Activision's Ghostbusters Thread - All Versions Reviewed, Ranked, Screenshots

[wongojack | 322]

Hey there, I created this thread to bring together all of the comments, reviews and screenshots I've posted in 2024 about Activision's Ghostbusters.  This started when I purchased the recent Intellivision Ultimate Edition and continued as I played through a handful of other versions in my backlog.  On a trip to Japan, I acquired the Famicom version and decided to keep going through all the commercially released editions as well as a few others that I encountered along the way.  I'll start by posting my general thoughts about all the editions and then will post the reviews I wrote as I posted them in 2024.  Since it took months to play all the versions there could be some inconsistencies in my comments when they are posted all together.

In the coming days/weeks, I'll be re-playing some of the versions and working toward an ultimate ranking.  That will give me the chance to re-evaluate and correct anything I may have re-thought since my original posts/reviews.  Edit - Click for FINAL RANKINGS in this post.

 

I first played Ghostbusters on a copied/shared/pirated disk on my family's Commodore 64 in what must have been 1985 or 1986.  That would have made me 9 or 10, and I'm sure I had already seen the movie.  The presentation was amazing at the time when just the opening speech and rendition of the song were enough to get my younger self immediately interested.  The game was initially very complex to me.  I'd boot it up and catch some ghosts, but how to get the advanced equipment and earn enough money to win wasn't something my child-brain could handle.  As an adult, the game seems quite easy to understand and to play. 

The foundational premise picks up on the financial aspect of the Ghostbusters movie - the team is taking a risk on starting a new business.  So, you have to manage your money by buying your initial equipment and travelling around NYC catching ghosts to pay back what you spent.  While AVGN didn't like it, I think this is a perfectly fine thing to borrow from the movie and adds a very natural scoring system to the gameplay.  There's also quite a bit of creativity in the various items that you can purchase, and these items continue to get more varied and advanced in the NES and SMS versions.  In this way the game expands on the Ghostbusters lore and gets you excited about some of the things that could possibly exist in this fantasy world of ghost extermination.

The gameplay consists of strategizing how to travel around the city in the most efficient way and perfecting your ghost trapping technique to be the fastest possible (faster catch = higher $$ & score).  Each version seems to bring something different to the ghost catching screen (which I think is the core of the game).  Some seem unfair, some more straightforward.  I don't think any of them are particularly easy, but if you think outside the box a bit then you can predict where the ghosts will go a bit better.  The segments where you control the car can be nice interludes that make you think about the car in the movie and the various upgrades you've applied, but even at their best, they feel like filler most of the time.  Older versions all include some screen where you have to "sneak" your ghostbusters past a bouncing marshmallow man.  Similar to the car, this serves mostly as a chance to put something from the movie in the game, but it provides a suitable end-game accomplishment before you can start over with whatever money you've made and try again with new equipment.  The SMS and NES versions add two additional segments, one where the ghostbusters climb the stairs of the building and another where they shoot at Gozer.  I think those extra segments do a nice job of integrating more of the movie with the game and giving the player a better sense of completion/accomplishment.

As a showcase of the movie, Ghostbusters is a success.  As a player, I get to interact with the characters and activity in the movie, and I can reminisce about my favorite parts while seeing symbols and icons from the film on my computer/tv.  The equipment even deepens the content a bit and lets me imagine what other things the ghostbusters might use or encounter in their day-to-day life as ghost exterminators.  If we take the experience away from the context of the movie and only consider its value as a game then I think it suffers quite a bit.  If the designers had embraced the "high score" element of the game a bit more and tested ways to further challenge the player with higher difficulty, then it could have been really great.  As it is, I think this is an acceptable way to expand the experience of seeing the movie and have a little fun role playing running your own Ghostbusters business.  There is a little bit of challenge and re-play ability thanks to the inclusion of some extra vehicles and equipment, but most people will be done with the game once they sneak past Stay Puft.

Edited September 28 by wongojack

[wongojack | 322]

Originally posted April 22, 2024

 

Ghostbusters UE for the Intellivision is a masterwork of taking a truly classic property, putting (almost) everything that could have been in it back then into a new game and releasing it as a homebrew.  The game will use Intellivoice and the ECS (if you have them) to play voice overs and enhanced music.  It has more scenes from the movie, more music from the movie and adds more challenge than the classic versions did by making a few smart updates to the item selection and the debt system.  They did stick to the early release endgame and omitted the stair climbing and vertical shooting level found in the NES and the SMS version, but the game is more streamlined and possibly better for it.  I appreciated that it ended up actually being kind of hard to catch the ghosts in this version.  Even with multiple strategies, I still miss a few here and there which adds to the replayability and challenge of what was such an impressive gaming sequence when the title released on the C64 all those years ago. 

On the other hand, what this version really does is show you the shortcomings of the original game.  Once you've gotten used to the ups and downs of ghost extermination (and know how to use bait to stop a Marshmallow attack) you'll find a game on default settings remarkably easy.  I mention that bit about the bait because when I played this game as a kid, I never knew I could reach over and press 'B' to stop the marshmallow man.  It wasn't until years later that I finally read the manual and finished the C64 version of the game.

As a huge Ghostbusters fan who has massive nostalgia for the original game, I am very happy with this.  I'm working to win with all of the cars which is proving to be a satisfying challenge because when you continue from a previous game, you must always finish with more money than you started.  So, if you buy the sports car, you've got to catch enough ghosts to pay it back before the city's PKE level reaches the critical state.  I give Ghostbusters UE a 4 out 5.  Without nostalgia, I might drop it down to a 3 due to the somewhat simple game loop and lack of true difficulty options, but I am still excited to keep playing it, and the little touches added make me smile whenever I catch a few ghosts.

