Ghostbusters is one of my all-time favorite movies. I watched the film and cartoon a lot as a kid, and drank copious amounts of Hi-C Ecto Cooler with Slimer on the juice box back then.  So I was excited when LEGO Dimensions was going to feature characters and settings from Ghostbusters!  LEGO Dimensions is essentially like Skylanders except the figures you get are made out of LEGOs that you must build.  I even wrote a big article about LEGO Dimensions a while back that you can read if you want more information.  This review is going to be about the Ghostbusters Level Pack that just came out for LEGO Dimensions.

You get three figures in the Ghostbuster Level Pack: Peter Venkman as a playable character, an Ecto-1 vehicle, and a ghost trap. This pack also unlocks a special Ghostbusters level that follows the plot of the first movie, and allows you to also visit the Ghostbusters hub world.  Here is a close up shot of the box:

Like with other LEGO Dimensions sets, you must build the figures first. Start with the Peter Venkman figure.  One thing I don’t like about this game is that they don’t give you any paper instructions on how to build the figures, so that’s why I recommend building the Venkman figure first since it’s the easiest one to build.  You must also use the playable character in the game to unlock the secret Ghostbusters level.   Once you start the level, they give you instructions on how to build the other two items in the game fairly quickly.  I liked how the Ecto-1 has the Ghostbusters emblem on the back, so that’s why I took a picture of it from the rear in this shot with the other figures built.

As a playable character, Peter Venkman can use his proton pack to shoot out short bursts of energy to zap enemies. If you hold down the attack button, the proton pack will shoot a stream of energy out, just like in the movies.  You can aim it at groups of ghosts to round them up, which can help you bypass areas that ghosts are blocking.  The stream can also melt gold LEGO blocks as well as cut shapes into them.  He also has a spin attack which doesn’t make any sense, but oh well.  I didn’t really notice anything special about the Ecto-1 vehicle, but if you press the L button, you can make the siren go off as you drive around.  The ghost trap you can carry around, and when you set it down, it can trap any nearby ghosts you have snared with the proton pack ray.  You can then put the ghost trap in red containment units, which can sometimes help activate switches and things.

The unlockable Ghostbusters level follows the plot of the first movie, with added LEGO humor. They start with a cutscene of the three main characters running away from the ghost in the library, and then start the level off in the firehouse where they must put together their lockers so they can head out on their first call.  This is where you also build the Ecto-1 vehicle.  Then you must drive on the streets of New York to capture Slimer at the Sedgewick Hotel.  This is where you’ll also build the ghost trap, which you’ll then take back to headquarters to put in the containment unit.  That’s when the safety inspector Walter Peck comes in and shuts it down, releasing all the captured ghosts.  Then you must drive to the apartment building for the final battle with Gozer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  The parts of the levels where you’re in the scenes from the movies are pretty fun, but I didn’t like the driving sections because it just slowed things down.  What’s worse, the game froze up on me once during this level.  LEGO games fans are familiar with bugs in them, but it’s still annoying when it happens.  Other than that, though, this level is pretty cool and much better than the Back to the Future LEGO level.  I felt like a kid again while fighting Stay Puft at the end of the stage.  I think that they could make a whole LEGO game out of the first and second Ghostbusters movies.  What’s cool is that after you beat the Ghostbusters level in Dimensions, you have the options to switch to the other three Ghostbusters as well!

You can also visit the Ghostbusters hub world once you buy the Level Pack or any of the Ghostbusters character packs. This level is a slice of New York, although it looks rather dark and post-apocalyptic.  I know the ghosts could do some damage, but I didn’t think they could do that much damage.  The hub world has many of the features that other Dimensions hub worlds have, including ghosts that you can give studs to so they can build parts of the town.  You can visit the firehouse, the park, the library, and even go down into the sewers to find the pink sludge from the second movie.  There is also a bit of the Titanic ship you can explore when it entered the dock from the movie (“Better late than never”).  Like other hub worlds, the map is hard to navigate, and I felt they put more thought into other hub worlds like the Portal one.

And that’s what you get with the LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Level Pack. It feels pretty authentic despite the fact I don’t think they were able to get all the characters to say their lines.  Despite the problems, I think Ghostbusters fans like me will enjoy it anyway.  I only wish it wasn’t as pricey, but LEGO toys are pretty expensive anyway.

Kid Factor:

LEGO Dimensions is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Cartoon Violence and Crude Humor. While the Ghostbusters movies might be too scary for very young kids, the LEGO version takes the spookiness away and replaces it with silliness and fun.  While I would recommend most LEGO games to all ages, I think LEGO Dimensions is best for older kids.  One, the things you build are pretty complicated sometimes, so they would need to be experienced LEGO handlers.  And like other LEGO toys, the sets are pretty expensive so kids would need to know how to keep up with and take care of their toys, as the game is useless without them.  And plus using the pedestal is not very intuitive.  Also don’t forget the whole choking hazard thing with small LEGOs!

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children