Day 246, Game 246 - Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime

My childhood is sacred to me. There are things that I fondly remember that I never want to let go from my piggy bank of memories. Things that generations that followed mine don't quite understand, will never understand or simply have never heard of. Toys, cartoons, cereals, movies, video games ... all were pretty important in shaping me to be the kind of guy I am today. However it is you decided to categorize me, that is. 

Anyway, for what it's worth, I try to hold on to the things that shaped me tightly, in hopes of the special memories I have of them remaining true and pure forever. Unfortunately, Michael Bay has done a fantastic job of taking small bits of my childhood, crumbling them up and tossing them into a burning trash can. He did it with the Transformers movies, he is bound and determined to do it to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and just recently, it was reported that he is going to do it to the Dinobots from Transformers, which essentially will ruin that storyline along with all things dinosaur related. 

Thankfully, he has kept his grubby little hands off of the Ghostbusters franchise, but after playing Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, it's clear he didn't need to do a thing. 

I had high hopes for this game. I'm not entirely sure why, but I figured for the couple of bucks I spent to pick it up, it had to be enjoyable in some capacity. I mean, it's the Ghostbusters. How bad could it be? Well, it's pretty bad. Not bad enough to regret buying it or to think I got ripped off (considering it was severally on sale when I grabbed it, I can't complain too much), but it's just not an enjoyable game. 

For one, it features a brand new ghost busting crew, which is a shame in it's own right. Sure, it has Egon as the guy supply all the high-tech gear, but the actual team you play as and with is an all new group of forgettable characters. They add nothing to the story or the game, which is just a top-down, dual stick shooter anyway. The Ghostbusters movies thrived on having a strong cast of characters, with the actual plots and effects playing second fiddle to the guys you wearing the proton packs. This game does nothing to make you feel any sort of connection to the characters, or the story for that matter. Or even the game play. 

Essentially, the game just wants you to connect to the idea of this being part of the Ghostbusters franchise. It doesn't give you any other reason to like it. And even that is a stretch if you think about it. 

The game is boring. You go into a room and the door locks, forcing you to clear the area of poltergeists, before advancing to the next room where the formula is repeated. And it's repeated, over and over again. It wears thin after a while. Because of the 4-player style, the action gets hectic and hard to follow at times, and while the gear seems like it would be fun to use, it just doesn't ever feel exciting at all. 

I don't know. Maybe I am being overly cynical because it carries the Ghostbusters brand behind it. I guess maybe I expected more from it before of the logo. But ultamitely, if this was just some random game about fighting ghosts, I never would have given it a chance. So at least the brand still has power, even if it is slightly diminished in my heart because of this game. I can live with that. 

Just don't let Michael Bay anywhere near Slimer, and we're good. 

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