 

Ghostbusters for the SMS is a game that I've been meaning to really sit down and play for years.  I got my vintage hardware out and even discovered that I'd acquired 2 physical copies of the game - overprepared.  The game makes some interesting choices in the beginning section, giving you more options to purchase equipment some of which I believe is unique to this version.  You are also given the chance to upgrade your equipment by stopping at a store on the map during gameplay.  This is really cool and opens up some differences in the game, but as I played with this equipment, I discovered that it just made the game easier.  It is an easy game to begin with and there are no difficulty options or post game difficulty increases, so carrying over money from a previous game makes me feel like the Monopoly man who just buys his way to victory. 

In the actual ghost catching sequences, the "streams" of the ghostbusters' proton packs are now pointed straight up, which means there's no way to cross the streams.  It also means that it is pretty hard for the ghosts to actually escape you once you've gotten them between your laser throwing ghost cowboys. Conservative shootin Tex.  Catching them in a trap rarely fails and the $$ just piles up faster than you can say I feel so funky.  Which reminds me that while the music is excellent there is no speech in this version.  That doesn't seem like a big deal, but as a fan of the old C64 version, I really missed the occasional computer voice encouraging me onward.  The 2 sections added to the game see you climbing a staircase while shooting at/avoiding ghosts and then shooting vertically towards Gozer (misspelled in the manual and the game as Gorza).  The staircase is remarkably difficult and the shooting sequence after it a little easier than expected.  Since the ghostbusters didn't actually shoot lasers at Gozer  to defeat him/her to end the movie, this definitely feels like an add-on.  However, it does give the player a nice variety of gameplay and makes ending the game feel like more of an accomplishment than the versions released for less powerful platforms.

I was pleased with this version of Ghostbusters and appreciated the extra levels at the end to give me some variety and a challenging ending to overcome.  However, I spent most of my time playing as a hyper-efficient ghost catching team who could essentially upgrade my abilities at will.  Extra money just made the longest section of the game borderline boring.  I still enjoyed my time with the game, but I give it a somewhat disappointed 3 out of 5.  In a direct comparison of both of these games, the SMS certainly has more variety and all the advantages of its hardware, but if I'm going back in for more, I'd rather play the Intellivision version.

Edited September 8 by wongojack

[wongojack | 322]

Originally Posted August 4, 2024

 

I picked up a copy of the Famicom version while I was in Japan and ended up playing that cart when I brought it back home.  The Famicom/NES version gets criticized often with AVGN giving it a lot of flak almost 20 years ago.  I was surprised to discover that while some of the criticism is true, the NES version offers some unique gameplay that deepens the experience and lets you enjoy the actual ghostbusting section of the game in a refreshing way.  It has the distinction of having the most compelling ghost catching gameplay loop and while the addition of a stairway section that requires button tapping might have been unforgiveable at one point, the prevalence of turbo controllers make it a minor complaint in 2024.  It might be the worst looking version of the game, but despite its flaws, I found a lot of compelling gameplay in this version, and I give it a 4 out of 5.

 

The 2600 version of Ghostbusters is one of those games that probably shouldn't exist.  I'm sure that if David Crane didn't have personal knowledge of the 2600 that this version would have never been made.  Did it really make sense for Activision to release it?  Well, it does exist, and it does a nice job of including all the basic elements of the original game.  There's no stair climbing or final battle with Gozer, but the ghost catching, driving, and bouncing Marshmallow Man are in here.  You can even continue with your earnings like the other versions, but there is no password this time.  The problem with the 2600 version is that once you get your strategy down for catching ghosts, the game offers no challenge at all, and the continue system lets you play and play and play until you max out the score.  Unlike other versions, there are no new cars to buy or advanced equipment to try.  The only challenge might come from severely limiting your equipment which is definitely less fun.  While this game is nice to have around for a few smiles, it is probably the least fun version of the game.  I give it a 2 out of 5.

 

[wongojack | 322]

Originally posted August 8, 2024

 

The ZX Spectrum - boy is this computer a strange animal.  Sometimes when I play games on this thing, I wind up wondering "how'd they do that" and other times, I want to turn it off almost immediately.  Unfortunately, the version of Ghostbusters for the machine fits into the "when can I turn this off?" category.  The basics are all here and, in terms of game options, it manages to offer even more than the 2600 version, but they somehow killed all of the charm in the game.  The 48k version has almost no sound at all except for the intro screen - it is almost completely silent, almost.  The ghostbusters do have vocalizations when they catch a ghost or get slimed, and it is horrid to listen to.  I'll give them some credit in that I knew what the characters were saying, but it sounds awful.  In fact, everything about this version feels like it is about to break and make the spectrum burst into flames.  The driving segment is so painfully slow that it feels like a slideshow.  I tried in two different emulators, and the movement of the car was extremely choppy.  The ghost catching sequence is functional, and you can actually trap the ghosts in this version under your streams for a satisfying capture, but then you have to listen to the Spectrum blurt out a vocalized Ghostbusters which sounds like a nails on the chalkboard category punishment after about the 2nd time.  The 128k version adds music to the NYC map and driving which does help, but the slow-down (which is both constant and ebbs to even slower at times) is unbearable.  That reminds me that I skipped over the fact that as the game starts it writes the menus and instructions on screen like a typewriter.  This was kinda neat on the C64, but here it is so slow that you are just wondering if you'll catch cold and die before it finishes.  To deal with this, I had to speed up the emulation to even get through a play session.  While this game manages to retain almost all of the features of the C64 original, it begs you to quit from the first moments.  Even the start-up vocalization of Ghostbusters sucks.  1 out of 5.

