Bottom of the Barrel (no.6): Ghostbusters 2

Well we have a new Ghostbusters movie coming out soon so before it becomes the fandom's punching bag, let's talk about the previous claimant to that dubious honor: Ghostbusters 2.

Or to be more precise, the game I played that called itself Ghostbusters 2.

This was a game I played when I was a little tacker alongside my brother (more on that later) on the venerable Commodore 64. Unsurprisingly, this is yet one more title in the dubious field of 'movie-tie-in-game'. So naturally, we can expect the following: Not much of a game speak of and what little there is restricted to following the plot of the movie.
Of course, many of you younger tykes may scoff at the notion of playing an ancient Commodore 64 game but I can assure you that a) the Commodore 64 was capable of far better games than this and b) the problems that befall current 'movie-tie-in-games' existed back in 1989 and have since been never properly solved.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Observe, if you will, a longplay of the full game:

Original video located here. Accessed 4th July 2016

As you can see, the game consists of three sections that follow the movie closely: First, we have a Ghostbuster (Ray?) descending down the shaft into the Van Horne subway tunnel to retrieve a slime sample. Next, we have the Statue of Liberty striding through New York with it's flame torch defeating swarms of ghosts and finally we have the Ghostbusters themselves confronting Vigo at the museum.
It's certainly a creative and varied approach to game design yes but does it work in practice?

Of course not.

You see, the biggest problem with this game is that the gameplay and controls are a disaster. You, the player are expected to use both the joystick AND the keyboard at the same time!
In the first section, the single-button joystick is used to control the Ghostbuster but the keyboard is used to select the right item to use. And good luck choosing the right item when things are getting hectic!
Later, in the second section, the joystick controls the fireball but the keyboard is used to control the direction of the New York populace who are collecting the slime of the defeated ghosts. That may sound easy in practice were it not for the ghosts marching on the ground and killing off your dudes! And good luck keeping track of everything happening on both the ground and the air!
As for the third section, I didn't see it that often: That second section was more or less a killer for me.

With controls like that you really needed a second person to play this game. And that's where my brother came in: We joined forces to play this game with him on the joystick and me on the keyboard.
We never succeeded in beating the game however. Our attempts were dogged by the tough difficulty, the frustrating gameplay and the unreliability of our gaming partner. That Second Section in particular was really an exercise in frustration even with a second person helping out. Example: I needed to catch the slime form the defeated ghosts. But kept missing big batches of it because of the ground ghosts blocked my path. Could I get my brother to help out and shoot the ground ghosts? No, because he was too tied up shooting the ghosts in the air....
In addition, on the few times we did make it the the third section, I relying on a guide, tried to convince my brother that Janosz (the first enemy) with the slime gun/pack, Vigo (the second enemy) had to be defeated with the Proton Pack. But my brother never believed me.
Still, watching this video I take comfort in the knowledge that I was right.

Of course, this is just one more addition to massive pile of 'movie-tie-in-game' that plague gaming history. Mind you, I will concede that they all can't be the 'lightning in the bottle' success that was Goldeneye but they could at least try and put some effort into it.

At the Movies

Some random thoughts about Movie Tie-in games:

Yes we all know about these: Shoddy games that were thrown together in a short space of time with no thought beyond simple brand recognition. They are despised by gamers everywhere and treated with nothing but absolute contempt for their purpose and utter shamelessness in proclaiming it.

I find the contempt for movie-tie-in games interesting because I grew up in the era of the Commodore 64. There were certainly a lot of movie-tie-in games there but some of them were creative, interesting and fun to play. Okay so maybe back then the developers had a far inferior platform to work with (compared to now) but it's interesting to see some movie-tie-in games where effort was being put into and not being just a quick cash grab.

Here's some worthy of note:

Batman.
It follows the plot of the original Tim Burton movie closely and does so with different styles of gameplay. The music's pretty good too (or at least for a c64 SID chip)

Top Gun
Here's a clever use of a film license: A split screen dogfight between enemy jets! And the absence of Tom Cruise is even better!

