Since most of us here at BG come from a heavy pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons background this was a title that peaked our interests a few months back. This franchise is well overdue for a revamped series that is accessible in multi and single player scenarios. Atari and Wizards of the Coast seem to know this but can they bring our dice rolling fantasy to our console/PC and do it justice? Lets see…

The Bad
I want to end this on a good note so just let me get the bad stuff out of the way. I’m not going to fill you in on a story background, this is a ‘hack and slash’ game. The story seems sort of back seat to you runnning around looting barrells and killing goblins. We all could expect this from an ‘arcade’ type game. So don’t expect heavy dialogue (just heavy dwarf grunting), and missions like – go kill these guys here, go destroy that mine shaft there, escort this fella over here so he can make you a new shiny sword..etc. Very lack luster, but like I said, I don’t care much about that here, what I wanna know is if it’s fun for me, or worth my time to invest the 1200 microsoft points to satisfy my RPG fix on our occasional sober weekend nights.

Im a stickler on customization of my character, I will spend much too much time making my toon. Like hours if I can’t get it right. Outfitting and gear are a big part of RPGs for me. That was my first big dissappointment here. You get to pick one of four basic D&D Class/Races. Elf rogue, Dwarf cleric, Human warrior, and a Halfling mage (with corn rolls). No hair or face options, just what you see is what you get. They could of given us a few Male/Female options atleast. Big minus for me…

This was suppost to be a transfer of 4th edition rules right? Well at 3rd level I seem to have acquired 145hp (If I remember I should have around 25hp). The weapon damages are all accurate why wouldnt the players HP reflect that also? Maybe too many dots or since it’s not turn based combat they decided to give us a nice cushiony buff. Probably for the better, but still… D&D nerds will notice their numbers not adding up.

Button mashing. The combat is lots of hitting ‘X’ over and over with the slight special attack thrown in there…somewhat repetitive. It does work, and well we all kinda figured we’d be spamming and spamming to see how much we ‘crit’ for, or how much our ‘backstab’ hits at. It would of been nice to include some tatics here and there, and maybe multi-ing it with friends could lead to flanking mobs, or kiting strategies to handle some of the swarms of mobs that are hurled at you. Respawns of critters seems to be fast also, for those who are into blind ‘XP farming’.

The Good
Once you get past the button spamming and getting over the “I wanted to play a female dwarf to see if she could have a beard”, this game has some nice appeal for the BusyGamer. Quick runs with your friends, levelling up and searching for new gear I will never get tired of. The weapon and armor merchants have random items that are level based, they do change between saves it sorta seems, since I was frequently returning to vendors to see what they may have added. And these items reflect well on your character, better swords glow, bows have fire around them that do ‘fire damage’, and armors change your appearance accordingly. This is do like. When I upgrade my weapon, it should make me feel ‘upgraded’. I see that instead of adding character options, they just added a ton of different loot.

Blood and stuff. The fighting animations are very stylized. Nice blood splats and poision clouds from deadly arrows were a nice touch. Fireballs look like fireballs. Ice spells keep you rooted with ice shards coming out of the ground. It’s good to see the power of these smaller DL’d games be used, and they didn’t skimp on the effects.

The level maps are pretty big. I found myself really looking at the UI map of the cave areas to see what spots or treasure chests I may have missed. They are well marked with quest givers, vendors, and objectives so you wont get lost and caught back in a horde of respawned baddies.

Levelling seems adequately rewarding, not too fast, actually seemed a bit slow, but over all will make the game a good 12hrs or so to finish. Which is pretty fat for a DL.

The Overall
Good if you want a quick jump in and loot some mobs and try to get some upgraded gear. Good if you like a game that you could probably have fun with over XBLive with your buddies while drinking a beer at the same time. Good if you like attention to detail with some nice casting and magic item effects, that reflect well on your playing style, and good if you understand this is not a Dragon Age, or even Baulders Gate caliber of game. Bad if you want good story, indepth character customization, combat tactics, turn based strategy, or a game that requires you to think a whole lot more than past your ‘X’ button. It’s a quick ‘hack and slash let’s see how fast we can dps this mofo down’ type of game, and that’s exactly what I think WOTC and Atari set out to do.

Hey buddy, what are used Romulans going for now days?

(Gamespot) – Less than three years ago, Atari acquired Cryptic Studios in a deal potentially worth $75 million, with the intention of making the massively multiplayer online game developer a cornerstone in its transition to becoming an online game publishing giant. That intention will never be realized, as the publisher today announced it plans to wash its hands of the studio behind Star Trek Online and Champions Online.