 

The Apple ][ version is, well it's ok.  After playing the Spectrum or 2600 versions, you get back to an understanding of what this game was supposed to be in the first place.  The original intent of the game designer is back and easily identifiable.  There are no vocalizations, and the game is mostly silent (probably thankful for that). The sound we do hear is that pitifully basic Apple ][ sound.  The graphics are serviceable, and all of the game elements work and feel like they are worthwhile.  I know there were a ton of expansions and add-on cards for the Apple ][, but the version I played looked and was animated like a very basic Apple ][ game complete with ugly pallet and color clash in certain places.  That makes the graphics average for the time and pretty bad from a "looking back" perspective.  Thankfully the gameplay here is reasonably fast and the ghostbusting loop is satisfying to play.  If you wanted to play Activision's Ghostbusters in 1984 then this would probably have scratched your itch just fine.  However, knowing all the alternatives, I consider this game to still be a bit below average.  I give it a 2 out of 5.

 

 

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[wongojack | 322]

Originally posted August 17, 2024

 

Amstrad CPC - This was my first time seriously playing the Amstrad version (or any Amstrad game), and I wasn't impressed.  Some basic gameplay elements are different or just not here.  For example, missing a ghost does not raise the PKE level 300pts in this version which contributes to long stretches where the player is just sitting and waiting for something to happen.  It is a really slow pace.  On the positive side, the graphics and sound on this version are nicely presented with plenty of color and full soundtrack and sounds (except the ghost vacuum sound).  Despite the nice colors and perfectly decent artwork, they seem to have only created two building facades.  Even the end sequence to sneak your ghostbusters past the Marshmallow Man uses a recycled building.  That seems like a signal that this version just didn't get very much attention.  Gameplay suffers too.  There are jumps and jerks in the vehicle stage, and there is considerable flicker on the ghost catching screen.  This is also the only version where the ghost seemed to be able to "flicker" his way through your proton beam and escape capture - grrr. 

Marshmallow Alert - once I got the PKE level up to 5000, the Marshmallow Man did appear.  The animation for stopping him was sooo slow that I almost thought the game had crashed or something.  Well, he never appeared again.  I waited in one spot, went to various buildings.  I tried to milk the clock, but he never came back.  This may seem like a small issue, but it fundamentally changes the flow of the game and removes a lot of the excitement of the final moments before the Keymaster and Gatekeeper make their way to Zuul.  I played around with this version for about 100 minutes to try and see everything it had to offer.  At first, I was pleased with the presentation, but as I dug in, it seemed worse and worse.  I went back to start a new game and the slow pace just killed it.  I couldn't even get through another game with one of the other cars and just had to quit.  I haven't decided yet if this is the worst version of Activision's Ghostbusters, but I am definitely giving it a 1 out of 5.

 

 

The MSX version, felt like a nice cool breeze after playing the Amstrad version.  The game plays nice and fast.  There's not too much waiting for buildings to turn red, and the actual ghost catching is pretty challenging.  I tried a new strategy here where I basically just parked in one spot and waited to see how many times I could stop the Marshmallow Attack and get the big points bonus.  This strategy didn't coax the Marshmallow Man to appear, instead the Keymaster and Gatekeeper went to Zuul and ended the game around 7,700 PKE.  I guess there's some logic in the game to make this happen if the player isn't moving around and catching ghosts?  If I mixed in a few trips to buildings, I could still catch the Marshmallow Man 4 times, but Keymaster and Gatekeeper still entered Zuul a little before 10k in this version.  I went back and tested a similar strategy in other versions and the PKE energy seemed to always reach 9999.  In general, I like the variation and plan to test other versions to see how unique it is to the MSX.

Gameplay here is the star as the ghosts move quickly and often avoid capture when using techniques I've developed on other versions.  This was a positive for me but could make the game feel unfair to newer players.  The presentation is above average but not the best.  There seem to be some sprite limitations with the car that prevent showing your equipment.  This changes the initial loadout screen and the ghost vacuuming animation.  Those are noticeable but don't detract much.  I did find the lack of detail on the actual ghostbusters to be underwhelming, and a heavy reliance on gray in general makes the game seem a little "drab" when compared directly to others.  It tends to contrast a bit too much with the green used quite often as well.  Something of note for this version is that Colecovision homebrewers and frequent internet forum site visitors Team Pixelboy have adapted it for the Coleco. 

As a final verdict, I'm giving the MSX version a 3 out of 5.

[wongojack | 322]

Originally posted August 24, 2024

 

These are two versions which I won't rate out of 5 because they are in different stages of development or neglect.

The new TI99 homebrew version is shaping up to be quite impressive.  It is based on the MSX version but features lots of music, voice and graphical enhancements.  The voices are sampled from the iconic song and often use the "chorus" to shout out "Ghostbusters."  Slimer appears on the map in this game (the only version where he does) and the ghostbusters are nicely drawn in correctly colored uniforms.  The city looks a bit different, but I like it, and there are many different building facades to visit.  Even the end game screens of the bouncing marshmallow man and the ghostbusters closing the gate get an upgrade.  The game is truly shaping up to be a genuine treasure for the TI99.

