Ghostbusters - In-depth Written Commodore 64 Review With Pics
Ghostbusters
Commodore 64, 1984
Activision/David Crane
$29.95
*Shown/played as designed, 60hz NTSC, 4:3 aspect ratio
*If pics show artifacting, zoom in/out (CRT effect)
Just as everything else, the life of a computer has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A long lived platform's three distinct phases start when nobody, including the people who designed the machine, have any clue as to what its real capabilities are. Merely numbers, specs mean little until artists are able to illustrate what those numbers mean. There were those who could see a potential for the Commodore 64 equaling the state of the art arcade titles of the time, such as Donkey Kong, but third parties didn't take chances on unproven technology. Generally the first to give off the inklings of the future were the names behind the machine; Avenger, Omega Race, and Gorf were all wonderful examples of early 64 games published by Commodore themselves. In some cases they're clones, but others were licensed versions of legitimate arcade games, of course many arcade games had been clones themselves.
Any 64 collection would sorely miss these early titles, but if you happened to own a VIC-20 you'd know that the 64 games from Commodore had originally been ports designed for the VIC. There wasn't even a true graphics mode over there (however, the VIC's user defined text was on par with lesser graphics based computers). Much of the 64's early 3rd party library consisted of straight ports of VIC-20, Apple II, Atari 800, and text games. It takes time, Nintendo had sat on the Japanese Famicom for two years worth of games best described as "fit for an Atari 800", storming American shores only when Super Mario Bros. showed what was possible. The legendary AGI game engine from Sierra that impressed DOS gamers until 1989? Straightest of ports off 1984 Apple II technology. With as often as Amiga users complained of straight DOS or Atari ST ports, in reality multiple 3rd parties (EA and Cinemaware prominent) released games no other system could dream of inside of the Amiga's first year of existence.
The Commodore 64 remains the best selling single computer model of all time, and by late 1984 if it hadn't yet obtained that title, it was well on its way to snatching it away from the VIC-20, the first model to sell over a million. It's crazy to think that much of the early life of such a hot selling computer was being dictated by the 1977 Apple II or the 1979 Atari 800. Sadder to see how despite the numbers for the VIC-20, it ended with a shorter life than systems which sold much less, likely due to it not being as compatible as the 64 was with those other models. The life of a computer starts with translations and inspirations from those that came before, the middle is when it comes into its own. With the 64 comparing decently with or surpassing many 8-bit systems, the NES, DOS, and Amiga would go on to receive many ports of 64 designed games well into the late 80's. The end of a long and well lived computer's life is when the impossible is somehow accomplished, with late 80's and early 90's games seeming almost 16-bit off the now tired 8-bit hardware. The transition always starts somewhere, with one or a handful of companies taking those first steps in showing everybody what they've been missing. Ghostbusters was among the first games to take those steps for the Commodore 64. 
^Starting our franchise, equipment, catching our first ghost
The game wastes no time in getting to its biggest breakthroughs, bursting instantaneously upon loading with sampled speech playfully shouting "Ghostbusters!", and a full karaoke version of the theme song. The music isn't merely "cute", which is probably the best you could say of any video game music prior to this. No, it's good. It's so good you want to sing along with the bouncing ball as it moves through the lyrics. As the words change the music cascades along with it, there's no recycling of earlier melodies. You'll sit in front of your Commodore and listen to the entire song, perhaps hitting the spacebar at appropriate times to have it shout "Ghostbusters!" This wasn't just any song, it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a month in 1984, the music video even featuring the cast. This is likely the biggest song to appear legally on a computer or console to this point. The PC was years away from music which was not an assault to your ears, and to this point the 64 itself had largely been limited to music first designed on the Atari 800. This song could have only been done this good on the Commodore 64.
The future of good games requiring good music starts here, though it would remain frustratingly uncommon. Even when you would get some decent tunes, they'd often be on 25 second loops or less. One reviewer of the era even claimed he'd buy this game for its introduction alone. To me that's a ridiculous lie, no song would turn an awful game into something worth buying on its own. Another reviewer found it appropriate to go in the other direction, bashing the very thing that makes the game so innovative, by saying it's too repetitious with the one song on repeat. You need to be aware of when a barrier has been broken, all good things start somewhere and you simply can't expect the first in the line to have done everything perfectly. There were games made in the 90's which didn't sound this good, which didn't have a single song lasting for four minutes. Besides the music and the "Ghostbusters" speech sample, the same voice can also shout "He slimed me!", "Ahhhhhhhh!", and a malevolent "Hahahahaha!"All of the samples sound good and are presented humorously.
