After my disastrous attempt last week to rein in the rowdy Deltas, I have decided to keep a low profile for a while, in hopes of avoiding any further embarrassment.  Unfortunately, I don’t think the Deltas are done with me — lately I have begun to find that things in my office are moved and hidden when I am not there, and several times I’ve found a mysterious gooey slime inside my emptied lunch box before I even have a chance to eat the green tripe I bring.  If I can catch the Deltas in the act of pulling these pranks, perhaps I can convince the Dean that the whole beer incident was a setup, and get them removed from the campus.

Now, if I could just figure out why it’s always so cold in here …

I set up a number of webcams around my office, but they never capture those responsible for these crazy pranks — and yet, the pranks persist. How is this possible?

The atmosphere in my office grows stranger by the moment … is someone watching me? Who is moving my fedoras around? Why do I hear heavy breathing right behind me?

At last, through careful analysis of the facts and the elimination of impossibilities, I can only come to the conclusion that my office is haunted!

Fleeing my office, I take refuge in the lounge, where by bizarre coincidence the television is showing a commercial for a service for which I have an unexpected immediate need!

I quickly call up the Ghostbusters and explain my situation, and they agree to come out and deal with it immediately. They seem very eager to take care of the situation. It’s refreshing to see a company that is so motivated; I have no doubt that I will soon be rid of that pesky ghost. Then I can go back to my office and get everything straightened out in there, because I am Dennis the Vizsla, and I never give up.

Meanwhile …

Gotta start finding frontend and  tank replacement. Throttle too.

Pothole dodger.

Slimer with Polini Race Seat

I was browsing through my entries on this website from over the past couple of months, and I thought I should do some follow-ups to them. Yes, I still think I am in love with the beautiful Hayley Williams, yes, I still find Danny Devito hilarious, yes, people still seem to think I look like Jesse MacCartney (although some Justin Beiber comparisons have been popping up here and there, unfortunately), and most importantly, YES, I still want to be in Ghostbusters 3. Very much.

You guys might remember over the summer, I made a satirical post and video where I fake auditioned for Oscar Barrett in Ghostbusters 3. I was being all obnoxious, and horrible. Actually a pretty good video, if you ask me. and ever since I did that, I’ve been becoming more active in the Ghostbusters community, and overall becoming a bigger fan. I mean, you could probably call me a Ghostbusters nerd at this point. I’ve always liked the Ghostbusters, but its really kicked into overdrive since the summer. I have 4 GB shirts now, actually, and a belt buckle I wear almost every day. I spent my Halloween watching Ghostbusters alone. I recently started playing Ghostbusters the game for the second time. I just finished organizing the entire collection of original, vintage Ghostbusters trading cards. You all get the point.

At the same time, I’ve been thinking a lot about how awesome it would actually be to REALLY be cast in the movie. Not even just as Oscar, but as anybody. I keep saying “REUBEN, YOU ARE AN IDIOT AND THAT CRAP WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO YOU!”, and I have been moving on. However, the subject has literally been popping up in my dreams with great frequency, which, to quote Zoolander, is kind of whack.

On the other hand, I’ve been considering the fact that out of all movies right now who are casting, I have about a 0% chance of even getting considered to audition. But with Ghostbusters 3, I feel I might have about a 0.001% chance, which is definitely infinite times better than a 0% chance. The reason I say this is because repeatedly, Dan Aykroyd has said he hopes to get completely unknown actors to be in the movie, because they are cheap.

You guys may not have noticed, but I am completely unknown. Plus, at this naive age, I would work for very, very, very, very cheap. Especially in a movie like that.

Plus, to be arrogant and pretentious for a moment, I feel I truly could play the son of Peter Venkman very well.

Now, I have always had dreams of fame and show business shoved in the back of my head, but I never intend to pursue them as my only plan in life, because I don’t want to face dissappointment. Really, I want to grow up to become a script-writer for movies, and I never really expect to be in the movies themself. However, if ever given the chance to act in the movies, I would never, ever, ever turn an opportunity like that down.

Not even being sarcastic, I go to sleep and have dreams about being in movies with Ben Stiller and Seth Rogen and Will Ferrell almost every night. I wake up, say “No way, jose”, and clear my head and go on with the rest of my day. I mean, let’s face it, the odds of being in movies are really stacked against me as a guy who lives in WISCONSIN. My best bet would be to head to L.A. as soon as I graduate, and hope for the best. That could go horribly, though.

