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There's something strange in the neighbourhood, and someone's called the Ghostbusters - the only ones who can save the city from an epidemic of spooks and ghoulies. Three of the four heroes are here: Raymond, Egon and Peter, and each has his own strengths and weaknesses.

The object is to clear each level by catching rogue ghosts, which earns cash rewards with which to buy more equipment and weapons. Bombs, for instance, are a must; as the characters only have a couple to start with, it's worth purchasing more so those nasties can be blown sky-high!

The 'busters can crounch, jump and fire to get through the hordes of spirits. Each level is ended with the obligatory major baddie, whose weak spot must be discovered and exploited.

Next up is a section where the hero attempts to grab a ghost with his positron-collider gun and trap it in a ghost trap. This is tricky, as the ghost doesn't stay still - and it has to be zapped very near the trap.

When you kill some ghosts, they drop cash which can be picked up and spent in the shops that you can enter between levels. There are a variety of extra things to buy - here are the best of them.

1. 3-Way Cannon The best low-priced weapon available and it only costs 7,000 credits.

2. Bomb Cheap and reasonably effective. Good against normal baddies, but rubbish against end-of-level guardians.

3. Super Shield The ultimate weapon. But it costs a wallet-bustin' 35,000 credits. Gives complete protection for 15 seconds.

4. Flamer A powerful gun that fires slow bolts of flame. Best suited for use on slow, inanimate foes.

The whole Ghostbusters phenomenon seems rather stale and boring these days, and I'm afraid the game suffers in the same fashion. It has its good points - I like the graphical style, and the intro screens are rather attractive.

However, the gameplay is too limited to make this an essential Megadrive purchase: jumping around zapping cute spooks soon becomes a little boring.

Still, there are some neat touches in there, such as the two shops that let you increase your options, and a pleasant reproduction of the theme music.

Despite these factors, however, I can't honestly recommend this game.

Unlike Matt, I enjoyed Ghostbusters a lot. It's pretty tough at first, as you need to work out each wacky baddie's weak spot to destroy it, but once you get used to the rather strange methods involved, ghost bustin' becomes an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

There are plenty of humorous touches, like the magical moving furniture and some very weird end-of-level baddies - I love the ghoulie with the huge ghostie in his hat!

With its excellent cartoon-style graphics and some great tunes, Ghostbusters is a neat platform/shoot-'em-up which should appeal to Ghostbusters fans.

Presentation 44%
A good intro sequence and plenty of options.

Graphics 84%
Cute, and highly detailed cartoon-style graphics - some of the baddies are superb. The backgrounds are weak, though.

Sound 83%
Spot effects are adequate, and the 'busters theme is accurate.

Playability 82%
Nicely balanced difficulty level makes this very easy to get into.

Lastability 75%
Rather simple, but challenging gameplay provides plenty of fun - but it won't keep you occupied for months.

Overall 80%
A fairly enjoyable licence which should appeal to platform fanatics.