Ghostbusters, Apple II

Ghostbusters on the Apple II was one of the early 1984 conversions of David Crane‘s Commodore 64 hit, and – in all honesty – it is somewhat lacking.

What does it lack? Well, colour, for starters.

Trying to spot a white ghost against a white building is something of a challenge in Apple II Ghostbusters, which makes playing the game a little tricky. This is not a problem you want to be having in a video game and anyone who says it’s “all part of the fun” gets a swift kick in the privates… 🙂

The lack of colour is not the only problem with the game. Positioning your men, before attempting a ghost capture, is more fiddly than it should be, and the sprites are so flickery in some sections that it’s hard to see what is going on.

The driving sections are weird too. The car stays in the middle of the screen and the road ‘scrolls’ around you (I says “scrolls” but it’s just a fudge for scrolling).

Something else this game lacks, and it’s no surprise really, is sound. There’s no digitised speech (as heard in most of the other versions of Ghostbusters) and no Ray Parker Jr.‘s hit single. Or at least a beepy rendition of it. Not in the version I played anyway.

Unless you’re curious, or have a nostalgic attraction to Ghostbusters on the Apple II, then it’s probably best avoided. Play the Commodore 64 or Atari 800 versions instead.

Ghostbusters on The King of Grabs:
Commodore 64, Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Atari 800, Atari 2600, MSX, Amstrad CPC, PC Booter, NES, Sega Master System.