Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed

The Ghostbusters are back in town and will soon light up specters in a new asymmetrical multiplayer game from IllFonic, the development studio behind Friday the 13th: The Game and Predator: Hunting Grounds. In an exclusive new look at the studio's forthcoming Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, we see four proton packs charge up and ignite against a purple Slimer-like ghost with far too many eyes. This battle unfolds within a prison setting that IlllFonic felt was a must for this game.

“We wanted to think of places that gamers could imagine having ghost activity, and that could truly be haunted," says Jared Gerritzen, chief creative officer at IllFonic. "Many of us have grown up with some form of a run-down haunted prison story told around campfires. So this location was a must include when coming up with maps.”

In various clips I see of the Rock Island Prison battle, all is not well. Mannequins are set up at tables to appear to be eating or playing chess. Purple ectoplasm drips from most ceilings, and wheelchairs roam the halls without anyone sitting in them.

“The prison map has a lot of open spaces and verticality," adds Gerritzen. "The ghost will need to be creative on how best to hide and attack while in the cellblocks. But there are also some close quarters in certain parts of this map. The prison map has quite a bit of diversity that at first glance could be missed.”

Even if the player-controlled ghost tries to use the vertical spaces to create distance, the Ghostbusters won't be far behind, thanks to the Vertical Ascension Device (VAD). The PKE Meter can also track it, should the Ghostbusters fall too far behind. While playing as a new character, you will interact with some of the original Ghostbusters from the 1984 film, including Ray Stanz and Winston Zeddemore. Some of the locations will also be familiar. The Firehouse and Ray's Occult Books are a couple you'll see.

IllFonic is currently slating a fourth-quarter launch for Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, as well as PC. Few licenses make as much sense for a 4v1 experience as Ghostbusters does. I can't wait to see how this one turns out.