I don’t remember much of my life before age 5. I remember things like counting the dots in the ceiling tiles during nap-time in pre-K, and going to the family night at the local skating rink every Wednesday. I also distinctly remember going to a weird friend’s birthday party. The party itself was a complete wash – the wasn’t even any ice cream – but I did get to play Rad Racer with a Power Glove, and the original Ghostbusters on the NES. Both experiences weren’t quite what I was hoping for. The Power Glove looked approximately 200 times cooler than it functioned – and it didn’t look all that cool in the first place – while Ghostbusters was frustrating, confusing, and thoroughly the opposite of fun. Yes, this party was both my introduction to crappy movie-based video games and to kids that chew on their own shoes. Austin really was a weird kid.

I realize now that this was the wrong gift. Sneakers would’ve been more appropriate.

Until now, movie-based games had a very low bar. As long as the game provided digital set-pieces that tangentially references the movie, contained the remote likeness of any actors involved with the movie, and above all released in time to cross-promote with the movie, then ignorant gamers would be as pleased as peaches.

But two decades after my first experience with an awful movie-based video game, here and now Ghostbusters: The Video Game accomplishes the inverse of all that. Indeed, not only is it fun to play, but a faithful treatment and genuine expansion of the original property. As it is with good works in any field , this didn’t happen by accident. I wish I knew who exactly was responsible for this treatment, just so I could send them a single rose with a note attached saying “You rock and don’t stop”. I suspect the responsibility largely rests within the involvement of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis; children tend to prefer being in the care of their rightful parents. Regardless of origins, let’s take a look at the elements that make Ghostbusters such a great adaptation.