So as far as even thinking about trying to pursue a serious movie career right now, I don’t even begin to do that. My only exception would be Ghostbusters 3, and if I could ever get any more information and details as to how to get in on that, let me tell you right now, I would be all means pursure it.

I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START, THOUGH! Are they going to have an open casting call, or are they going to hire some sort of casting director to choose some lucky people with connections. Plus, if they even HAD an open casting call, I would probably not even know about it, because I live in WISCONSIN.

So what is a guy to do? Does anybody reading this personally know Dan Aykroyd or Harold Ramis? If so, please send them here. This time, I am actually being kind of serious. I really don’t have any expectations of this going anywhere, but if I don’t even try to get my foot in the door, that 0.001% chance will go back to a zero.

As far as open casting calls, if there will be any of those, if anybody has heard anything about that, please also tell me.

As a matter of fact, if anybody has ANY information that could put me in the right direction, write me a comment. Any information at all will be a help.

All I know is that I REALLY want this, and I’ve thought about it. I’ve decided this really would be the coolest thing to ever happen to me in the off chance that I get involved with it in any capacity. I really love the Ghostbusters. I can’t even begin to explain how awesome it would be to be in it, even for 6 seconds.

So there, I said it. Let me once again reiterate that I don’t really expect for this to go anywhere, but I am still just going to throw it out there. For anybody involved with the movie, I want you to know that I would be willing and ready to get involved with this movie, for next to zero dollars. Just know that. There is a Reuben if you need him.

For that matter, I also feel that Danny Devito would make a good Slimer. Thank you for your time.

If you get one of those Polini race seats from 77, you can make one of these to mount it.

Polini Seat Mount

Polini Seat Mount Flat

Games that are spawned from movies nearly always suck balls. With the exception of Goldeneye, Lego Indiana Jones / Batman / Star Wars, The Godfather, Hannah Montana Sing IT and The Seventh Seal : Magical Journey RPG. Ok, those last two don’t count. I made the Seal one up, could you tell? But no, they more often than not suck. And also reek of bad graphics, poor gameplay, woeful visuals and a general air of “let’s squeeze this cash cow until her udders explode, and I can pay to hide my several illegitmate children.”

Ghostbusters The Game was announced some time ago. I was excited from the get go, as I am a huge fan of the films, tv series and even the books that accompanied the TV series. But on the other hand, I was apprehensive. It had a lot to live up to. Those fears were alleviated when I found out that Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd were to pen the script for the game, and all the actors were to reprise their roles within the game.

The game plays out from the persepctive of a new recruit to the Ghostbusters family. (That’s you). You get thrown in to the deep end straight away. The first mission is at the Sedgewick Hotel, where you have to recapture that pesky, but strangely endearing “spud” of ectoplasm, Slimer. Using the proton pack for the first time with the Wiimote, and then throwing a trap onto the ground gave me a giddy thrill. And the subsequent opening with the signature theme tune only further cemented the sheer joy you feel when playing this game.

All the familiar characters are here. There’s even a few clever nods to both films. A picture of Gozer lies dormant in the museum level. The script and actors are top notch. Some choice lines being Venkman’s, “No, I’m not going after the little spud. I’ve seen this one before,. I know how it ends. You go for it, rookie.” My personal favourite is a toss up between Egon’s explanation of where he gets the time to work out all the new equipment for the Busters. “I have devised a nice routine, whereby I sleep for fourteen minutes a day. Naturally, this leaves me a lot of time to work on equipment.” And my second favourite is Winston, upon entering the Confederate Southern Texas wing of the museum. “Of all the rooms in the museum, this one was not top of my list.”

Gripewise, I only have two. The length of the game is not terribly huge. If you bashed away for six hours solid, you’d complete the game. And there is no online play available. Not a huge problem for me, but the option would have been nice.

Overall, I would highly recommend the game. On the Wii, mind. I’ve seen screenshots and videos of the X Box and PS versions. They look somewhat clinical and cold, the cartoon approach on the Wii reimburses that sense of fun that is associated with The Ghostbusters. I laughed, I zapped some ghosts, I was a ghostbuster for a week, and haven’t had this much fun playing a game since I discovered the chainsaw in Scarface : The World Is Yours.

9 / 10

Magnum frame sprayed by Melvin in no gloss metalflake pitch black. Color was inspired when I was looking for a black to use for the frame and “Come on Dee” Kinsler showed me a Ducati flat grey metalflake. I still wanted black, though, and Nicole at Embee suggested just changing the base to Pitch Black and it would work. It did.