The actual game begins with a typewritten screen depicting an application to start your own Ghostbusters franchise. While I've heard people bash this concept, I really wouldn't be surprised if the idea had come from Dan Aykroyd himself, as the franchising element gets visited in the cartoon as well as unfinished movie scripts. Here it's just a means to an economy and a password based reward system, but the game is presented as a variation of the movie, not as a continuation happening elsewhere. You start with $10,000 to buy a car and equipment. There are four vehicle choices presented from the cheapest Volkswagen Beetle, the actual hearse from the movie, a station wagon, and the most expensive sports car. While the Beetle is cheap it doesn't hold much equipment, and would thus prove difficult to use when new to the game. The hearse is the best to start with, capable of holding enough gear to get a handle on gameplay. While the station wagon holds the most, its cost prohibits most equipment until you receive a continuation password. The sports car will only hold a bit more than the Beetle, winning with it would only be a flex for those who've mastered the game. 
^Getting slimed
Various equipment can be bought, but must be weighed with the knowledge that you can't win unless you make more money than you started with. This along with the cars is the main strategic element in Ghostbusters. The PK energy detector turns buildings purple, indicating a particular building will "become" haunted soon. This is in addition to the red buildings that are haunted "now", which you don't need equipment to detect. It's a strategic element having to do with the main game map which I'll discuss later, while it's helpful it might be easier for the newcomer to win without it. Ghost bait is essential to ridding the map of the Marshmallow Man, and I'd wonder if anybody could win the game without it. A vacuum will suck up ghosts during the driving sections, in the event you first froze them on the map. This helps to keep the PK energy from shooting upward when ghosts get to the center of the map, and I'd imagine only the experienced could go without it.
Traps are the only item you're required to buy. You need at least one, even if you spring for the unlimited containment pack, but I'd recommend 3 for the beginner in order to keep costs down, and 5 for those continuing the game with passwords. An image intensifier turns flickering ghosts solid, so they're more easily seen. If you can get along without it you're better off, as it costs $800. Finally the Marshmallow Sensor will turn buildings white on the map, indicating the giant sailor will soon be attacking. It's nice to have this as a warning, it gets your hands ready to press the "B" button in order to bait him, but otherwise it's not needed. That's everything, and it's an interesting bit of strategy to everything. Much of it is there to give the game a bit of replay value, the beginner goes in with the cheaper Beetle only to realize he's far underprepared. Even if you don't win the game you can still make more money than you started with, allowing you to use the password provided to get a better car and more equipment, perhaps making your life easier. Upon conquering it all you can still come back, only now you get to do it with the best stuff. It's ambitious for the time, though I think it could use more equipment, as well as the ability to purchase items while you're playing.
The map screen always consists of buildings, ghosts, a moving key, a moving keyhole, and represented by the Ghostbusters logo, is you. Upon moving you'll notice Pac Man like pellets behind you, this should be thought of as plotting your course. You haven't actually moved anywhere yet, you're just planning for where you will be driving. You move around until you find a flashing red building, and you press the fire button to enter the driving section. If you ran across a ghost on the map screen you can now move the car around and attempt to vacuum them into your car, otherwise you just keep going until you reach the building. How long you're driving is directly related to how much you've moved on the map screen. If you made a lot of rounds on the map it's possible a ghost will no longer be there upon your arrival, which is why it's nice to have the PK detector to show you the purple buildings. In the event you're traveling to a building which is directly across from your current location, you won't even have to drive, another strategic bit to keep in mind. 
^Losing, the Marshmallow Man
On an objective level I would say the driving section is the weakest area of the game. Graphically it's an impressive zoomed image of your vehicle, and it certainly serves a purpose through the vacuuming of ghosts, keeping the PK energy in check. But there's just not enough going on with the driving, later ports would improve it significantly in my opinion. Interestingly it's said that this was the first area of the game to have been worked on, prior to the Ghostbusters license. I can't personally see how this could have stood on its own, sans robust development. Upon driving to a building you will fight a ghost who resembles Slimer. Place your characters, activate your beams when ready, and push or pull the spectral spook to the general area of the trap and activate it to capture them. It's an action scene which is always about the feel, an area I'm rarely interested in discussing. Both the fun and frustration is in you figuring out the best ways to accomplish this.
