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Most people have probably heard of, if not seen, one of the Ghostbusters films at least once in their lives, so Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime comes with a set of pre-defined expectations for many gamers.  Sanctum of Slime is not a direct sequel to the series itself, but is more like a spin-off to the series. Although it is perfectly playable in single-player, the focus of the game is very much aimed at the online 4-player co-op gameplay.

The story doesn’t revolve around the main stars of the series; instead it plays out in comic-book style as cinematic cutscenes telling the tale of four rookie Ghostbusters who are taking over the mantle from the original team. That’s not to say the original storylines are not continued in any way  – fans of Ghostbusters will most likely to enjoy seeing what happened to Janosz Poha, who seems to still have a crush on Dana Barrett 22 years later – but the main focus of the game is the four new characters.

Gameplay: As you start off the game you’ll be going through each level zapping ghosts and capturing a large ghost at the end of each level. Whoever you are playing as, the other three AI characters will back you up; it’s immediately obvious that the game is best enjoyed with a team of 3 friends via the online co-op multiplayer. Like many to-down shooters, you move the left analog stick to move around and the right analog stick to fire your weapon.

You can use L1 and R1 to switch to different weapons from Proton Beam which is the main weapon in the film,s and you will be using an awful to zap at ghosts. There is also Fermion Shock which does sort of work like a shot-gun but instead it zaps shockwaves up close at enemies; there is also Plasma Inductor which launches blue plasma spheres all over the local area.

Most of the ghosts that you will see throughout the levels in the game are coloured red, yellow and blue, and these are what you’ll be firing your weapon for most of the time. This can start to feel quite repetitive, zapping the same boring ghosts over and over again, but the most frustrating part is when most of the levels can feel a little cheap and your surrounded by a load of ghosts you can’t seem to get past either way.

If any of your team members pass out, you can quickly revive them by tapping the X button, and if you end up passing out a lot your team members will fortunately come to your aid to help you back up. At the end of each boss you will have to use a trap to capture your ghost and press random buttons on the screen in order to beat the level.

Graphics and Sound: Most of the levels are yet very basic and simple. Most of the environments tend to look like a Sims mod which almost anyone can do, but with only 12 levels you’ll be going through the same levels again after beating a boss on level 5.

Most of the levels and rooms you enter feel really small, and can lead to frustration when hordes of enemies will come out of nowhere trying to knocking you down. As mentioned previously, the comic-book style cinematic cutscenes make a good presentation of the story, but it doesn’t really add that much for fans of the series.

There is only text dialog during cutscenes and gameplay; there is no voice acting, which in a way is actually a good thing because there is already so much going on in the game to begin with. One thing that will please most fans and gamers out there is hearing the theme song once again, but the rest of soundtrack isn’t that great and will get repetitive. Fortunately, Sanctum of Slime is one of the few games that supports in-game music, so you’ll have the the option of listening to your own music while playing the game, as long as you have some music on your PS3 system.

Overall: With only 12 levels, you can easily beat the game under 4-6 hours, including collecting all trophies. Playing online with friends can be fun, but unfortunately other online players will not be able to drop-in at anytime – you have to start from the beginning each time you want to add someone. If you are playing by yourself, the other three team members will just act on their own, often (and annoyingly) using the wrong weapons on ghosts.

Despite the relatively short length, many people may not make it all the way to the end, especially when trying to beat level 10, which can be very frustrating if you can’t find a way to complete the level. There aren’t any unlockable items or puzzles, and the only things that you can collect at anytime are the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man dolls which are scatted throughout each of the levels. With its relatively high price on PSN, you may find this downloadable title quite disappointing; die-hard fans of the series or the genre may want to give it a go, but for most people your best bet is to stay away from the game to avoid being hit in the face with repetitive ghosts and frequent frustration.

A sadly missed opportunity, with few surprises and too much disappointment for fans of the series.