GHOSTBUSTERS By: Activision Download: ghost.zip Hints & Tips Ghostbusters is a game based on the film of the same name. At the time of it's release Ghostbusters was a big hit and starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver. The rather novel plot told of a group of men in New York who started an extermination company. What is so special about that? Well this extermination company didn't deal with vermin such as rats or bugs. This group got rid of ghosts! This comedy was a good film but what is the CPC game like? Will it prove that busting makes you feel good or is the game something strange and it don't look good. Read on to find out.

In the game you have decided to set-up a Ghostbusters franchise in your city. The bank gives you $ 10,000 to buy equipment to start your business and the aim of the game is simply to make more money. When you finish the game your given a password which lets you start the game next time with the bank balance you had when you completed the game. Hopefully you will have earned more dough than you started with and you will be able to buy more/better equipment next time round.

What equipment am I talking about? Well the first thing you need is a car in order to get to ghost infested locations. There are four different cars on offer with differing prices. The more costly the car the more equipment it can carry and the faster it goes. Time is money so the less time spent driving from location to location the better (hence the need for a fast car). You also need to return to base when you use up all your traps so being able to carry more items reduces the need for time wasting journeys back to your headquarters. Other equipment you can get include traps for capturing ghosts, a vacuum to suck up spirits whilst driving, a sensor and a few other bits and bobs.

Once your buying is done the fun can begin. Your presented with a map of the city and you have to wait for customers to call. Buildings which start to flash red have a ghost and you should get there pronto by moving the Ghostbusters logo to the building and pressing fire. This launches you to a fairly pointless driving section. In it you move your car left and right. There isn't much you can do apart from sucking up the occasional ghost that appears (providing that you have purchased the necessary equipment to do so.)

Eventually the driving section will end and you will reach the haunted house. In this part of the game you find yourself in front of a building with a ghost flying about. The first thing you do is move your ghostbuster to wherever you wish and drop a trap. After that you position two ghostbusters and fire your beams. The trick here is to hit the ghost or at least try to herd the ghost near the trap by moving your ghostbusters near the ghost and pushing him towards the trap. When you think the time is right you open the trap in the hope of catching the beastie. If you do so you get some cash. If you don't the ghost swoops down and knocks down one of your men.

That pretty much covers the game. You keep repeating that routine and occasionally return to base. You'll do this when all your traps are full, three of your men get knocked down by ghosts or you beam back-packs run out of juice (you can see how much power they have by pressing space on the map screen). Marshmallow man sometimes appears on the map screen and needs to be trapped, but on the whole you carry on driving to houses and catching ghosts until the end of the game. When this happens you have to have to drive to the Zuul house at the centre of the city and get two men through a doorway. Pretty easy to do as the only obstacle in your way is a jumping marshmallow man. If you succeed you get some bonus cash, if not… ah well better luck next time.

All in all Ghostbusters is a fun game although a tad repetitive. The graphics are pretty basic but do what they are meant to do just fine. If it functions and is clear why complain? Sounds are also fairly limited. When the game starts you are treated to a karaoke of the Ghostbusters tune. I hope you enjoy the song because the same one plays throughout the game. Apart from that all you get is a cry of "Ghostbusters" when you catch a ghost or an evil laugh when a ghost knocks out one of your men (both which also are heard in the karaoke.) The game is enjoyable but rather basic. It's fun whilst it lasts which is rather short due to it's simple and repetitive nature.

Rating: 76%