To limit the amount of game conventions introduced into the Ghostbusters world, there is no traditional HUD. Instead, things like health and energy levels are built right into the character models, with the latter shown on your proton pack's backpack. The single-player game is an entirely new storyline, yet in addition to the new environments, the developers knew that players would want the chance to take part in some of the most popular ghostly takedowns from the first two films. So, many of these iconic scenes have been somehow built into the game's new plot -- including the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man, the Public Library scene that opened the first film, the hotel capture of Slimer, and the courtroom fight from the second film. We can only hope that Aykroyd and Ramis managed to come up with plausible story reasons for the game to revisit these scenes.
Even Gozer, the ultimate Big Bad from the first movie, makes a return appearance, despite his/her seeming destruction at the end of that film. We're reintroduced to Gozer through Alyssa Milano's character, Ilyssa Selwyn, who's an expert in Sumerian cultures, visiting NYC for a "World of Gozer" exhibit at the Natural History Museum. It's this exhibit -- brought on by growing public interest in all things Gozer, due to the Ghostbusters' newfound popularity -- that sets off the game's story. Selwyn just may be the key to resolving the entire situation, because strange things keep happening all around her, and it's hinted that she may know a big, dangerous secret -- though she may not realize she knows it. Threewave is developing multiplayer modes, and they're shaping up to be fairly unique.
Knowing that typical deathmatch or capture-the-flag modes wouldn't offer anything all that exciting or new in a Ghosbusters setting, Threewave instead decided to focus on co-op. But don't expect to simply play through the single-player game with a group of friends. Ghostbusters' Multiplayer mode is an entirely other game in and of itself. Taking a page from Left 4 Dead, Ghostbusters' Multiplayer will team up four live players in the roles of the "real" Ghostbusters, with a strong focus on teamwork, yet not so encumbered by hardcore tactics that casual players will find it unappealing. You and three buddies will team up to travel throughout New York City, taking on paranormal elimination jobs to earn money.
You'll have the option to compete against your teammates for the most money earned, but if you choose instead to work together, ghosts will be defeated with less exertion and everyone involved in the takedown gets a higher overall score. Ghostbusters: The Video Game isn't setting out to revolutionize FPS gaming. It's attempting to deliver a high-tech, authentic Ghostbusters experience, with all of the gadgets, comedic repartee, and ghostly mythology elements that made the movies so memorable. If successful, this game will wield something mightier than any proton pack could deliver: nostalgia.
