Cinematical

The boys are officially back ... but, sadly, they'll only be in videogame form for now. According to Variety, Vivendi Games has struck a deal to turn Ghostbusters into a videogame franchise, with the first title set to hit streets in the fall of 2008. All four Ghostbusters -- Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis -- have signed off their voice and likeness rights, while Aykroyd and Ramis will write a story for the game that takes place in the early '90s, following Ghostbusters II. For fans of the movie franchise (and, seriously, who's not a fan?), this could potentially be very cool. Aykroyd has been trying to get a Ghostbusters III off the ground for a long time now; at one point, he was considering a CGI flick to continue the story without having to ask a bunch of old timers to strap on the proton packs for another live-action go-round.

With a videogame version, we'll still see the story Aykroyd had planned for a third installment (I believe one version involved NYC opening up to reveal a hell-ish underground), only we'll get to play along too. Apart from the four original cast members, William Atherton, Brian Doyle and Annie Potts will also be involved. No word on Rick Moranis or Sigourney Weaver just yet. I know some of you will be bummed out by this, but I'm totally up for it -- so long as they create a cool multi-player gaming experience. Just last night, my friend and I were talking about how much fun those old multi-player games were; the kind where you and a friend could sit down in the same space, control different characters and fight your way through a universe together. The last great multi-player game, in my opinion, was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. If they can create something on par with that (only add a whole lot of Bill Murray dialogue), then they've already sold one game ... to me. What do you think?