“Ghostbusters: The Video Game” (rated E, $60 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, $40 on Wii, $30 on PC and Nintendo DS, $20 on PlayStation 2): This game hardly needs an introduction. It’s intended as a combination of a sequel to the two “Ghostbusters” movies as well as a way for players to relive scenes from those films. It’s written by the same folks who wrote the movies, and it brings back Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. (Sorry, Rick Moranis fans.) While reviews haven’t been off the charts, they’ve been exceptionally strong for a movie game. It’s puzzling that Activision decided not to publish this game, which they originally inherited when they bought Sierra. Regardless, it’ll make a ton of money for Atari, its new publisher. The Wii and PlayStation 2 version has a different developer from the 360/PS3/PC version, and review scores for the latter indicate it’s likely the better game.
“Magic: The Gathering — Duels of the Planeswalkers” (rated T, $10 Xbox Live Arcade download): It seems kind of weird that we’re three-and-a-half years into the current console generation and we’re just now getting a game based on Wizards of the Coast’s smash-hit collectible trading card game. “Planeswalkers” makes up for its tardiness by costing a cool $10. As someone who played M:TG back in its early days and wrote one of the first newspaper articles about it when I was a high school senior interning at my hometown paper, I’ll feel oddly like I’ve come full circle when I review this title. I haven’t played the game in more than a decade, but I’m looking forward to getting my feet wet all over again.
“Guitar Hero: Smash Hits” (rated T, $60 on Xbox 360 and PS3, $50 on Wii, $40 on PS2): A smart idea if there ever was one, “Smash Hits” reformulates songs from “Guitar Hero,” “Guitar Hero II,” “Guitar Hero III” and “Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s” for play as a “full band” game. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to copy these songs to your console’s hard drive like you can in “Rock Band,” but if you’re looking for more songs to rock out to and you don’t feel like downloadable content, you could do worse than this game. It’s worth noting that, while the early “Guitar Hero” games featured songs being performed by a cover band, the tracks in “Smash Hits” are the originals. Full price seems kind of expensive for songs many have played already, so there’s no shame in waiting a while to pick this up.
“Flower, Sun and Rain” (rated T, $30 on DS): This is a port of a PlayStation 2 game that was only released in Japan. It’s worth a look because it’s from developer Goichi Suda, aka Suda51, whose games (“Killer7,” “No More Heroes”) tend to draw cult followings. In “Flower, Sun and Rain,” you play as a visitor to a tropical island who’s stuck in a “Groundhog Day”-like loop, with each day ending in the detonation of an bomb on the island.
“Metal Gear Solid” (rated M, $10 PlayStation Network download for PS3 or PlayStation Portable): The first “Metal Gear Solid,” originally a PlayStation game goes digital. If you, like me, missed out on all the “MGS” games and plan to play through them in order, the best buy is still last year’s “Metal Gear Solid: The Ultimate Collection,” which includes this game, plus the two PS2 titles for $40. But if you’re just looking for a chance to get into a cardboard box and sneak around, this download’ll work.
“Let’s Tap” (rated E, $30 on Wii): This, uh, game has you setting the Wii remote down on a box or other flat surface and using your fingers to tap around it. I guess the vibrations make all sorts of stuff happen on screen. It sounds absolutely insane, but the reviews are intriguing. Sounds like the kind of thing you rent first before bringing it home for good. It also sounds like the kind of game that’ll achieve cult status and sell for $80 on eBay in three years. Remember “Electroplankton?”
What I’ll be playing this weekend: Still working my way through “inFAMOUS.” It’s a bit repetitive, in the same way people said “Assassin’s Creed” was (lots of similar missions), but that’s not stopping me from liberating Empire City one corner at a time. Yeah, I’m a good guy. I almost always play as a good guy the first time through. I may sneak in some “Culdcept Saga,” “Space Invaders Extreme” or “Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers,” but not for too long. “inFAMOUS” is my gaming master.
