Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Ghostbusters: The Video Game on DS starts with a satisfying little ritual. You check the mission board at headquarters, choose a job, prepare the team, then take Ecto-1 to the destination. It gives each assignment a sense of setup and consequence that many licensed action games skip. You are not just dropped into a level. You are dispatching a Ghostbusters crew and hoping you packed well enough for what is ahead.

Once a mission begins, the top-down tactical format asks you to manage a group while directly controlling one character at a time. The other Ghostbusters can follow you or hold their ground, which creates a useful layer of decision-making around where the team needs to be. Missions can ask for a captured ghost or a collected object, and failure comes when the whole crew has been knocked out. That structure makes positioning matter, even when the moment-to-moment action is straightforward.

The management loop is the game’s strongest idea and its biggest demand on your patience. Mission money goes toward repairing Ecto-1, purchasing equipment, or developing character attributes. If you like coming back from a job, deciding whether to fix the car or strengthen the crew, and seeing those choices shape the next outing, there is a nice rhythm here. If you wanted a fast, uncomplicated Ghostbusters action game, the stops at headquarters and the need to think ahead may feel like busywork.

Graphics

The game uses a top-down view for both driving and missions, putting Ecto-1, the four-person team, enemies, and mission spaces into a small-scale overhead perspective. It is a practical fit for a DS game built around moving one Ghostbuster while directing the rest, though it naturally offers a less cinematic view of the Ghostbusters world than a close-up action game would.

Story

This version’s strongest sense of place comes from the Ghostbusters routine rather than a heavily foregrounded narrative. Headquarters acts as the hub, the mission board sends the team out, and Ecto-1 ties each assignment back to the familiar workaday business of answering supernatural calls. That is a sensible use of the license, because it lets you feel like part of a functioning crew instead of a lone hero on a disconnected set of stages.

The missions give the game a clear episodic shape. One job might center on capturing a ghost, while another asks the team to retrieve an object, so there is enough variety in the basic goals to suggest a series of calls rather than one repeated task. The focus stays on getting in, completing the work, and making it back with enough money to improve the operation.

Do not come to this DS entry expecting the story to carry the experience on its own. The hook is the fantasy of running assignments and keeping the team ready for the next call. For a Ghostbusters fan, that framework can be more enjoyable than a generic plot would have been, but it does not replace the need to enjoy the tactical management around it.

Overall Experience

At its best, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a curious, appealing hybrid. The combination of mission selection, equipment preparation, driving, squad tactics, and upgrades gives it a personality that stands apart from the usual licensed handheld action game. You can feel the game trying to turn the Ghostbusters business into a playable routine, and that is its most memorable success.

It is also a game that asks you to meet it on its own terms. The top-down missions, one-character control, and spending decisions create a slower, more methodical pace than the name might lead you to expect. That can turn into frustration if a mission goes poorly and you realize your crew or vehicle needs more investment before you try again.

For the right player, the payoff is a modest but distinctive Ghostbusters management adventure. Give it a chance if you enjoy tactical handheld games and want the satisfaction of preparing a team, dispatching them in Ecto-1, and building up the operation over time. Skip it if your priority is a story-heavy adventure or constant, direct action, because this one is more interested in the job than the spectacle.

Retro Replay Score

6.1/10