For a short while, everything was calm in the city so no more jobs for the Ghostsbusters. Suddenly, a earthquake occurs and ghosts pop out of nowhere, invading the houses of innocent people. These people call up the Ghostbusters to clear up their houses from ghosts. The Ghostbusters are pleased so they go. Each housekeeper has his own little story but the main story is that and it's really ordinary. Too ordinary for my tastes.

Completely different than the Activision title of the same name, the Genesis “Ghostbusters” is a side-scrolling platformer that has the boys in gray running through houses, apartments, a burning house and a high-rise for starters as they battle a myriad of ghosts with their proton blasters. When the Ghostbusters face off against a boss ghost, they have the ability to trap them the traditional way.

Peter, Ray and Egon, each have different abilities, and can purchase weapon and life upgrades from shops throughout the levels. Other familiar faces make an appearance, as Slimer offers power-ups, and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man returns to settle the score from the movie.

The goal of the game is to retrieve pieces of a stone tablet by clearing the following houses: Home Sweet Home, Apartment, Woody House, and the High-Rise Building. Play involves shooting ghosts with your weapon and jumping to reach higher platforms or avoid hazards (such as spikes and fire). Succeed at defeating each building's boss character(s) and you'll be awarded money, which can then be used to purchase additional weapons and items.

Some of the objects you'll be able to acquire are explosives, energy tanks, barriers (each one repels attacks), three-way shots, infrared scopes (allowing you to see in the darkness), and two different types of food to replenish stamina. Items can also be found within safes scattered around the floors. After ridding all four houses of poltergeists, you'll be granted entrance into a medieval castle.

You'll then have to search for the Storm's Calm, the jewel responsible for the strange happenings around the city. Once you find it, place the jewel in a monument and prepare for the final showdown! Ghostbusters offers three levels of difficulty (easy, normal or hard) that determine the number of continues you have left before the game is over.

Solve the mystery of the tablet, and the Ghostbusters have to face off against Jenna, the Goddess of Death and Destruction. Can the boys save New York one more time?

The main characters are drawn with oversized heads, and do a fairly accurate job of recreating each actor's likeness. Each has specific traits that distinguish them from one another. Ray is tough but slow, and Egon is weaker but faster. Peter, finally, is balanced in speed and stamina and is a good choice for beginners. Enemies are large and decently animated. There are no multi-jointed foes here but there are at least eight mini bosses that are a blast to fight. Everything from a huge caterpillar to the Grim Reaper himself has found its way to the big apple and is looking for a particle-accelerated ass whupping.

The sound and the music are pretty good for its time. The music is pretty suitable for the ghost-ridden city of New York that you'll be moving around in, zapping ghosts with different weapons in 6 different stages, each of them big and, at times, a little confusing, unless you pause now and then to take a look at your position on the map.