Ghostbasters

Asquadron of silly spirits has descended on your town! An earthquake has caused a supernatural spazz-out and now ghosts, poltergeists and even a giant, Stay Puff Marshmallow Man are stalking the streets!

Who ya gonna call? That's right: Peter, Raymond and Egon, those far-fetched spook-chasers known on both sides of the Great Beyond as the Ghostbusters!

Ghostbusters is a delightfully offbeat action-adventure in which gamers choose one of the three movie spook-chasers as their player-character, and then embark on five assignments ranging from simple poltergeist phenomenon to the most heavily haunted castle in gaming history. The gamer selects a character, then drives the distinctive company vehicle to any of four haunted locales. The first, dubbed "Home Sweet Home", is a small dwelling afflicted by poltergeists, giggly ghosts who like to levitate household objects to use against the 'Busters.

• TIP: Each 'Buster is rated for Speed and Stamina and each resembles the corresponding actor in the "Ghostbusters" films. During game play, bar graphs monitor the character's Energy and Life, which the ghosts can drain. Remember: a Ghostbuster shoots first, and sucks up the ectoplasm later.

Other locations include the Woody House, a rural home besieged by flaming phantoms; an apartment house that an army of icy ectoplasmics has flooded, then quick-frozen; and a penthouse suite atop a luxury high-rise, currently under assault by the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man! As the character searches, the high-rise, Marshmallow Man follows his progress by peeping through the windows (one of the neatest visual effects ever seen in a video game). Periodically, his huge, white fist punches right through a wall, knocking the poor Ghostbuster senseless!

• TIP: In the Apartment scenario, there is a shortcut the 'Buster can take in the first Encounter, but part of the shortcut involves a pair of frozen platforms. If the Ghostbuster doesn't leap quickly from one ice platform to the other, they'll melt and he'll be forced to take the long way around.

• TIP: Each Boss Ghost has a weakness or vulnerable spot that, once uncovered, will help you defeat him. Even so, Bosses can absorb a lot of punishment, so find the weak spot, and then throw everything you've got at it!

Finally, the player faces his most serious challenge: a visit to the castle of Arthur the Evil Knight, and his collection of medieval horrors. The 'Buster must survive a gauntlet of dangers, like avoiding suspended blades and axes while swinging on vines, as he searches for The Storm's Calm, a legendary jewel at the heart of this ghostly uprising. When placed in a certain monument, the jewel creates an earthquake that sends the character plummeting into an underground chamber filled with bats, supernatural cactus plants — and all the Boss Ghosts the player has already defeated! The Bosses must be refought, one by one, in a supreme test of gaming skill with the fate of the city, and your fellow Ghostbusters, hanging in the balance!

Ghostbusters is challenging, entertaining and funny; an epic arcade role-playing game with something for everyone! So, when you're in the mood for some heavy-duty video game spook chasing, what'cha gonna play? Ghostbusters!