Check out Tomahawk Christophe in the Sitting Bull shirt from Altru. Sick Tomos Swinger build by 1977 Mopeds in San Francisco with slight modifications.

Flat Black Metalflake Puch Mangum frame

Magnum Frame, Slimer, Sitting Bull

Just Kryloned Polini Seat from 1977 mopeds for Slimer, the A35 powered Swinger originally built by 77. My girlfriend loves having painted bike parts hanging from the ceiling.

Polini Seat from 1977 Mopeds

Perez Hilton Totally Looks Like Slimer from Ghostbusters

» Think you can do better? Make your own!

Pictures by: dunno source Look-alike by: Dr. Claw via Totally Looks Like Builder

Too bad Slimer didn’t fit me!

I’m not afraid of no ghosts.

Image from: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:X7MmBG8d0lvF8M:http://www.chrienbachtaucher.ch/assets/images/Slimer.jpg

Lundi soir, 19:00, pas grand chose d’autre à faire que de zapper.. et qu’est-ce que je trouve sur Game TV ?!  Days of Thunder… oui oui, le film avec M. Cruise… avant qu’il vire sur le top !  Et vlan, pour la deuxième fois en peu de temps, l’inspiration me refrappe !  Voici un Top 5 de Jef sur les films mémorables… pour Jef !  Ce ne sont pas les meilleurs, ni des nominations aux Oscars, mais il me sont mémorables.

5. Ghostbusters : Simplement pour Slimer… et les nombreuses répliques savoureuses de Bill Murray, probablement encore un de ses meilleurs films à ce jour !

4. Revenge of the Nerds : LES TROOOOONCHES !!! (aucuns autres commentaires requis)

3. Weekend at Bernies : Une des scènes qui m’a probablement le plus fait rire à vie est la scène où Bernie est attaché derrière le bateau et qu’il frappe chaque bouée que le bateau croise.. tout simplement pissant !

2. Elvis Gratton : Un classique parmis les classiques, le premier film est tellement une belle caricature du québécois colon qui aspire au rêve américain… YEAH S’TIE !

1. Slap Shot !  (la version traduite au Québec bien sûr !)

Well it’s taken a couple of decades but my dream of becoming a fully fledged Ghostbuster is now a reality

After a shaky beginning which saw it cast off by Activision and almost dropped by Atari, Ghostbusters: The Video Game was released last month on PS3 with some fanfare and mainly positive reviews.

The game’s plot is essentially the third movie – set in 1991 you’re a rookie who’s been drafted in to help with the ever increasing ghost workload. A huge paranormal blast sets off a chain of events that only one group of guys can deal with…

You can tell pretty much immediately if you’re going to like this game by the opening sequence – if it has you excitedly purring and feeling the pull of nostalgia then you will love this game. If it doesn’t… well you might still enjoy it but you’re a lot more likely to notice the flaws the game has.

And there are certainly flaws – at one stage in the library level the screen repeatedly froze/unfroze every few seconds for around 20 seconds. Very annoying and fairly unforgivable in most games but shortly afterwards I was back blasting ghosts with my proton pack and that little problem was forgotten.

I didn’t find it annoying as I love the soundtrack but there are only about three tracks here that play all the time. I know some people were angry about that but as I said it didn’t bother me.

One thing that did become tiresome was a lack of direction whereby the game expects you to work out what to do/where to go using the PKE Meter and a little common sense. This is fine within buildings or smaller areas but in some of the larger, open areas it was a real pain – the cemetary in particular really raised the old blood pressure.

The loading screens when you die are lengthy which is a real pain and often you have to start a way back from where you actually died. One of my friends actually warned me that I’d die loads so I should get used to seeing the loading screen quite a bit. So I took a decision that I feel made the game a lot more enjoyable.

I started it again on easy. Yep it’s probably a cop out and hardcore gamers everywhere are choking on their headsets as they read this but… Ghostbusters: The Video Game is more of an experience than a game (ironically enough given it’s title) and perhaps because of my love for the characters I just wanted to embrace this game and enjoy the ride.

Sure it was easier – I mean I still got taken down plenty but didn’t fully die – and man was it fun.