On the frustrating side I felt the ghosts tended to hug the right side of the screen a little too much, while taking their sweet time to move down to where my proton packs could reach them. Overall the actual ghost busting is both fun as well as rewarding to figure out. You'd do best to save your packs for when you know they're within a ghosts reach, otherwise their power will decrease and force you to take an early drive to headquarters. Keep an eye on the traps you've used, as you'll also have to drive back to empty those or clean up any fallen comrades. Failing to trap a ghost results in them sliming you, representing your lives. If two of your men get slimed, the third guy is there to drive them back home to get cleaned up, so there's unlimited lives but you're penalized with time taken away from making money. How much any ghost earns you was never clear to me, except that it didn't seem to be about how fast you got them. Money earned ranged in one hundred dollar increments from $300-$1,000, often between $600-$800.
The big money maker is the Marshamllow Man, who can earn you a quick $2,000 if you're able to bait him upon showing up on the map. This happens randomly after the PK energy reaches around 5,000. The sensor which turns buildings white can help you anticipate this, and I also noticed he liked to show up directly upon exiting the ghost catching screens. You just have to be lightning quick to hit the "B" button, and you can only bait him four times. If he destroys a building you're fined $4,000, which can quickly erase your successes and was responsible for much of my losing. There's also a strategic element here, will you purposely drive longer routes to reduce his chance of spawning? Will you stay on the map longer and hope the Keymaster and Gatekeeper reach the "Zuul" building early? Lots of thought went into the map elements. Fighting ghosts resets the moving key and keyhole, which both move randomly at every intersection. When both reach the middle "Zuul" building the game ends, or when the PK energy reaches 9,999. If you've got the money you need to win, you might want to let the ghosts flood into the Zuul building. I'm thoroughly impressed with the amount of thinking required for this license based action game from 1984.
^Losing with a consolation prize, things getting hectic
The gaming industry as a whole was still reeling from the pains of the Video Game Crash of 1983. In some eyes it had been a singular licensed based title which had caused or at least contributed to this event, E.T. for the Atari 2600. Of course realities are rarely cut and dried. Atari may have had unrealistic expectations with thoughts of Pacman on their minds, a game which sold millions despite its numerous cut corners on the 2600. They would manufacture over four million cartridges for E.T., which would sell two and a half million, it would have been a success without warped expectations. Rushed to be completed in only five weeks, a flawed though ambitious title was nevertheless produced. It required an audience made up of children to read a manual, to think. Combine all of these issues with a media eager to find the next sensational, devil worshiping Dungeons and Dragons type story, and the Video Game Crash seems much less meaningful than it's made out to be, but of course that doesn't make it meaningless.
While it's not often stated by those who've only followed consoles, the computer industry in America was fairly uneffaced by the crash. Computers such as the Commodore 64 were likely bolstered by parents seeking an affordable machine which could teach their child, in addition to giving them entertainment. Still, there was a constant drumming from the media, even those following computers often dismissed the less expensive machines for their strengths in gaming. Conveniently forgetting that if a computer has the power to play good games, it's possible it could run an ugly spreedsheet. In the end the successes of the affordable 8 and 16 bit machines would force IBM and the bigger clone market to step up their own "game", and offer affordable machines largely built around their entertainment value along with the added benefits of productivity, exactly what the cheaper machines had always offered.
Ghostbusters is among a small list of licensed film titles to follow the infamous E.T., and yet it came out nearly two years later. Other than a couple Star Wars titles, the small list of licenses consisted of games like Halloween and Porky's during this time. Being arguably the biggest film of 1984 in America (there's some weird issues concerning dates which cause many to say Beverly Hills Cop, and worldwide it was Temple of Doom), the adaptation of Ghostbusters as a video game is certainly noteworthy for the time. The rights were given to Activision, probably the biggest third party game developer at that time, and remains a force in gaming to this day. David Crane, co-founder of Activision and already a legend for his numerous Atari 2600 titles designed the game, choosing to code on the Commodore 64 for the first time.
^Some comparisons, catching more ghosts
Graphically the game looks fairly good for the era, although the graphic capabilities of the 64 aren't being particularly pushed. Both the Apple II and Atari 800 versions feature the same backgrounds, which can only mean it's one of the 64's lesser graphics modes. The sprites certainly outshine the other versions which were made at the time, which also included the Atari 2600, PC CGA, PC-JR, Amstrad CPC, MSX, and the ZX Spectrum. But really the music is what showed everybody what they were missing by not designing on this platform. There would be later ports to the NES and Master System, with the NES version receiving vehement loathing online these days. Having both the 64 and NES version, I played it on the NES more back in the day, feeling it gave the game that bit of extra in which it needed. But things are harder to figure out on the NES, and while adding interesting things it also took away some good things, and I'd certainly respect thoughts saying the Master System is the best of them all. That version was more about polishing the original while also adding upon it in a more respectful way.