 

The PC version wasn't a DOS game.  Instead, it contained files on the disk to load without an OS.  PC Booter is what this type of game seems to be referred to, and I have no memory of loading any software of the type in my life.  This makes the game a little difficult to run in DOSBox, but it does work.  Shout out to The King of Grabs for helping me get it running. Playing in PCJr mode gives the best experience with full color graphics and a great rendition of the theme song.  There are no vocalizations, but the game plays nice and fast with all the elements in place compared to other examples.  The biggest drawback here is that you have to slow DOSBox down so much that there are some graphical glitches, and the game still runs a bit too fast to be played accurately.  Even so, I had fun with this version, but it would have been really nice to see it running natively on the PCJr bitd.

[wongojack | 322]

Originally posted September 3, 2024

 

All right, I've been saving these two for the end as they are probably the best versions of this old classic.  First up we have the Atari 8bit version.  This version stays away from mistakes and offers a complete package of graphics, music, gameplay and charm.  Some of the sprites and other art is redone with a distinctive Atari slant and the sounds and music also exude Atari sensibilities.  I love the sound of the ghosts being vacuumed up in this one and the sound when a ghost is being trapped definitely sounds like the POKEY.  The gameplay doesn't disappoint although catching ghosts seemed to be a little too easy, and I racked up quite a high score with minimal attempts.  The bouncing Marshmallow Man looks absolutely huge in the last segment, and you can even continue your game with your existing balance with just a simple keypress.  The only thing notably missing are in-game vocalizations.  In versions where your Ghostbusters talk, it really makes a difference.  Some other nitpicks include the depiction of the ghosbtusters themselves who are noticeably out of uniform and maybe the look of the trap and slimer.  He looks a little off somehow.  This version delivers a great experience but doesn't quite do enough to differentiate itself from the middle of the pack.  The Atari 8bit version gets a lot of praise from me, it but doesn't quite force its way among the best with a 3 out of 5.

 

And now, we get to the Commodore 64 version.  This was my very first version of the game so many years ago, and as soon as I started playing it this weekend, the nostalgia came flooding back.  It kicks off calling to the player with an opening squawk of a voice announcing Ghostbusters Ah Ha Ha Ha.  The vocalizations might sound strange today, but in the 80's they were quite impressive.  In fact, I bet plenty of people who were around back then could recall Ghostbusters as one of the first memories they have of any computer talking.  While the few simple words the game says definitely sound like computerizations, they are quite clear and used very well throughout the game.  The music is just absolutely oozing with SID charm.  Having heard so many versions of the song at this point, I thought the C64 would just blend in with the rest, but the distinctive sound from Commodore's Sound Interface Device really sets this version apart.  The arrangement is slightly different on some other versions (MSX for example), but this one is absolutely great.  The graphics on the C64 are also quite excellent.  While other versions make mistakes like the Ghostbusters in the wrong colors or a lack of detail on Ecto 1, the C64 version seems to get everything right.  I even like the renditions of the roamers on the street and slimer when you catch him at the various buildings.  There also seems to be just a few more touches on the short animations we see.  Vacuuming a ghost is nice and smooth, catching a ghost in a trap shows a clear image of our friend slimer in a futuristic proton bubble, and the little dance the Ghostbusters do when you catch him fits perfectly into the scene.  There are even a few times when you've caught a ghost when the timing of the music, the little dance/shuffle, and the subsequent vocalized Ghostbusters match up as if it was just part of a little music video.  It usually happens once or twice a game and always makes me smile.

Negative things about this version might be that after a while, it seems like a lot of the buildings are not very colorful.  Many are mostly gray or white while a small number mix in blue, red, and green.  It makes me think that perhaps there was a choice to use neutrals to seem more like an ugly city (or something).  Perhaps the most negative thing about this version is how it highlights just how simple a game that Ghostbusters really is.  After all these years, I wish there were more challenges to master and more details to discover, but once you've figured out how to win, there's not much stopping you from winning every time.  Maybe a Marshmallow Attack sneaks past you, or you can't quite earn all your money back with an especially expensive loadout, but you won't lose very often.  I even managed to win with the compact car and the laser confinement system this time which is typically the hardest starting scenario (slow car with lots of debt). 

After having played more than 14 versions of this game, I've saved giving this version a score until the very end.  My general reaction is that this version was made with the most love and care.  The details are spot on, and it does the best job of making you feel like you are part of the movie.  My own nostalgia pushes me to rate this game very highly, but I can't deny that some additional features and gameplay elements would have helped to give the player more of a sense of accomplishment and more of a challenge.  Taking everything into consideration, I'm giving C64 Ghostbusters a very loving and heartfelt 4 out of 5.

Some will be interested to know that there was a 40th Anniversary hack created for C64 Ghostbusters.  It comes with a new theme song, unique opening menu, instructions and a password generator.  Strangely it also seems to change a simple game mechanic.  In this version, the city's PKE Energy did not passively increase as the game was running.  I'm not sure if this is intentional, an oversite, or a bug, but the slower pace is definitely not welcome.  If I'm playing C64 Ghostbusters, I'll avoid this edition.

[wongojack | 322]

Well, I got a tip that there is a WIP on Ghostbusters for the BBC Micro, and I played it!  I won't rate it since it doesn't seem to be quite done yet.

According to that site, the BBC Micro version is based on the C64 version.  That means the buildings, Ghostbusters, and Marshmallow Man look and behave almost exactly the same way.  The music and vocalizations are very nice, and while the graphics are as detailed as any of the early versions, the color palette takes some getting used to.  I'm not experienced with how color is used on the Beeb, but the heavy use of blue as a base looks a bit odd.  It still worked perfectly well of course, and I assume fans of that system will feel right at home with it.

