Ghostbusters

Preview - TR shows this prehistoric bitch how they do things downtown

Ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-da-da-da-da-da-da, and so and so forth. There aren't many films that make ideal translations into the interactive medium, but if any Hollywood IP deserves a good conversion, it is Ghostbusters. We're in London, and we're about to get our firsts hands on taste of the game, even Ray Parker Junior has turned up, such is the sense of occasion (I forgo the queue to have my picture taken with him, but there can be no arguing with the Ghostbusters music video aired - a tribute to everything wonderfully daft about the 1980s).

Terminal Reality's new game will be released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the cult film's debut, and with a June release now pencilled in, new publisher Atari have given the developers time to further perfect the experience, and creative director Drew Hayworth and producer Brendan Cross are full of praise for the publisher which picked up the game following VU's merger with Activision - and the cutting loose of the project.

Impressively, Terminal Reality have managed to lure back the entire original ensemble for this new game - Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd taking centre stage in a new plot penned by the minds behind the film. Indeed, such was Murray's enthusiasm to reprise his role as Peter Venkman, that Sigourney Weaver changed her mind and asked to be involved in the title... albeit too late (her part had already been written out of the script by that point).

Set in 1991, this game is being positioned as a third film of sorts, following on from the events of the second movie - despite persistent rumours of a real third film, and the enthusiasm of those involved. A few homages to past films are unsurprisingly present, such as the ballroom scene with slimer, which we witness first hand, Venkman and your character showing off the level of environmental interaction present; literally ripping the room to shreds while attempting to capture the entertaining green blob.

With this in mind it is worth noting that players won't be assuming the role of one of the film's iconic characters in the new game. Rather, Terminal Reality felt that the comic balance between the film's stars could not be upset by having the character assume one such role. Instead, you'll take up the mantle of a new addition to the team, a recruit of sorts, testing new equipment and watching comic dialogue unfold between the other heroes. Busting does indeed make me feel good.

In keeping with the cinematic themes Terminal Reality seem keen to promote, we're told that the game's HUD will be kept to a minimum, keeping the immersion seamless, with packs providing vital feedback on essential health and 'charge' levels. In-game cut-sequences will take place between missions, stringing the story together further, the developer having begun reworking these instances after Atari snapped up the title.

While a mix of standard shooter-style gameplay will be muddled with story, exploration and puzzles, one of the key elements of the films adds something different to the experience, players having to hold and balance ghouls over the traps in order to successfully entrap them. This really brings out a tangible feeling of being in one of the movies, as you slide a trap along the ground then hold your foes in place before guiding your ghostly victim into the yawning device.

Emergent gameplay will form a part of this, ghosts leaping from scenery as you rampage through all manner of locales, our busting-heroes taking on the Grey Lady in New York central library at one juncture. Beyond these stalwart settings, Terminal Reality will also be treating us to some brand new, otherworldly settings, the developers detailing another dimensional setting, complete with ghosts moving behind mirrors, which must be destroyed in order to expose the fiend. This segment not only showed the game's impressive visuals, but also offered a hint as to how Terminal Reality plan to mix up the gameplay.

In addition to a new singleplayer story, Ghostbusters on the Xbox 360 and PS3 will also offer up a new multiplayer game, complete with various modes, the focus being on 'jobs' according to the designers. Beyond this next-generation outing, a Wii version is also in the works - making, as you can imagine, amusing use of the Wiimote.

Despite the limitations of the Wii's innards, we're still expecting a lot of environmental interaction, the game's technology based on the same engine as the next-gen version. As such, scenery will scatter before your beams, while a comic book look and feel should prove appropriate while battling iconic foes like Stay Puft. A co-op mode is even offered on Nintendo's console, something omited from the next-gen title.

Having experienced the impressively apt gameplay during a few minutes with the Xbox 360 version - the only question marks left hang over the story, and the gameplay, which will prove crucial in making this a true third instalment. Either way, we're not spooked by what we've seen so far...