Review: Ghostbusters The Video Game Wii & PS2

After completing both XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 versions of the game I wanted to spend some time with the Wii and PS2 version of the game.  The first thing everyone will notice is that the character design is drastically different. All the characters are drawn in a fashion similar to the style of Dan Schoening’s artwork, however that may be an entirely different story…

The characters all look great in this animated form, with the exception of Ray, for some reason they made him look more like a shaven Seth Rogan than Dan Aykroyd…

Upon start up of the game, those who are familiar with the 360/PS3 versions of the game will notice the story is intact, but with the minor differences. It appears that at times the dialog for the characters match the characters facial expressions and movements in the Wii/PS2 version BETTER! I was very surprised by this, especially when hearing comments and conversations that did not take place in the 360/PS3 versions. Further through the game there are different ghosts and some small surprises that I won’t spoil for you here.

The control on the Wii version is surprisingly intuitive and enjoyable, having dusted off my Nintendo Wii for the first time in months to play this game I was pleasantly surprised to see that this game was not an after thought to the 360/ps3 version, in fact It truly is like a different game, just with a different way of telling the same story.

The Wii version of the game is a lot of fun, I’m almost finished with it and I’m glad I took the time out to play through it because there’s a lot of Ghostbusters content and story here that should not be missed! If you have a Wii and were undecided about this game, I strongly urge you to pick this up, you won’t be disappointed.

The PS2 version of the game is for all purposes an identical copy of the Wii version from a story perspective, however the controls and graphics just don’t match the quality of the Wii version. It’s to be expected that graphically the PS2 isn’t as powerful as the Nintendo Wii, thus options that are common today that weren’t during the PS2’s day such as 16:9 resolution  aren’t available, so the PS2 version is limited to a 4:3 resolution screen. Certainly not a big deal, but a difference worth noting.

The controls on the PS2 version unfortunately appear as an afterthought as the game was designed for the Nintendo Wii in mind. Switching from the nun-chuck and wiimote combo back to the ps2 controller for the same style game is a bit cumbersome at times and the characters movements could be a bit jerky at times, but not impossible and I found that after a few minutes I felt right at home. I actually played through the PS2 version for over an hour and if all I had was a PS2 I’d be happy to play through this version as well.

Overall the Wii / PS2 version of the game is a sure buy for any Ghostbusters fan. I love the differences between the games and they made going through the story for a third time just as enjoyable as the first!