And that for me is what the game is all about. Sure younger gamers will play it and enjoy it but for us folks who remember the films, who had the toys… My brother and I had plastic proton packs and traps when we were kids. Running in the garden pretending to capture ghosts – I smiled so much my face almost split the first time I blasted and trapped a ghost in this game.

You use the PKE Meter to root out trouble and if you scan the ghosts as well you can access Tobin’s Spirit Guide, which I used to read in the weekly comic when I was a kid *geeks out*, to give you information on the ghosts including their weaknesses.

A few old favourites return and taking down the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is one of my happiest gaming memories of recent times. My fellow ‘Busters were shouting at me to use a specific weapon to kill him but I didn’t listen and just keep on blasting him with the proton stream for ages before eventually finishing him off.

Online is pretty cool with several different variations (for example Containment where the Ghostbusters battle between themselves to make the most money by trapping ghosts, or Survival – which pits the ‘Busters as a team fending on wave after wave of ghosts ) and while I don’t think it’ll be something I play loads online it certainly has enough about it for me to maybe stick on every now and then. And for online you get to be one of the original Ghostbusters rather than the rookie – even better.

For me Ghostbusters was a short (5 hour) game that had me chuckling and geeking out despite it’s flaws – it won’t be to everyone’s tastes and, in what I imagine will be a one off, I’m rating this game on a double scale…

Overall Rating: 8/10

‘If You Love Ghostbusters’ Rating: 9/10

For (Cool) Shite on the Tube

When you have a hankering to relive some old childhood memories and delve head-first into shiny nostalgia, who you gonna call? GAME IMPORTERS!

Well, that’s if you live in a PAL-format country like Australia, and you play your video games on an Xbox 360; the newly released Ghostbusters: The Video Game has been released in such countries by Sony Computer Entertainment and they’ve held back any PAL release that isn’t on a Sony console. But I digress.

No matter how you get a hold of your copy (you lucky North Americans out there!), Ghostbusters is a third-person shooter (think Gears of War with ghosts) that instantly finds its place in two movie-strong universe, placing you as a rookie working alongside heroes Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddemore — each voiced by the same actors that played the characters in the films. While clearly hoping on purchases by fans, is there enough in the game to keep other gamers interested? Read on.

The good: Come on! You’ve ALWAYS wanted to use your own proton pack, haven’t you? The traditional pack from Ghostbusters and the smiler pack from Ghostbusters II both are featured heavily in the game, and are joined by status and proton shotgun (for lack of a better description) packs; each has a primary and a secondary fire mode. The multiple weapons are all great fun to use and switching between them is a must when dealing with the many unique ghosts you encounter.

To find the secret artefacts scattered throughout the game, using your own PKE meter is a must and further cements you into the world. Scanning your ghostly enemies is very Pokemon-eqsue, and helps in determining your foe’s weaknesses. Catching the ghosts is also hilarious fun as you slam apparitions into traps thrown by yourself or the other Ghostbusters (just don’t look directly into the trap!).

On that last note, the names of the achievements/trophies are simply gold; fans of the films will find themselves chuckling when certain accomplishments are unlocked. It’s a small, yet GREAT throwback celebrating Ghostbusters in its 25 year anniversary. Cameos by Annie Potts (Janine), William Atherton (Peck), and Brian Doyle-Murray (Mayor Mulligan) also help to provide fan-service.

The meh: Dan Ackroyd (Ray), says this isn’t a movie tie-in, but “[it’s] essentially the third movie” – so much so that Dan penned the game’s script with fellow Ghostbusters movies co-writer Harold Ramis (Egon). I’d disagree with Dan’s statement and instead say that this game is the two movies merged into one; without too many spoilers, Slimer, the Grey Lady, Vigo, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and several movie locations all make reappearances. While they do serve to progress the game’s plot, they help to make the title feel like a rehash of things you’ve already seen in the movies (but still just as funny!).

If you have the choice between a copy for PS3 or Xbox 360, go for the Xbox copy – an animated image from Joystiq.com clearly shows why. This, however, might not matter to you if you’re Aussie and don’t want to go about importing the title.

Click to see full size

Additionally, the appeal of the rookie character that you play was lost for me after I’d learnt that he was modelled after the game’s Associate Producer, Sierra’s Ryan French. The baby-faced rookie just fit the part for me when I first saw him, and learning that it was just some fan living out his dream of essentially being a Ghostbuster just cheapened it for me…it could be that I’m just jealous.

