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Could this be the gaming surprise of the year? Ok, I only managed to play an early level and yes, there is some polish needed, but the Ghostbusters game looked remarkably good. As did 55 year-old Ray "Who Ya Gonna Call?" Parker Jr, who was in London promoting the game.

To say hopes were low would be an understatement. Ghostbusters had been dropped by Activision after the Vivendi takeover and then picked up by Atari. Yes, the same Atari responsible for Alone in the Dark and numerous other turkeys over the last few years. Plus, let's face it, the original film is 25 years old now - does anyone still care? And could it ever better the classic original C64 title? So I didn't expect much when the game was recently shown in London. I should have had more faith..

It looks great for a start, capturing the atmosphere of the movies. Well, the 360 version did anyway. The Wii has gone for a stylised cartoon design which purists may baulk at but actually appears to work. But the 360/PS3 version felt like the real deal and a playtest confirmed this.

As you would expect the bulk of the action involves finding ghosts – usually by scouting them out via the some nifty night vision goggles – and then actually catching them. This is done, of course, by aiming your proton beam to weaken them before snagging them into your trap. The latter is surprisingly satisfying as you battle with your ghoul fishing-game style to reel it in.

How this enjoyable, but relatively simple, mechanic pans out throughout the game remains to be seen. The ghost catching action could get repetitive although with the game clocking in at a relatively relaxed 8-9 hours long it may not be an issue.

There were some issues. The camera was unhelpful in places, especially when surrounded in the corner by hordes of ghostly hounds. And it was fiddly to interact with items. But with most of the original cast reprising their roles – including Bill Murray - and Dan Aykroyd providing the script, the game feels and looks the part. Early days and all that but Ghostbusters looks like one to watch this summer (it's out in June).
Greg Howson | guardian.co.uk