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The spooks are on the run as the 'busters turn out once again to save New York from a slimy fate.

They're coming to save the world again! Who? What? Where? But they were only here a few months ago under the guise of The Real Ghostbusters, so what's this, Ghostbusters II: The Movie? No, it's just plain old Ghostbusters II, and Activision are challenging for the No. 1 position again. But will it steal the coveted place?

Five years on from the original block-busting box office sellout epic, Columbia Pictures returns with Ghostbusters II. The film opened in London's West End on December 1 last year. The game was released in time for Christmas and who ya gotta thank? Activision. Luckily, the game is much more enjoyable than their last effort, The Real Ghostbusters.

Ghostbusters II has the edge on the previous cartoon spin-off in many ways. Firstly, it's playable and does not render you unconscious two minutes into the game. Ghostbusters II contains three sequences which are largely based on the film.

The first level sees your heroic 'buster being winched down an air shaft in the middle of a New York Street. But this is no ordinary manhole. Only a few feet from the top you begin to encounter ghosts and ghouls, large green hands that grab you and pull you in and a whole manner of other monstrosities which you do not want to touch. Your Ghostbuster can be hauled up and down and can swing from left to right in the shaft to avoid ghosts and to collect bottles of elixir which lie on ledges on the way down.

Once you have reached the bottom and are dangling above the murky green sewage, you must collect a slime sample and return to the top. Too much contact with the ghostly creatures and you lose courage and, eventually, fall from the rope, scared stiff. The rope must also be watched as the phantom green meanies will cut at it until it's too frail to hold you.

The second scene sees the Statue of Liberty off for a walk down the Broadway. Well, it's been on the island for years and wanted to stretch its legs. The four heroes are sitting in the crown and have control of the mighty statues torch which must be used to launch balls of fire as the supernatural shapes attack the massive figure.

The final scene, should you reach it, finds your busting team at the Museum of Art and ready to absail down the side of the building. You must rescue baby Oscar from the clutches of Vigo the Carpathian and then use your latest busting kit to send Vigo to oblivion.

Ghostbusters II is no work of art. The graphics are quite good and the sound quite acceptable. Play-wise, the game gets a bit tedious after a while as it's slightly too difficult, and making your way safely to the top of that shaft is no easy process.

However, Ghostbusters II the game is unlikely to make as much of an impact as the film. I know which I would rather see. I'm off to Leicester Square.