Terminal Reality, a company with very few hits under its belt, recently released Ghostbusters: The Video Game on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC systems (Red Fly Studios, a different company, produces the game for the rest of the consoles). The game is an entirely new story line written by none other than the original team of Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd who had been working on and penning an idea for a new Ghostbusters movie already and decided to merge the two ideas.

The story follows the Ghostbusters two years after the events of the second movie. The player takes on the role of a man simply known as “Rookie”; a new recruit added to the team as an experimental weapons tester. With this role comes certain hazardous duties and so as to not garner any type of affection for you, the team never refers to you by your real name. Because of your job title though, you’ll receive upgrades to the trusty proton pack that would make even the statue of liberty dance to an upbeat 80’s tune: a stasis beam that allows you to freeze or slow down your enemies, a Meson Collider that allows for homing shots and a rocket-launcher like expulsion of energy towards your ghostly antagonists, and a slime weapon that allows for the dispersal of positively-charged slime and a “slime-tether” system that can be used to trap ghosts or fix broken landscapes. Throughout the game as you receive these you’ll be able to upgrade each weapon type (as well as your proton pack itself which is the standard weapon) a total of four times each upgrading cool down, damage, rate of fire and the like to make your ghost busting that much more enjoyable. Throughout the game’s events, you’ll also be given some more insight into the franchise’s two previous story lines, further fleshing out the characters (both bad and good) from the previous two stories.

There are a number of things to talk about with this game. I am a huge fan of the franchise and so this game, which honestly is one of the first good Ghostbusters games, does hold a bit of a special place in my heart. Almost the entire original cast is there in all of its voicing glory (minus Louis Tully, the accountant played by Rick Moranis) and the characters sound spot on. Its what I would imagine the ghostbusters would sound like after their claim to fame especially Venkman (voiced by Bill Murray) who sounds more like a pompous ass than ever.

The game also looks and plays great with only a few minor exceptions. While the PKE meter (the item you use to find hidden ghosts, cursed artifacts (the collectible in the game), and sometimes even just your way around the map) works well it’s almost slightly annoying how it does work. While it will track items and enemies sometimes it does so a bit too well especially with the often hard to find cursed artifacts throughout the game. Half the time when it said there was supposed to be an artifact right at my feet I could still never find it. Another small problem came with the HUD, or at least the lack of one. All of your energy and your life bars lie along the right side of your proton pack and while it worked in a game like Dead Space (where your health was seen on your spinal chord in a big bright blue bar) to me it just seems to be a bit too small and lost while you’re concentrating on so much going on around you in fights. These two complaints are small in comparison to the dreaded loading screen you will experience if you don’t install this game. While hearing the theme song and seeing some of the franchise’s classic items is cool, hearing it every time you die for a few minutes a piece can become painfully annoying and if you plan on playing on a difficulty above normal (which in this game is Professional) prepare to have the song stuck in your head for weeks on end because you’re going to be hearing it a lot.

These are really the only three complaints I’ve had about the game. It looks great and the weapon effects on the landscape look wonderful. There’s nothing better than running your proton pack through a room and seeing the char marks along the walls and ceiling, as well as the destroyed items within. That’s right, the majority of the landscapes throughout the game are quite destructible and on the PS3 and 360 versions you’re awarded for either being completely destructive or attempting to be as careful as possible (the destructive being slightly difficult, with the conservative path being insanely hard). The pacing is what you would expect from such great writers and works well with the story, mixing humor and seriousness throughout your ghost wrangling career to deliver a great experience that will be worth playing even for those not familiar with the movies. The multiplayer also works great, intermixing cooperative ghost hunts with a survival mode that is a lot like horde mode in Gears of War or Nazi Zombies in Call of Duty: World at War.