Platoon
An odd choice for a film license to be sure but it works here. Somehow.
Still the music is pretty good

Ultimately though, these are relics from an age long gone. Now, the reason why movie-tie-in games are such a damning sight is that the developers have a very limited amount of time to deliver upon a brand. Is it therefore any wonder why many of these movie-tie-in games come across as being half-arsed? Of course there is only one movie-tie-in game that is highly regarded (both then and now) and that's Goldeneye 007 on the N64. But even that a) had something of it's own say b) was the product of a long time in development even well beyond the movie's original year of release and c) really something revolutionary hiding behind the guise of brand recognition. And Goldeneye 007 turned out to be both a massive hit and a revolution in console FPS. So what does that success represent for movie-tie-in games? One in a hundred? One in five hundred? Lightening in a bottle?

Still is there any hope for movie-tie-in games to recover from this stigmata and somehow be taken seriously? Probably not but ina way I am hopeful. It would be nice to have a movie-tie-in game to be both recognised as brilliant and not Goldeneye 007

Degeneration (no.5)

And here we go with the next installment in this series. And what a time the fifth console generation was: A new contender stepped into the field and everything was turned upside down. How did this affect me? Funny you should ask…

Sony Playstation
Well there was no getting around it. If anything, the fifth console generation will be best remembered by the arrival of Sony in the console race. And unlike other would-be contenders, like the 3DO or the Jaguar, the PlayStation had the support of a major electronics company behind it and a cunning marketing plan clearly aimed at young adults. Right from the word go Sony had become a force that was pretty much here to stay.



For much the mid-nineties I was in high school and as a result, my interest in video games waned – true I did get abreast of what was happening but other times my focus was elsewhere. Yet even with my aloofness there was really no escape the Playstation juggernaut. I was surprised to see familiar franchises like Castlevania and Metal Gear get a new lease of life. I recall seeing ads for Final Fantasy 8 on TV and I was equally surprised to see PS1 games appear in my local music store. But even if my interest in PS1 was limited at the time, I do recall visiting friends (again) and playing Tekken and Loaded. I also recognised conversions of favourite arcade games (Darkstalkers), Windows 95 games (Return Fire) and adaptations of ace anime (Ghost in the Shell).
True my interest in video games had hit a low point but I knew what Playstation was and it was reason enough to get excited. I recall thinking what games I’d get if I got one (although I’d only actually play them in the next generation…..more on that later) so that must make for a positive sign. I remember seeing some of the stunning game cinematic and being blown away.

In retrospect though, there is something about the Playstation that doesn’t sit well with me. Remember in my SNES review how people will struggle to come with a best game that wasn’t made by Square or Nintendo? Well, it’s the same problem here.
Allow me to elaborate: One of the key reasons behind the success of the Playstation is that it was able to offer a home to a lot of third-party developers who were angry at Sega’s missteps and annoyed Nintendo’s restrictions. Thus, it’s clear to me that whilst a lot of familiar IP got a new lease of life many attempts to come up with something new didn’t go anywhere.
Ask anyone which was the best PS1 game and they’d say either Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy 7 or Metal Gear Solid. Beyond those big three it’s a struggle to come up with something else. Aside from Gran Turismo and maybe Tomb Raider it’s a struggle to come up with any real franchise starters. Sure the afore-mentioned ‘Big Three’ may have gone their own direction but they still started from somewhere else nonetheless. Granted Sony may have at least tried to say something new with their blitzkrieg marketing campaign but in the end, what put them on the map was a bunch of old faces given a facelift.
But whatever misgivings I may have about the Playstation, there was no denying it was a hit and was here to stay. It got me excited and changed gaming forever. And that is indeed an achievement that can’t be ignored.