Story wise there's an insert included with the box, reading about as hammy as it could possible get. It's presented as an invitation to crash a party given by the Gatekeeper and Keymaster for Gozer, the destroyer of subcreatures, cover charge 10 grand. It'd be awful if it wasn't being intentionally ridiculous, but I couldn't help smiling. There's a few more pages involving mechanics which mention the franchising, but that's all the story on offer. You really need knowledge of the movie to understand what it's getting at. You buy things, you drive places, you catch ghosts, and when you've ended the game with more money than you started with, you face off against the Marshmallow Man, a boss battle of sorts. He's protecting your entrance into Dana's apartment, who is now a dog named Zuul, hence the name of the building. Jumping from side to side in a nice animation, you must sneak past him to enter the building. I failed a lot, but at least I got to restart with the added money. Upon sneaking two of your three men past him, a fairly impressive cutscene for the time shows the building scrolling to the rooftop as we cross the streams to defeat Gozer, a satisfying sampled scream of "Ahhhhhhh!" and some victory text. A bit of replay value remains in playing with the sports car and containment center, using your earnings as a highscore.
The magazines of the era overwhelming loved the game, although I couldn't help but wonder if one or two hadn't been paid off by Activision. The one which arose the most suspicion was Ahoy!, using swaths of buzzwords, and noting how Activision always shunned licences because they preferred to lead the path with landmark games. Ending by saying "If the Motion Picture Academy adds an Oscar for best computer game based on a feature film, we know just who the person who opens the envelope is gonna call." Computer Entertainer gave it 4 out of 4 stars, "With as many games as we see each month, it takes an extraordinarily good one to get us so excited we have to show it to everyone we know." "It had us mesmerized from the moment the computer shouted Ghostbusters", "One of the best of the year". It would later place as 7th in that newsletters computer top ten, probably a sales chart. Info-64 said it had "...lots of good animation and graphics, top notch sound effects...This game has everything!" and would later give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
^Winning
Run said "...it successfully combines the essence of the movie with the monetary strategy of games like Monopoly." Going on to note its superior graphics, sound, and challenges not found in other games. They criticized the lack of two player mode and repeating music, but finished by saying it was an excellent game for "...adults who are tired of playing games designed for youngsters." Computer Gaming World said it "...showcases the graphics and sound capabilities of the C-64..." Commodore Power Play touched on licenses from the past and being skeptical of this one, but that "...the former failures... are simply skeletons in competitors closets..." Antic, covering the Atari 800 version, stated it was "...the first adaption to capture both the feel and theme of the movie on which it is based." Hardcore Computist was among the few who did not care for the game, covering the Apple II version (the only version I played which I didn't enjoy myself), "...delivers remarkably little real entertainment. People WATCH movies, they want to PLAY games. Ghostbusters is too close to a copy of the movie to be an enjoyable game." Electronic Games was the magazine closest to my own opinion, noting there's a bit to be desired, but "...if you want a snappy change of pace program with varied action and tons of cute, who ya gonna call?!"
Europe was much the same, with Computer and Video Games saying it was "...the best I've ever played on a micro. The graphics are superb, and the sound, well the sound is better than anything you've ever heard from a micro.", "See the film and buy the game. You won't regret it", handing out scores of 9 in all areas except sound, which got a 10. From Your Commodore, "...a round of applause for the programmers please.", getting 4 stars and placing as the #1 best selling Commodore 64 game from Gallup charts. Your Computer said "...I've never heard such a remarkable implementation of a popular song on a home computer..." giving the game 4 stars. In Europe the only negative reviews I saw were for the ZX Spectrum, Crash giving it a 60% score.
For me there's a lot of fun and it's undoubtedly cute, but there's certainly more to be desired as well. E.T. had five weeks worth of development, Ghostbusters had six. Nothing worked on in such haste deserves quite the adoration this one got back then, and I could see money exchanging hands to assure this would not be perceived as E.T. was. That said, really most of them I feel were excited because they're finally seeing a glimpse of what the Commodore 64 can do, here it's mostly with the astounding music. In some ways the game feels like a safe version of E.T., in that there's accessible action elements for a kid to pick up and play, which E.T. did not have, but there's also those added elements of complexity which requires thinking. Crane was never one to follow what was expected of him, and I think what he managed here is commendable. It's a couple of scenes away from being really good in my eyes, and perhaps the Master System or NES versions better achieved that, at least for me. It's still a pivotal title for both licencing history as well as the 64, and I'd recommend you'd give it a go. Check out my video review, where I read the hammy story, the magazines discussed above, and show comparisons with other versions. Readers of this article may also enjoy my looks at Ghostbusters 1 and 2 (NES), The Three Stooges (Amiga), or Jumpman (C64).
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