Atari revealed the planned divestiture in its full-year financial report, with Cryptic’s impact on the bottom line filed under the “discontinued operations” section of Atari’s report. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, Atari reported that Cryptic lost a total of €5.3 million ($7.5 million). That was an improvement over the prior year, when Cryptic launched both Star Trek Online and Champions Online, and Atari had the studio down as losing €12.6 million ($17.8 million).

“In line with the previously stated strategy of fewer but more profitable releases and further expansion into casual online and mobile games, the company has determined that external development creates more flexibility in the changing marketplace,” Atari explained in its financial report. “Therefore, the company has made the decision to divest itself from Cryptic Studios. The divestiture process is underway and more details will be provided as appropriate.”

Beyond its previous two online role-playing games, Cryptic has also been at work on Neverwinter, an online game based on the Dungeons & Dragons brand popularized in games by the Neverwinter Nights series. As of press time, Atari has not responded to GameSpot’s request for a status update on Neverwinter, or how the divestiture will impact the ongoing operations of Champions Online and Star Trek Online. However, a community representative on the Star Trek Online forums indicated “there are no planned changes to the way any of our games and projects will operate.”

Nolan Bushnell founder of Atari.

(Game Politics) – A new web site called Anti-AgingGames.com launched yesterday, offering brain fitness optimized for “mentally healthy people” over the age of 35. The site is the brainchild of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, who serves as advisor and as the company’s chief game visionary. The company also announced that 20 percent of its pre-tax profits will be given to charity.

The site will offer visitors “scientifically-based brain fitness games” optimized for mentally healthy people over age 35, for a monthly subscription fee. Brain training activities include memory, concentration and focus games, as well as games that provide relaxation and stress reduction.

Anti-AgingGames.com was co-founded by Elizabeth Amini, a former scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with a background in cognitive science. Co-founder Brent Bushnell serves as Chief Technology Officer. Anti-AgingGames.com’s Scientific Advisory Board includes Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., Neuroscientist at Rockefeller University; Linda Kaplan, M.D., Clinical Neurologist and Professor of Clinical Neurology at University of California, Irvine Medical Center; Simon Tan, Psy.D., A.B.P.P., Neuropsychologist at Stanford University Medical Center; Muriel Lezak, Ph.D., Neuropsychologist and Professor Emerita of Neurology at Oregon Health and Science University; and Michael D. Campos, Ph.D., Staff Program Researcher at UCLA. Bill Lennartz, recently retired President and CEO of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego, is Chairman of the Board of Advisors.

“It has been disappointing to watch videogames become increasingly violent and complicated over the years and lacking in fun, socially engaging and educational features. I have long believed that video and computer games could be highly effective, fun educational tools, and I am pleased to see more activity on that front,” says Bushnell.

Ghostbusters - Busy Gamer Score 4

First Glance:
It’s a video game based on the hilarious movies about finding and capturing ghosts and demons.

Short Story:
What was called the, “unofficial third movie” by some, an original story written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis that takes place in the early ninties, a few years after the events of Ghostbusters 2.

The Score:
This game had a great story to it, and the replay value is pretty high for me. Not to mention the online jobs you can do to earn extra cash and capture even more ghosts that are terrorizing the people of New York. I would give this game a solid 4. The gameplay is great as well as the cinematics. It’s an all around solid game.

Body of Review:
Since I was a little kid, I loved watching the Ghostbusters movies and cartoon T.V. show. The humor and the plot of the movies always kept me entertained. So naturally, when I heard that there was actually going to be a Ghostbusters video game, I was stoked! My only cocerns were that Atari, who published the game, would get some random people to write and voice the game. But I was wrong. The games features an original story written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, who wrote the first two movies, and that the voices of the Ghostbusters themselves would be none other than the original cast: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson.

The opening scene itself sticks true to the Ghostbuster franchise: a security guard walking through a dark museum is startled by a woman running through. As he chases after her, a strange burst of blue energy goes through New York and the guard is over come by something and the Ghostbusters music and logo kick in.

Now, on to the actual game. Unfortuantly, the initial career mode is only meant for one player, so no busting ghosts with your friends while playing through the story. Your character is a new recruit to the Ghostbusters team. To avoid any chances of growing close to you incase you quit from being afraid or you die while trying to catch a ghost, Peter Venckmen(Bill Murray) insists that your name remains unknown. He doesn’t talk much either, which I like because it kinda gives me the feeling that the new kid is sort of like Link from the Legend of Zelda franchise: doesn’t say much, but gets the job done.

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