Ghostbusters 2 review - Nintendo Entertainment System

Five years after their heroic victory over Zuul and Gozer the Destructor, the Ghostbusters find themselves in dire straits (playing lead guitar, presumably). The city of New York is suing them for the damage caused during the battle and public opinion has turned against them - so there's no work coming their way. Things are desperate, and the 'Busters need an emergency to save their jobs....

The first level of the game takes place in the sewers under the city, where one (it's unclear which) of the heroes travels through the slimy place, zapping ghoulies and avoiding giant spiders and disembodied hands. Once this section is cleared, it's into the Ectomobile and through the tenement buildings.

Hosts of ghosts attack, and the Ectomobile can fire and jump (?!?) to bypass foes and obstacles. After that, the action moves to the museum which has to be cleared of spooks. A walking Statue of Liberty makes an appearance, and then it's on to the final showdown with Vigo.

Bustin' Makes You Feel Good - Released just over a year ago, Ghostbusters II was the rather disappointing sequel to one of the biggest grossing comedies of all time, the 1984 mega-hit Ghostbusters. It once again starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Rick Moranis bustin' ghosts in New York, but sadly the film simply failed to deliver the laughs and fun of the original movie. If you're after a good evening's entertainment, rent the Ghostbusters video instead.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

Ghostbusters fails to impress me in any way. The graphics are bland in the extreme, the sound is a tinny reproduction of the theme music, and the gameplay is monotonous. The blurriness of the screen is distracting, and the game simply switches from left to right scrolling to right to left scrolling - not very exciting or original. Only one level stands out as being anything other than average, and I'm afraid that isn't enough to push the game past the dodgy situation it finds itself in. So although Ghostbusters II can be fun for a short while, I can't honestly recommend it as a purchase.

I didn't think that this was all that bad as games go. It's pretty challenging, and is enjoyable in a frustrating sort of way (there are lots of horrible suprises to catch out an unsuspecting player) and there's plenty of variety so that you won't get bored quickly. However, I must admit that if I was forking out my hard-earned cash for it, I'd expect better visual and aural presentation. The graphics are feeble, with blocky, poorly animated sprites and naff backdrops and the sound is very average. A shame, really, when you consider that Ghostbusters II is actually fun to play. Take a look by all means - but don't expect to be bowled over.