Sega Saturn
And thus the honeymoon ended….
Like most people, my status as a Sega fanboy pretty much died with the Saturn. As mentioned above, my interest were being diverted elsewhere and Sony was proving to be an attractive prospect. Plus I was aware of Sega’s failed add-ons, the Mega CD and the 32X, that didn’t really go anywhere. But even when I saw Saturn games in the stores, there was a part of me that realised that the Sega of then was different one to the Sega that gave us Sonic and the Megadrive.



Nevertheless I still kept an eye on things that were happening in the Sega camp. And in retrospect the Saturn did have some potential. Aside from the prospect of having conversions of then popular arcades (Virtua Cop 1+2 come to mind), at least Sega tried to bring new IP to the table. Sure not all of them were successful (ie Bug and Clockwork Knight) but in some cases it worked in their favour. I recall seeing Nights into Dreams and thinking it had a degree of beauty unlike anything I had seen before. I was also impressed with the creative designs that went into the Panzer Dragoon games.

Indeed much has been written about how complex it was to program games for the Saturn but it is only recently that I found out how many of the unique designs for some games came about only because the programmers were working within the limitations that faced them. And it’s interesting to see, in retrospect, the contrast between the Playstation and Saturn. Whereas the former favoured sci-fi-esque landscapes (Final Fantasy 7+8 and, to a lesser extent, Metal Gear Solid), the latter seemed to go in a direction leaning to fantasy/steampunk (ie Panzer Dragoon and Shining Force 3). This was indeed an idea, and an identity, that had potential so it’s indeed a disappointment that it wasn’t pushed further.
Ultimately, there isn’t a lot I can say about the Sega Saturn. I didn’t buy one and in retrospect, it proved to be a wise move. True it may have turned me off Sega for a long time, like most people, but it was more a natural progression of life than a betrayal. But now, like many historical revisionists, I have to give Sega some credit: They were trying something new. Through the complexity of the Saturn’s programming, they realised the necessity to build new IP and tried to say something new and unique with the tools they had at their disposal. True, a move like that would prove horrifically risky for any company – more so when said company is losing vital ground and left withering in uncertainty. But in the end, the Saturn ended up with a truly unique game library and that in itself is worth some credit.

N64
I hear people say today that the N64 wasn’t as big a seller as its predecessors. But most likely those people were from the US. During the late nineties I remember knowing many people who owned one of these – In fact now that I think about it, the people who owned an N64 outnumbered those who owned a PS1.
For many people, the N64 was another turning point in the history of gaming: It was the epitome of the fifth generation and many people today can recite tales of their childhood spent playing Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time. But I personally have a different perspective of the N64 – you see it represents me the things I didn’t like about the fifth generation.



Don’t get me wrong: I have fond memories of going to friends’ places and playing against each other in Goldeneye 007 and Diddy Kong Racing. I also played Super Mario 64 too. But for me the 3d age was here in full effect and the N64 represented the unease I felt at the time.
I recall playing Super Mario 64 for the first time and found it hard to get into grips with – the wonky camera didn’t really help much either. Most of the time I spent playing Mario 64 involved me running Mario around like headless chook wondering what the hell I was supposed to do next. During this time I played other 3D games, some before Mario 64, and at times I found them unwieldy and no fun at all to play. And such a disgust did indeed influence my playing of Mario 64.
Secondly, whereas I felt the SNES had beautiful graphics (and still do), much of the 3D graphics took a lot of getting used to. Compared to it’s predecessor, the models on the N64 looked hideous! They were badly constructed and looked less like proper graphical models and more like a bunch of random squares thrown in together. To me, this seemed an awful step backwards to what the SNES had accomplished and made me feel put off by the fifth generation and wondering if things had truly taken a turn for the worse.
Of course now, in 2011, such a contemptuous view has been softened (somewhat): Sure we can whinge about the camera on Super Mario 64 but at that point many of the developers were trying new things and coming into grips with this new technology. Indeed, it is interesting to see many of the things they tried in Super Mario 64 get reworked, and improved, with Ocarina of Time. And in a way, it could be said that both Nintendo and Sega were going through an experimental phase at this point in time, trying to find what works. But in that case, Nintendo proved more successful.
So in the end, despite my initial mistrust, I can now use the Virtual Console to download games for the N64 and can play them with fresh eyes. And despite my annoyance with wonky cameras, I can see there was some beauty within the beast.