While the 360, PS3, Wii, and PS2 titles all have the same story, the latter two consoles drop the realism and instead go for a more cartoon look to them. Looking a lot more like the Ghostbusters cartoon that came out years back, they also have replaced the proton pack life/energy system for an actual HUD that sits at the top left of your screen. They also dropped the upgrade system for the proton pack and instead Egon just gives you the new weapons (with no chance to upgrade those weapons later on). The animated games look great even without the realism and the Wii even boasts (on top of its usual motion control offering) two-player co-op on the same system.

While the story line is fairly short (8 – 10 hours) the multiplayer and co-op (depending on which system you get it for) definitely make this game a purchase if not at least a rental. Now don your proton pack, jump in the Ecto and remember, when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say yes!

Capcom’s newest addition to its Survival-horror/Zombie action game franchise, Resident Evil 5, finally had its demo released on American shores (This week for Xbox 360 owners, Next week for PS3). Though it only shows two of the games levels it showcases a familiar feel to veterans of the game’s previous installment, Resident Evil 4, as well as impressing with upgraded graphics

The control scheme that was applauded in 2005 as being a revolutionary new change to the Resident Evil franchise returns in the fifth installment with very few (if any) changes to the style. There is still no “running and gunning” or even aiming while you’re moving. This is something that some reviewers have voiced complaints about but seems to work for bringing up the tension in what is supposed to be a horror game. Running and 180 degree quick turns also make a return as well as laser-sighting on certain weapons which allows for precision aiming even through the third-person “over-the-shoulder” perspective. Though new IP’s in the genre like Dead Space have used certain elements from this series’ control scehemes they have also brought about extreme improvements on it as well showing that you don’t have to have a slow, paced shooting game in order to keep the tension high. The RE5 control scheme works but could have taken a lesson or two from the newer games in order to vastly improve game play. This is a minor annoyance to veterans of the series that are used to the gameplay but may turn off newcomers to the series who have become accustomed to faster shooting and quicker gameplay.

The levels shown in the demo showcase what seems to be a new improvement in the game, pulling roots from some of the genre’s newest up and comers “Left 4 Dead” and “Dead Space” these levels showcase Infinite Re-spawns of enemies as you wait for something specific to happen within the game. This means that as long as you’re alive and the timer is still going zombies will continue to appear and attack you until you either kill the boss or the objective is completed. This shows that the series is in fact capable of evolving to new industry standards while also keeping to its own roots. Each level also comes with different weapons to try out for each character as well as a mini-boss; a familiar sack-wearing, chainsaw wielding character in one and a new mini-boss with a giant axe in the other.  The game also features one very important feature which will certainly make the game more enjoyable for players as now you can play in 2-player Co-Op on a single system or over Xbox Live and the Playstation Network. This is possible with Capcom now having two main characters who are actually playable in the game: Chris Redfield from previous Resident Evil Games and a new character named Sheva Alomar who not much is known about at this point except that she is a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA)’s African branch and is assisting Chris on his investigations into Africa and the tri-cell corporation.

The only downside that has really been seen so far, like the installment before it, is that the game never seems to become truly terrifying. Though you may die there never seems to be a point in the demo in which you are genuinely frightened. This could also be attributed to the fact that this series, which was made popular in the 90’s with the first installment, has used many of the same tricks it still uses to scare players and most (me included) have probably come to expect when something will actually happen in the games.  This may also be attributed to being a demo and Capcom not wanting to spoil any of the storyline fragments within the game while still showcasing the game itself but the series has seemed to lose a lot of its “horror” aspects and shift more towards an action game that just happens to involve angry zombies, diseased Spaniards, or raging Africans.

The game, while not really bringing anything new to the genre showcases what next-generation graphics should look like with these games. Polished graphics, great-looking locales, and truly realistic looking enemies bring this game to a new level and could easily make it a contender for Game of the Year 2009. If Capcom brings the same passion they have been known for in previous Resident Evil titles and make this game a winner it will easily be worth the $60 price tag this March.