While the presentation is up to par, the gameplay is not.  The driving sequences didn't give the impression of speed at all, and the ghosts were waaay too easy to catch.  I actually had to try and miss a ghost just to hear the fallen Ghostbuster say, "he slimed me."  I piled up enough money to pay back my debt before the PKE energy even reached 3000, so a little work is needed to give the player more of a challenge.  Sneaking past the Marshmallow Man was also very easy.  He moves MUCH slower than any other version I've played making getting past him trivial.

One little bonus idea they put in the game was to let you actually control the Ghostbusters on the normally passive final screen.  You are instructed to "Cross the Streams" and given control of your Ghostbusters to do so.  This was a nice touch that I really appreciated.

 

 

 

[mbd39 | 2,106]

I played this on a neighbor's Tandy back in the day and really enjoyed that version.

I've never played the NES version and it's unusual to see a favorable opinion of it. It looks like the worst part is the stairway if you're not using turbo. IMO, a game shouldn't need a turbo controller to be playable and that is just very poor design. Although there is the door extra lives exploit.

 

Edited September 11 by mbd39

[wongojack | 322]

@mbd39 Yeah, turbo.  They even recommend it in the manual, but I think the difficulty around the stairs is a bit overblown.  Once you get your rhythm down with the ghost food, even tapping the buttons isn't so bad - you stop a lot after all.  I don't think you'd have any trouble with it at all.  You'd probably get up the stairs in your second or third try.  @Webhead123 asked me about the stairs over on the Games Beaten thread and here's what I said.

You have to experiment with the equipment that helps you on the stairwell.  There are 3 items that can help

• Ghost Food - absolutely essential, don't attempt stairs without
• Anti-Ghost Suit- really helps by giving you extra HP
• Sound Generator - you won't ever be able to afford this without a cheat code, but it makes the stairs easy

The other thing to note is you can open the doors on each floor and sometimes you will get your food replaced or some other benefit.  There's a chance you also get knocked down as well.

To equip your team for the stairs means you have to visit the shop and change equipment a few times during the map stage.  I actually kind of liked this because it forced me to experiment with different equipment and put an emphasis on catching ghosts quickly and with the max bonus points.  These little variations are some of the best gameplay elements in any version of Activision's Ghostbusters.  Unfortunately, the NES/Famicom version also does not implement the account # and continue system and doesn't offer any cars to experiment with on subsequent playthroughs.  So, once you beat this version there's almost no reason to come back and play again.

Edit - finished the NES version again today and beat it on my second try.  To get up the stairs, use your Ghost Food (by pressing START) at the extreme right side of the room on the right side of the door.  Do it preferably when the ghosts are NOT on the same horizontal line as you.  Move away slowly and let the ghosts all move vertically toward the food.  When they stop, rush up as many staircases as you can.  You should be able to get up 6 or 7 staircases this way, without getting hit, before you run out of food.  Try the doors on each floor.  Sometimes you get a benefit and sometimes you get knocked down, but it seems better to try the doors regardless.  Toward the end you'll be out of food, so wait for your moment.  It's really not that hard if wearing the Anti-Ghost Suit and using your Ghost Food judiciously.

Edited September 15 by wongojack

[wongojack | 322]

I played another version on C64.  This one is called Ghose Busters or Ghost Busters Basic.  I couldn't find much written about it, and I think I must have learned about it from one of RGN's videos.  Not really sure, but it was in my homebrews folder, so I played it.

 

The game is a "demake" of the original, and it is supposedly written in BASIC.   It uses ASCII for the artwork and graphics and comes complete with a suitably anemic (but recognizable) few bars of the famous song.  I won't rate this version as it was obviously done as a challenge to the programmer, but I will say that I considered the simplified gameplay fun for a few rounds and was impressed with what could be done in BASIC to recreate some of the movie's magic here.  It feels like a Ghostbusters game even if it is a little hard to look at.

 

[wongojack | 322]

I've been playing all the completed/released versions again and am ready to start posting some additional thoughts and rankings.  With so many versions to consider, I decided to rate them in tiers.  This helped me think about the differences between the individual versions as some were quite different in terms of quality and features.  I'll post a final ranking of all the games at the end.

The tiers are organized with tier 1 containing the games with the highest ratings from my initial playthroughs.  Tier 3 has the games with the lowest ratings.  Games are listed alphabetically within the tiers below.  As I replayed the games, I discovered that the 2 different releases for the ZX Spectrum were more different than I originally thought.  The 128k version was released a few years after the original and includes enough changes that I decided to include both games individually.  In contrast, after playing the ColecoVision version it was too similar to the MSX version to be included.

 

 I'll make a new post with each tier breaking down how I made my decisions and re-ranking the games within the tier.  I've been playing the different versions to check for details and get my impressions when switching immediately between them.  I've enlisted my wife's help several times to do a blind test on the various versions of the music .

I'm just about ready but want to check a few more things.

[Splain | 2,722]

Good stuff here. I loved the C64 version as a kid. I had no idea there were stairs or Gozer in other versions until I saw the Ghostbusters AVGN.

[wongojack | 322]

Ok, let's talk about Tier 3.  In this tier we have the Amstrad CPC, Atari 2600, and ZX Spectrum 48k versions.

 

These are the 3 games that are arguably the worst on the list, and all three of them got below average scores on my first reviews.  To evaluate these games further, I decided to rate them based on Graphics, Sound (and Music), as well as a sort of catch-all category of Gameplay.  Here's how these three versions compared across categories.