If this write up seems a bit bland that’s because during the fifth generation my youthful enthusiasm for gaming consoles was in a period of remission. Sure much of it comes in the form of unease towards the innovations of the fifth generation (as with any new technology) but ultimately, it was more a natural progression of life: You find new things, you embrace them for so long until you then move onto other new things. And this case, the real world demanded attention: I had left secondary school and ahead lay college and, eventually, University.
And in retrospect, gaming of the fifth generation represented, for me, a transitional period. The seemingly untouchable Nintendo was beginning to try out new ideas and technology and, as before, everyone was taking note. The former heavyweight Sega had been crippled but was also in an experimental phase, trying out new ideas and ways to get the point across. And the newcomer Sony welcomed in many giants in from the previous eras to ride all the way to the top. The once, two-horse race had now opened up to three and, by the generations end, had revealed three very different outcomes for each contender.

But as I said it was a transitional period: Many of these changes I remained oblivious to with my attention being diverted elsewhere. Thus I went off gaming for a number of years. But little did I know, gaming itself wasn’t going to give up on me that easily….

Wii Like U!

Here's a little something I contributed to this site

With the announcement of the successor to the Wii, in the form of the Wii-U, many minds will begin to consider that now is the time for the seventh generation of consoles to stand aside and make way for the eighth generation. Hardly surprising since we gamers need a constant stream of technological prowess to keep our fleeting attention spans held – lest we find something else to blow our money on. I guess this is the end result of sixth previous generations of building powerful technology and mind-blowing graphics: Each successive console generation is ultimately a cycle that we’ve somehow become unflinchingly accustomed to.

But I digress. With the announcement of the Wii-U, all eyes now turn to Nintendo. The old war horse; the company that gave us icons like Mario, Link, Donkey Kong and Samus; The organisation that has pretty much become synonymous with video gaming; the survivor who beat off the upstart that was Sega and the company that wrote the rules of the game and before changing them all.
The question now is what can Nintendo do now?

In recent years, Nintendo have attracted disgust from many gamers – The Gamecube has never been able to escape the stigmata of being a ‘kiddie’ console having built a fanbase around Nintendo fans and younger gamers (whereas everyone else fled to the bosom of the Playstation and Xbox). The Wii hasn’t fared much better either: Being outclassed by it’s rivals, having games exclusively marketed at the casual fanbase and, well, not making games for the Wii. This, along with some baffling decisions (the response to Project Rainfall being one such example) has now placed Nintendo in a position where many of it’s fans are responding with either anger or defection to the PS3 and the 360). It’s indeed surprising that this disgust has come about considering that this was a company who everyone adored with unquestionable passion – even when a potential usurper arrived in the form of Sega.
So whilst the Wii may have made Nintendo enough money to stay float the question still remains: what can they do now?

One problem – and perhaps the most obvious one – is that Nintendo have been basing much of their strategy on familiarity (I refuse to use the N-word in this article). Sure the NES may have given us Super Mario Bros, legend of Zelda and Metroid but these franchises have turned up with each successive console (well maybe not Metroid for the N64 but whatever). The idea of using familiarity to sell something new is good in theory but now Nintendo have been reusing established franchises to the point where it is now expected. Sure some people may be a bit tired of Nintendo reusing their well-established franchises but to build new franchises isn’t that simple: The old guard have taken root and there’s no shifting them. Can anyone now imagine buying a Nintendo console without a Mario or a Zelda game? Of course not. People like familiarity and the comfort they bring so to introduce new faces would most likely send ripples of panic into the prospective buyers. Granted the roster in Super Smash Bros Brawl was a brave attempt by Nintendo to give new light to some forgotten franchises but I doubt anyone would’ve recognised half of them. Get past Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Zelda, Link, Ganondorf, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Fox, Falco, Captain Falcon, Samus, the Pokemon, Kirby, Snake and even Sonic and you’re left with a bunch of faces so unrecognizable you’d wonder why they bothered to show up.

