For kids of my generation, Ghostbusters is an important part of growing up. You have these four funny guys (Egon, Peter, Winston and Ray) banding together to rid the city of ghosts, the scientific way. I learned about ectoplasm and the ways of Slimer, and my sisters and I named our very first hamsters after Egon and Jeanine (the wisecracking secretary).
To give you an idea of what Ghostbusters is about, check out the movie trailer below:
A cartoon series and several movies and later, Ghostbusters is all but forgotten. Not to us who grew up watching them, and not to XMG Studio whose developers have come up with a way to keep the Ghostbusters alive through Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast.
Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast is an augmented reality (AR) game meaning you get to play it in your very own environment, where ghosts “appear” over the couch, on the walls, by the bed thanks to the camera, your location and some coding wizardry.
Most AR games involve pointing and shooting at things – Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast is no different. Here, the game generates “ghosts” you shoot at using your neutron wand and capture using the proton trap.
The game effectively helps you experience being a Ghostbuster yourself. Much like the movie, you get calls from distressed individuals about ghost sightings and you take them out one by one.
When I first played the game after it came out, it took a long time to load. So much so that I shelved it in the hopes of a substantial update. In its current version, the game is now blazingly fast and easy to play.
You can purchase and upgrade your gear and utilities from the store. Special currency lets you buy special power ups as well.
You encounter a recurring cast of ghosts that improve or upgrade over time, ramping up the difficulty. However, you will encounter for the most part, the same types of ghosts, only leveled up.
Overall, Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast is pretty good. Everything runs smoothly now, and loading time has been greatly reduced. There are plenty of levels to keep you busy, but it would have been nice if there were additional missions to provide some variety. The graphics are pretty nice although the ghosts themselves don’t look scary.
My biggest quibble however is the fact that the game does not feel like a Ghostbusters product. It lacks the charm and personality of the hugely popular series, though to people who are not familiar with the series and movies, the game should be just fine. It’s not a compelling buy, much as I’ve enjoyed playing the game so far. As far as AR games go, Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast might be middle of the pack. However, for the speedy rendering and ease of use, it is certainly a game worth considering.
Download link: Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast
Device: iPhone and iPad (requires gyroscope and camera)
Price: $1.99
Copy: Provided by the developer
Developer/Publisher: XMG Studio, Inc.
Ver: 1.1
appSIZED rating: 3/5