 

The 48k version on the ZX Spectrum gets the distinction of being absolutely last in my rankings due to the lack of sounds and music and the totally uninspired background and foreground graphics.  You can defend this version a little based on its gameplay, but you'd be reaching desperately for something positive.  You can play this version successfully and get the general idea of what Ghostbusters should be about, but you'd probably be cursing the lackluster presentation and the patience required to do simple things like wait for the text to finish populating on the opening screen to enter your name or just tapping your foot while you wait for your slow-a$$ car to get to its destination in total silence.  One reason to play it (also true for the 128k version) might be that you can move both ghostbusters simultaneously on the ghost catching screen if you orient them in the same direction.  This gives you an opportunity to sort of perform a "Ghostbusters Sweep" which is a very effective way of forcing ghosts into your trap.  If you can put up with the rest of this one, give it a try.

 

The Amstrad CPC version absolutely has the best graphics and sound in this tier.  The presentation is appealing as the backgrounds and ghostbusters are colorful.  The ghost catching animation is nicely done, and the music and sound effects make a great first impression.  However, the game is soooo slow that you'll wonder about the meaning of life as you watch a map with no activity give you nothing to do OR a slow car move with no urgency toward the next ghost emergency.  This is the only version I played where missing a ghost did not result in an immediate increase of the PKE energy.  At least, not at the beginning.  Toward the end, it seemed like the PKE energy jumped upward at random intervals for no reason.  Variable and confusing game rules is a bad thing.  Additionally, the movement is not smooth - even on the map screen it feels like there is a delay as you press a direction and wait for your player icon to move around the map.  If that's not bad enough, when you actually get to the ghost catching screen, the ghostbusters move very slowly and there is heavy flicker applied to the ghosts.  This kinda fits as ghosts are semi-visible anyway, but when those ghosts flicker THROUGH your beams, it is enraging.  This is especially anger inducing since it takes a long time to re-position your ghostbusters, but you'll more often just have to wait for the ghost to come close enough to your trap for any additional action to take place.  On top of all of that, they only give you about 2 building backgrounds to look at throughout the entire game.  Considering all the other options, there's just no reason to put up with this level of slow and sometimes unfair gameplay.

 

The first-place game in this tier is the Atari 2600 version.  This version is quite a refreshing alternative to these others.  It sacrifices graphics, depth, and some immersion to focus on core gameplay.  Here we can start catching ghosts much faster.  There are fewer choices as a result, but you can get through the initial item selection and move on to "Bustin" very quickly.  In this version, there is NEVER any waiting for a ghost alarm.  There is always a building turning red alerting you to a ghost-catching emergency, and the travel time spent in your car is also reduced.  In my original commentary, I said this might be the least fun version of the game, but I was dead wrong.  The graphics on this version are nice in the foreground.  The ghostbusters look good and have appropriate uniform colors.  The trap you drop and the ghost you catch also look great.  In fact, the ghost might look better in this version that almost all the others.  However, the background graphics are pretty much the same every time.  The color of the building in the background changes when you go to Ghostbusters HQ but other than that I think the game has the same background building every time.  The sound and music are passable here.  It is impressive that a 2600 game even has music, so I give Activision some credit for making that happen.  The sound effects are typical TIA sound effects which I found more impressive than the silence of the Spectrum or the squirts and spasms of something like the Apple 2.  My overall impression of the 2600 version is positive.  I wish every version of the game had a mode similar to the Atari 2600.  Give me some raw gameplay that strips out some of the simulation aspects and let me get right into catching ghosts.  I still want the original options and features, but I also like the chance to get right to the action.  The presentation is just enough to let the gameplay shine through, and because of the low commitment required, I'll probably end up playing this version a bit more than some of the others in the future.

 

I leave you with the ultimate Sh!+ screenshot from the Spectrum 48k version.  The Spectrum is perfectly capable of displaying color and many of the buildings have a few colors here and there - except for this one.  Maybe this is from some other game . . . something like . . . Blandbusters.  Black and White busters?  Whatever you want to call it, this certainly wasn't a shot to put on the back of the box.

Edited September 20 by wongojack

[wongojack | 322]

 On to Tier 2.  In this tier we have the Atari 8bit, MSX, Apple 2, and ZX Spectrum 128 versions.

 

Here we have the "middle" tier.  These are the versions that are perfectly fine to play and enjoy, but they didn't quite impress me enough to be considered among the best.  Once again, here's the rankings based on Graphics, Sound, and Gameplay.

 

The ZX Spectrum 128 version impressed me enough to separate itself from its 48k predecessor and earned inclusion into tier 2.  Note that this version was an entirely separate release in 1986.  It seems 2 years after the original, they thought there was enough interest to go back and improve the original game.  The most noticeable difference to most people on the inturwebs is the improvement of the theme song and the fact that it is now included as background music behind the gameplay.  The new theme is great.  Both my wife and I listened to it in comparison to other versions, and it is a fine rendition of the theme we all seem to be able to hum along to more than 30 years later.  The ZX128 also adds a few new sound effects which are a big improvement as well.  Now the ghost vacuum makes a sound as well as the ghost trap when it opens to capture a ghost.  The forklift in the opening loadout screen also makes a sound, and the screen populates instantly when browsing the different equipment options.  The speed of that text on the opening screens was a terrible first impression of the original version, so this is a very welcome improvement.  The graphics also get an improvement.  At least the backgrounds do.  The buildings now have more color and more detail.  I didn't realize this at first, but after playing both versions, I started to see the differences, and I looked up images of all the backgrounds which (along with color) have additional window and other details in the 128 version.  The foreground graphics of the ghostbusters, trap, beams, and ghosts are unchanged.  The vocalizations are still here, but I can't really tell if they are improved at all.  However, the fact that you can hear them at all (during gameplay) is unique among the other games in this tier.  Finally, the gameplay appears to be almost completely unchanged from the 48k version.  That's good and bad as the full game is functional and hits some high points when you learn the quirks of ghost extermination in this version, but the jerky movement of the car and the generally slow plodding nature of the ghostbusters themselves will test your patience.