And then there’s the Virtual Console. I thought this was a great idea as I thought it great opportunity for veteran gamers (like myself) to pick up great games they may have missed out on the first time around. Indeed, it can be argued that having games available for download may have inspired both the XBLA and the PSN. And I’m certain that I’m not the only one who picked up a Wii just for the Virtual Console. But that’s just it: The presence of these games and indeed the Virtual Console are nothing new and ultimately solidifying the perception that Nintendo are getting by on their established IP. Sure I may have spent more than few dollars on Virtual Console games but I can’t help thinking that I, if maybe, have contributed to the furthering of Nintendo’s current (and unwelcome) position of furthering familiarity and rehashing stuff that worked before.

Talk about shooting one’s self in the foot.

Also, whilst the Wii may have saved Nintendo and keep them in the game (so to speak) for a little while longer but it seems to have also made them too comfortable. I mean, are Nintendo actually putting out games with actual content? Sure Goldeneye 007, Smash Bros Brawl and Twilight Princess, may have been big titles but of those three, one’s remake, one’s a rehash made to fulfill fan desires and one was looking at Ocarina of Time’s blueprint. Again, it is this reuse of old ideas. Are Nintendo even trying any more? Sure the Wii may have been a big seller but there is not enough games for it to justify the big sales or its potential as a game console. Sure making games may be a job like any another but that’s no reason to stop caring and be half-arsed about it.

Indeed, it is telling that nowadays, Nintendo seem to be lavishing far more attention to the 3DS – perhaps far more than what is necessary. Indeed, the negative response to Project Rainfall may have been the final straw for most people and they’ve subsequently given up on Nintendo completely – many who’ve been unbending in nearly two decades of devotion. Why plug the Wii-U as ‘hardcore’ friendly when the snubbing of Project Rainfall says otherwise?

But this is what bothers me: A video game company that makes bad decisions? One that ignores it’s fanbase and makes games that is more or less shovelware? One that relies on past glories and makes almost exclusively first party games? One that introduces a new technology but is unable to make good use of it? One that is subsequently out classed by it’s rivals?

Didn’t all these things happen to Sega?

Whilst Sega’s days of a console developer have long gone, the memory of the once great console giant lingers – not to mention it’s ultimate downfall (one being even greater than that of Atari). As history has a nasty habit of repeating itself, it would be interesting to see whether or not Nintendo can avoid a similar fate.

So what can Nintendo do now? That’s a very good question….

Golden Goose

Last week I talked about remakes so today I’d talk about it some more.

Recently, Goldeneye 007 has touched down on the Wii. Billed as a remake of the classic Goldeneye 64 for the N64, this was indeed a surprise when it was originally announced and no doubt had more than a few Nintendo devotees both alarmed and angered. But on paper, the idea of remaking Goldeneye 64 has a lot going for it: 1) With Nintendo and Rare parted ways there’s no way we’ll ever see the original turn up on the Virtual Console, 2) there’s no denying that Goldeneye 64, despite its importance to console FPS’s, hasn’t aged too well and 3) the opportunity for online play would be welcome addition.

So in this case, a remake could be a good idea - But at the same time, any good idea/intent can fall flat on it’s face.
I was talking to a friend recently –he’d just picked up this remake and he seemed disappointed with the finished product. Unsurprisingly, he dismissed the game as not being a patch on the original.
So is it impossible then? Impossible to recapture the spark that made the original work so well? Or isn’t it far more easier to dismiss a bold idea without giving it a chance?

Personally my money’s on the latter. But, I can’t draw my own conclusions about he remake without playing it– and that will have to wait until Christmas.
Stay tuned….