The shite: Difficulty spikes. On Casual, you can basically watch the Ghostbusters handle the bad guys, and as the game says itself, “just enjoy the story.” On Professional, be ready to tear your hair out – I’m looking directly at you, “Attack of the Stone Angels” checkpoint! At some stages, the game simply becomes an exercise of reviving a computer-controlled Ghostbuster only to be knocked down to be revived yourself, to then having to revive the AI that just revived you, and so on and so on in an endless loop until one of you isn’t quick enough and you get the “Mission Failed” screen.

While there is a great online multiplayer mode, it’s deathmatch style and you can’t do the main story mode in any kind of co-op. It’s nice to be able to play as Ray or Egon in multiplayer (I’m not a Peter fan and I still don’t really understand why Winston’s around – token, much?), but why not in the game itself? A Gears of War style co-op story mode would have been great and would have ensured that cheap “Ghostbuster by himself” deaths would not happen.

All in all, this game deserves a solid Cool rating. The gameplay, not without its frustrations, is a Cool Plus, and the repetitive (yet cool for nostaligia reasons) storyline deserving of a Cool Minus. Fans will definitely want to pick this up, and other gamers can’t go wrong if looking for a decent third-person shooter that’s not the standard shotgun and sniper rifle fare.

–

Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Systems: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 (this review)
Developed by: Terminal Reality, Threewave Software
Distributed by: Atari, Sony Computer Entertainment
Starring: Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Brian Doyle-Murray, William Atherton

Alright review. Near the end, when he starts talking about the slime, the reviewer made me wonder if he remembered much of the second movie.

I have never really been one to judge a game solely on graphics.  I, like many of my fine peers here, still play older games with graphical styles that are well out of date.  Good storytelling and character development are things I look for in a game.  For example, Red Dead Revolver is still one of my favorite games ever, and the graphics were considered out of date even when it was first released.  Recently I have noticed that a majority of gamers hold graphics to be the most important aspects of a game, especially when trying to decide on which platform to buy a multiplatf0rm game.  The newest argument of which is over the recently released Ghostbusters: the Video Game.

This is the best looking PS3 game since MGS4

With the temporary death of my XBox 360, I have been forced to purchase more games on my PlayStation 3.  Not something I ever have a problem with, but there are some game genres I prefer to play on my 360 and vice-versa.  Third-person action games, like the recently released Ghostbusters, are ones I prefer on the 360’s controller.  Now, normally I would just wait to get my 360 back and buy the game them, but the Ghostbusters franchise is something I have loved since I was a little kid, I used to wear fake, red glasses and pretend I was Egon, so I needed the game on release day.  Ghostbusters is my drug of choice.  So, before I went to make my purchase, I researched a bit, aka Google searched, on which version of the game had the better graphics.  What I found were a bunch of Xbox 360 fanboys nitpicking minor details on the game.

Don't worry: Ray DOES make a S'more joke during this level...

One of the first things that came up in my extensive research was this post which showed how “dumbed down” the graphics are on the Playstation 3.  I do not know about you, dear readers, but to me the differences, if any, are minuscule at best.  The only article on the subject I have read that actually explained the differences was this one, linked to me by Lusipurr.  Even after reading these articles, I bought the PS3 version anyway; I just needed the game that much.  The game still looks stunning–a non-gaming friend actually thought I was watching one of the movies during a cutscene–but the writers at lensoftruth.com seem to enjoy focusing on small aspects of the game instead of focusing on the rest of the visuals.  In a game with facial features as visually outstanding as this, most will not walk by a piece of paper on a wall and thrown down the controller in frustration because the player cannot read what is written.

So, my questions to you, my dearest of doves, are: do graphics really matter when you play games?  For those of you with multiple consoles, do you research to see which version of the game has better visuals?  Finally, how much do you love Ghostbusters?

I hope Ray Parker Jr. is getting his residual check for this. And Slimer.

This is the first official trailer for the new Ghostbusters game that’s coming out. The visuals obiviously look a bit more cartoony than it will in the 360 or PS3 version, but I still think it looks pretty awesome. Even Dan Aykroyd thinks so, “Honestly, I love the way we look in the Wii platform, because it resembles the animation that was done in ‘The Incredibles,’” Aykroyd said. “Anybody who looks like an Incredible is automatically a superhero,” he added. The inclusion of the proton pack use with the wiimote has the possibility to turn out amazing. I’m looking forward to this game quite a bit and can’t wait for the 360 release.

Respects: /Gamer