The Apple 2 version is probably the most average version of the game in this entire list.  The biggest criticism is the sound.  The theme only plays on the opening screen and the sounds we do get are the typical splats and squirts that come with Apple 2 games.  I give Activision some credit though because the sounds that are here add something to the game, and I've found myself imitating the effect made when you fail to trap a ghost when I play other versions.  It makes a kind of wet splat sound that gives me a chuckle.  The graphics in the A2 version are a step up from the Spectrum and the games in tier 3.  There's some color clash and the choices of colors are probably not everyone's favorite, but color was never the A2's strong suite either.  However, the graphics get the job done and some screens even manage to impress.  I especially like the screenshot of the final confrontation with the Marshmallow man that I used earlier in the thread.  The gameplay in this version is refreshing.  It plays faster than the versions I've ranked below it, and I generally think there is just less waiting.  Less waiting for buildings to turn red on the map, less waiting for your car to arrive, less waiting for your ghostbusters to move into position.  It is a perfectly playable and enjoyable version of Activision's Ghostbusters.

Moving up the list, we get to the MSX version.  Now we are starting to get to versions that have fewer and fewer drawbacks.  The MSX version has good sound, graphics, and gameplay.  I especially appreciate the gameplay.  The ghost catching was a bit more challenging for me, and it took longer for me to come up with a specific strategy to catch the ghosts consistently.  I did eventually create such a strategy, but the ghosts definitely move faster and are harder to predict.  The music and sound in this version are also quite good.  In fact, the theme itself may win some people over as the best in this tier depending on your own personal preference and how much you appreciate the quirks of the individual sound chips used.  The graphics are missing some details that other versions have.  The car especially looks sparse in this version, and the colors used in the backgrounds and for the ghostbusters themselves are less appealing to me that other versions.

The Atari 8bit version closes out tier 2 as the winner.  It has a clear graphical advantage over every other version in this tier.  The colors are nice and varied, and the designer has managed to convey some genuine artistic style.  It's hard to describe exactly, but the game's graphics help to convey a bit of the light-hearted nature of the movie.  The loadout screen looks sharp, and movement is nice and snappy while loading Ecto 1.  I like the map icon the best in this version, and the ghost vacuuming looks great.  I even prefer the text font better than most versions.  The biggest graphical miss is probably the ghostbusters themselves who don't quite look like those in some other versions, and their uniforms don't match the color in the movie at all.  The sound and music in the Atari 8bit version are excellent.  The subtle qualities of the POKEY chip shine through here and add some uniqueness to the theme song and the sound effects.  The only thing missing are a few vocalizations which supposedly were left out so that the game could meet the requirements of lower-end Atari computers.  I will ding the A8 version on the gameplay side as it is a bit of a victim of its own success.  They make the control and strategy so fast and seamless that the game becomes too easy.  I'm not sure I've ever lost a playthrough on the A8, and it is the version where I've achieved my highest score.  So, I've punished easy gameplay slightly and ranked it below the MSX in that category.

Because I haven't included any screens of it in my previous reviews, I'll leave you with the famous equipment and loading screen across these versions.  This will let you see the somewhat subtle differences and touches between these versions.  Maybe you'll pick a favorite font .

 

ZX Spectrum 128

 

Apple II

 

MSX

 

Atari 8bit (Check out that font! I also think this is the best version of the sports car.)

 

[wongojack | 322]

Tier 1 is next where I'll discuss what I think are the best versions of Activision's Ghostbusters

 

Once again, here's the rankings based on my opinions of Graphics, Sound, and Gameplay.

 

I suppose the most controversial opinion I've had in this thread is that I actually like the NES version.  This is mainly because I appreciate the changes they made to the gameplay to make the core game more interesting.  The NES and Famicom skip the account creation screen and the vehicle selection and loadout screen completely.  That's quite a departure from the original game, but they add some interesting changes.  You can only have 4 pieces of equipment on your car at any time.  However, you have the option to go back to a store on the map and re-equip your ghostbusters whenever you like.  This matters quite a bit because several of the upgrades available are designed to help you with the late-game stages that see your ghostbusters climbing the stairs and facing off on the rooftop with Gozer.  So, you immediately have a new set of things to consider in terms of your in-game strategy.  I like that.  Common criticisms of this version include the addition of requiring gas to run your car and the need to tap a button to move your ghostbusters on the stairway, but I only found those things difficult or an annoyance when I first started playing.  Once I developed strategies to handle those parts of the game, I found the need for gas quite interesting and the button tapping much less of an annoyance (almost meaningless with turbo).  Essentially, what I like best about the NES/Famicom versions are that they push the player to execute navigating the map and the actual ghost catching segment of the game differently.  They add challenge and bonus to the ghost trapping and give you an actual reason to experiment with different equipment available to you in the store.  What I don't like about these versions is that they look and sound like a very lazy effort from the development team.  The Ghostbusters just look terrible.  I guess they sort of resemble characters from other NES games, so there's a chance you'll like the style, but I find they look like the Maytag Man or Mr. Magoo as a garbage man.  The driving sequence also looks pretty lazy as there's no unique animations for the gas station or GBHQ and the roadway and buildings along the side are very basic looking.  Sound and music in this version also seem like a below average effort.  A blind test of just the theme song is very unfavorable to the NES version against almost any version except the 2600.  It's bad.  Other sound effects are either unmemorable or below average.

