite non-appearance is Sigourney Weaver, whose character, Dana Barrett, has been written out of the game's script to make way for a new female lead who'll provide a few romantic distractions between your paranormal pummelling.

Twenty-three years is a long time to wait for a game worthy of the Ghostbusters franchise, and while it's still way too early to start making grandiose promises, the very involvement of Aykroyd and Ramis, along with the searing action and some impressively destructible levels, suggest that Terminal Reality has an excellent chance of creating a game that'll bring this franchise back from the dead. After all, there's nothing quite like a comeback story to capture the imagination. You know what? I love this town!

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PUFT UP
"I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood."

The Michelin Man's twin brother is set to play a pivotal and highly destructable role in Ghostbusters.

When you first meet Mr. Puft you'll have to use nimble footwork and accurate shooting to avoid a barrage of cars. Next you'll have to hang off the side of a skyscraper as the giant white blobby sailor boy clambers towards you, intent on administering you with a lethal dose of sugar.

Looks like we'll all finally be able to live out our greatest Ghostbusters fantasy, and I'm not talking about the one involving Dana Barrett in THAT dress, with THOSE split personalities and an industrial sized tub of baby oil.
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