There is also a confirmed collector’s edition through Gamestop (and other stores as well) that will sport a $90 price tag and come with:

• Chris Redfield Figurine
• Tricell Messenger Bag
• BSAA Patch
• Kijuju Keychain
• Bonus Disc including a making-of featurette, a digital art gallery and a trailer for Resident Evil Degeneration
• The game and bonus disc in a Special Collector’s Steel Book Case (Much in the same style as the Gears of War 2 collector’s edition case)

As well as a limited edition strategy guide ($29.99) that comes with:

• Strategy Guide in hardcover casing with exclusive behind-the-scenes content
• Resident Evil 5 calendar that starts in March to coincide with the game’s release and goes until March 2010
• The strategy-guide itself, other than the behind-the-scenes content, will be the exact same as the regular strategy guide.

A boy and his blob takes on a whole new meaning in this Indie-developed game for Xbox Live

What do you get when you cross aliens, a mysterious galactic force out collecting those aliens, and a bottomless pit in the shape of a blob? You get developer Twisted-Pixel’s hilarious new take on the platforming genre, “Maw”, which hit XBLA shelves on January 21st. The game was showcased on the floors of 2008’s Penny-Arcade Expo (PAX) and earned the Audience Choice award during the expo’s showcase of new independent games.

Equipped with only a leash gun, you play as the title’s protagonist Frank; an alien who befriends and controls the real star of the game, Maw, by “leading” him around the levels of the game in order to get him to grow and gain new abilities which allow you to solve the level’s puzzles and continue on through the game. Maw starts out as a tiny pink blob on your screen who is only able to eat the tiny puffball creatures that inhabit the first (and most of the subsequent) planets in the game. As he eats more his size increases and he is able to eat the larger and fiercer creatures that play an integral part of the game. Being able to eat these larger creatures becomes important because as your blobular friend eats certain animals he inherits the abilities that each of these creatures possesses; these abilities become necessary to solve the puzzles that Frank and Maw encounter as they progress through the game’s straightforward level designs.

Though the difficulty has been turned down, controlling Maw can become slightly annoying at times with no true way to get him to go where you would like (all he does is follow you and hopefully he’ll get the hint and do what you were planning for him to do), and the storyline itself is quite bland and mostly non-existent the experience itself is there and will push players forward to finish it. This game is a colorful and light-hearted take on the platformer genre that will have experienced players chuckling at the antics of Maw and newcomers to gaming receiving a good introduction on how a game should be played and especially the definition of what a quality game actually is.

As of January 21st, Maw was available on the Xbox 360’s Live Arcade System for 800 points ($10) and is well worth the price tag for anyone who thought that platforming was becoming a bit stale, for parents looking to get their children a light-hearted, kid-friendly game, or for achievement hunters (as most of the game’s 200-point achievements can be received through a weekend of casual playing or a day’s play-through).

Twisted Pixel has also recently announced that Maw will be getting three additional levels in the coming months for the small price of 100 MS points a piece. Each of these levels are supposedly going to flesh out a little bit more of the story and will play as “Deleted Scenes” from the game as well as coming equipped with an additional achievement for each. No specific dates have been given but Twisted Pixel did say that these would be three seperate releases from one another.

Bottom Line:

• Presentation: Colorful, well-done graphics that are truly amazing for an Xbox Live title and easy-to-like characters make this a winner in the presentation department. The game, while easy, can easily grab players of all kinds and allows for a truly enjoyable experience.
• Sound: The Soundtrack is a mix of funky music and hearing Frank yell for Maw as well as Maw running away from enemies is a truly humorous experience that almost always seems to get a laugh.
• Replay Value: Moderately Low, though achievement hunters may replay the game in order to get the full 200 points most people will be done with the game once it’s over. That may change though with the promise of extra levels and content looking promising. This could substantially raise the value if the levels are actually worth the price.
• Difficulty: Good for newcomers to platforming and younger gamers but can almost become boring to seasoned veterans. Older gamers will have to look towards the overall enjoyment and humor presented in the game as well as the art-style to hook them into this title.

For more information on this game, visit the website http://www.whatisthemaw.com