Before I started this whole thing, I fully expected the Sega Master System version to be the best version of the game.  It certainly makes a good first impression as the graphics are excellent and the theme is now vibrant and full of life and pleasant computerized chords.  The game also presents the player with new equipment and a new way to trap ghosts.  As you are taking in all of these changes and learning the ins and outs of this version, the experience is pretty good.  Similar to the NES, this version also challenges you with a stair-climbing sequence and a final vertical shooting stage with Gorza (aka Gozer).  The problem is that you'll probably end up failing to climb the stairs a few times.  Then you'll probably lose to good ole Gorza more than once.  After you've played through the game like that, you'll quickly realize just how uninteresting the main segment of the game actually is.  Instead of improving the gameplay, the new items you can acquire just make catching and trapping ghosts laughably easy.  You'll basically just be waiting for the PKE energy to increase enough to trigger the final battle.  It is the lack of interesting gameplay that causes me to drop this version down in my rankings.  As far as music and sound, they sound very Master System-y.  That should be a good thing, but I think they sorta tried to do a little too much with the theme.  It sounds busy and a little chaotic.  I tried it in an emulator in PAL mode to see if it would improve, and I still wasn't really impressed.  Fans of the Master System may dig it, but it wasn't my favorite.  The graphics on the other hand are the best you'll see.  There's a lot of great detail on the Ghostbusters, the city, and the Marshmallow man.  The Master System should be better in this area than its competition and it delivers.

The Intellivision Ultimate Edition is excellent.  Right away you are struck with the amount of attention and detail that the team has put into this game.  The first thing you hear is a new song from the soundtrack and a short version of the Ghostbusters TV commercial from the movie.  As you move along, you see all of the familiar elements of Activision's Ghostbusters with little bonus touches to make things better.  We get more shots recreated from the movie, more music to enhance the experience and additional vocalizations of lines taken directly from the script.  The game also displays your equipment status on the map screen at all times which negates the need to keep pressing a button to find out how many traps you've got left.  Based on the Intellivision's capabilities, the graphics should be the worst in this tier, but instead they've been carefully done to bring through the charm of the characters and the best qualities of the system.  The music is the best of any version.  As I've mentioned before, I had my wife blind test the various theme songs, and she chose this one as the best.  The addition of other songs and entertaining sound effects push this version to the top in terms of music and sound.  It should be noted that to get the best rendition of the music and excellent vocalizations requires both the ECS and Intellivoice modules.  Where the Intellivision slips a little for me is in the gameplay department.  It is incredibly difficult to move your icon on the map screen through the horizontal city streets.  This means you'll be trying to plan your path to the next ghost alarm, but you won't quite be able to move in between buildings.  Instead, you'll bounce around trying to find the exact angle to push on the disk to go straight left or right.  At first, I thought "It's no big deal," but as I tried to play some of the more advanced scenarios with more expensive cars and equipment loadouts, the delay of just trying to plan the best path through the city really became an annoyance and caused me to lose at least a couple games.  Another interesting quirk is that you don't have as much freedom when positioning your ghostbusters during the ghost trapping sequence.  The first ghostbuster out of the car must move to the left, drop the trap, continue moving left and turn back toward the car.  You cannot orient the ghostbusters in the same direction and if you try to position ghostbuster #1 on the right side of the screen then ghostbuster #2 can't pass him, and you'll most likely cross the streams immediately.  I think this choice to limit player freedom was done to make trapping a ghost more challenging and avoid some of the "cheesier" ways to play the game.  However, it stands out as a big variation from other versions and makes trapping the ghosts feel more about luck than skill.  If you are consistently successful, it also seems that the ghosts get faster and progressively harder to trap.  I like this in theory, but when combined with limiting my control of the sequence, it makes the gameplay feel confined and less fun.

In a somewhat anti-climactic finish, the Commodore 64 version comes out on top.  As I played all the versions, I would consider different takes on what could be the best version.  Could the Master System version be the best?  Could the Atari 8bit?  In each case there was either something crucial missing or some sort of flaw that prevented me from moving any version ahead of the C64 original.  The final decision was between the Intellivision UE and C64.  When I was taking notes or reflecting about the versions, I would rank the Intellivision higher, but after playing the games back-to-back several times, I knew it had to be the C64 on top.  While missing a lot of the extra touches from the Intellivision, the C64 version manages to deliver a complete experience of graphics, music and gameplay that end up being the best overall package.  No, the graphics aren't as good as the Master System, no there aren't as many songs and vocalizations as the Intellivision, and no, the gameplay tends to be a little shorter and perhaps less nuanced than the Famicom, but there are no real negatives or bad elements to this version at all.  In my opinion, it does a great job of conveying the spirit of the film and entertaining you for a couple sessions of movie/game escapism.  I also really like the sound of the theme played with that SID, and as a testament to the gameplay, I've still been eager to come back and try to play with different cars and equipment to finally perfect my ghost catching and Marshmallow Man avoidance strategies.

 

I'll end this post with a screenshot and some encouragement from our ghostbusting team (pic from Intellivision). 

Edited September 28 by wongojack

[wongojack | 322]

Final rankings.  The tiered rankings tell the story.