This 1986 PC Booter version of Ghostbusters won’t run in MS-DOS, but it is easy enough to get working in DOSBox, by simply adding a “BOOT” line to the config file.

To get the game running in colour (ie. not horrible CGA) I had to use the “pcjr” graphics option and set CPU cycles to 240. Otherwise the game would run too fast.

That said: Ghostbusters on the PC isn’t very playable because it still runs too fast at minimum speed. Any slower and the joystick would have drifting issues. Or so I read.

I didn’t enjoy playing this PC Booter version of the game because it’s too easy to lose control and the game be over. Ghosts tend to leave when you turn up to capture one. Also: the driving sections are too fast making it extremely hard to vacuum up ghosts. It also takes some fiddling to get the joystick working, and to get the game running without visual glitches.

At the end of the day this is an ancient video game that just doesn’t run well on modern computers – even in DOSBox, which is usually pretty solid.

If you want to play Ghostbusters: try the original Commodore 64 version 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.

More: Ghostbusters on Wikipedia