“Sanctum of Slime delivers a lot of fan service for true fans
Growing up I was a big fan of the Ghostbusters movies, as I’m sure many of us were. Unfortunately good Ghostbusters video games have been hard to find. The one back in the day on the Sega Genesis wasn’t everything we would have hoped for; and the 2009 Ghostbusters video game was close but no cigar. Sanctum of slime offers a completely new perspective of the paranormal blasting extravaganza.
Played from the top-down, Sanctum of Slime uses both the analog sticks, one to move your character and the other to shoot in any direction you please. I was using a wired Xbox 360 controller to play the PC version, so going off of that controller you can also use the right bumper to change the type of plasma beam used. This is important as different varieties of ghosts are vulnerable to different types of plasma beams. The type of beam they are most vulnerable to is identified by their color, each of your different beams has a different color to help you identify which one to use.
Although the gameplay seems simple enough, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime gets very difficult after a couple levels. You will frequently be engaged by a whole range of different enemy types, meaning you have to react quickly, changing your plasma type in swift fashion. You will often die in Sanctum of Slime, but as long as your four person squad isn’t completely wiped out the game is not over. When you die your team mates will struggle to revive you while dodging enemy attacks. You also share the same responsibility of looking out for your team as it becomes very difficult to progress if one of the team is out cold. You must revive your team members by tapping the action button, which is A on the Xbox 360 controller. You have to time this right in the various battles otherwise it will lead to your squads bodies being piled up whilst trying to revive one another.
“The PC version is gimped only allowing local multiplayer.
The story of Sanctum of Slime is told via graphic novel screens prior to each level. You don’t get to play as the original Ghostbuster team unfortunately, but the rookies have a reasonable introduction, and through the consistency of the teamwork you will come to embrace each character eventually. Companion A.I can sometimes be extremely frustrating, with teammate errors sometimes leading to the whole squads death. If this bothers you enough you have the option of utilizing multiplayer. My main gripes with that however is that it’s not online, which is very questionable. Whilst the console versions allow you to play online, the PC version is gimped only allowing local multiplayer. This without a doubt takes away a few cool points from Sanctum of Slime.
Progression is simple enough, though challenging. There are 12 levels to get through overall and in each of them you will run from room to room eliminating all ghosts. There are also levels where you get to ride in the Ecto-1 which helps change the pacing a little. At the end of each level you are faced with a boss, which requires you and your team to use strategy to take it out. To completely end the boss battle you must release the famous Ghostbuster trap, which then presents you with a ‘Quick Time Event’; for those who are unaware of what a QTE is, it’s a button command you must input as fast as it shows up on screen.
“It’s damned near a steal for the price
Sanctum of Slime delivers a lot of fan service for true fans of the franchise. With the original Ghostbuster theme song and much of the score from the movie; along with recognizable sound effects, fans will truly be immersed with the Ghostbusting experience despite the new characters. Of course there can’t be a Ghostbuster game without Slimer, and you will see him multiple times throughout the game. I’m just upset that the much loved Stay Puft Marshmallow man didn’t make the game this time.
As a PSN, Xbox Live and PC downloadable game this is well worth the price. I can see true fans playing through at least twice as the game offers great value for the low price. It’s devastating that the PC version lacks online multiplayer, and it’s something which constantly makes me frown upon Atari and developer Behaviour. Who you gonna call? I think I should call up Atari immediately and tell them to “Stop it slime”, because no multiplayer is unacceptable. However there wasn’t much else to complain about besides frustrating A.I, and I really enjoyed the game. As a huge Ghostbusters fan I can honestly say that Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is definitely a game to call on, it’s damned near a steal for the price.
This review was based on a purchased copy of the game for the PS3.
