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Our problem with Ghostbusters mainly revolves around the fact that we're not one of them. Our childhood-up-until-now dream has always been to slap on that jumpsuit and get knee-deep in Ectoplasmic residue with our comrades in arms, our shoulder patches glistening against the light of our never-crossing streams as we vanquish ancient evils. Well, it'll never happen -- mostly because Ghostbusters isn't real, despite our best attempts at willing it into existence.

But at least there's some consolation in a sweet Proton pack mod for the Wii. The glorious concoction of plastic and LEDs was created by Ghostbusters Fans forum member irrelevanttomfoolery and sets the benchmark for badass game controller mods. Seriously, that ridiculous Resident Evil 4 chainsaw is like child's play compared to how awesome this thing is, so click on the image above and go read up on it.

[Via Gizmodo]

Atari's latest trailer for Ghostbusters: The Video Game finally gives us a look at the DS version -- sort of. You can see it on the tiny screens when the floating DS turns to face us. Right there, behind the character art. We think it looks pretty good.

While we're on the subject of Ghostbusters on DS, we hope the Ghostbusters' games' approach to multiplatform game design pays off, because it's the kind of approach we like to see. Rather than having developers create stripped-down versions of another developer's game, Atari (actually original publisher Sierra, we guess) got Terminal Reality and Red Fly, developers who know what they're doing on their respective consoles, to make different games for the different platforms. So this DS game isn't a crappy version of an Xbox game, for example.

Cook or Be Cooked -- quite an ominous subtitle to a Food Network game for Wii, no? Fortunately, the only thing potentially dangerous we spotted in our hands-off demo of Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked was a scolding by silly-looking caricatures of the network's personalities.

To be honest, it wasn't the thought of learning to prepare food properly via a video game that intrigued us. We just had to check out a cooking game by Red Fly, developer of Mushroom Men and the upcoming Wii version of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. That and the title is slated to utilize Wii MotionPlus -- but it wasn't doing so at the event.

The brief demo we watched took place inside a nicely realized virtual kitchen, with the demoer following steps on a recipe card to make steak and mashed potatoes. The former required the proper oven temperature (turn the Wiimote to twist the knob, naturally) and frying pan handling. The steak was left in the oven too long, causing the kitchen to fill with smoke. Potatoes had to be cut with small chopping motions and, later, pulverized by holding the Wiimote vertically and mashing away.

More of a simulation than the arcade fun of Cooking Mama, Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked could easily be renamed "Learning to Cook Without Ruining Real Ingredients." Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some bacon to waggle.

The latest set of screens from the DS version of Ghostbusters shows off some of the nice, kind of creepy lighting effects at which Red Fly Studio seems to excel. The developer's DS release of Mushroom Men featured the same kind of atmospheric use of colored lights.

Speaking of earlier projects, look what has appeared in the inventory: a "slime blower" like the ones used in Ghostbusters II to neutralize the dangerous Peter MacNicol and vandalize the Statue of Liberty. In this game, it renders "caustic Black Slime" inert and highlights invisible platforms. It's apparently self-regenerating as well! The 'Busters have had some time to upgrade their tech!

Look, we're tired. Atari sent over a bunch of new screens for the upcoming Ghostbusters game on Wii and DS and, with all of the clicking and ogling, we're exhausted. So, we're just going to take the easy way out: juice up your Proton pack, point your way towards our galleries below, and try not to cross streams.

Bad news for PSP fans looking forward to a version of Atari's Ghostbusters game: the ESRB listing that seemed to indicate an unannounced PSP version was nothing more than a ... phantom. An apparition. Something ephemeral. What's the word?

The listing has now been corrected to cover just the PS2 and Wii versions. In addition, Atari confirmed to Eurogamer that it is not releasing a PSP Ghostbusters. Whether the PSP mention in the rating was a clerical error or indication of an earlier, canceled PSP version, the end result is the same -- there is no Ghostbusters on PSP ... only Zuul.

[Update: Atari just sent out a press release announcing that the game is coming out across all platforms on Jun 16!]

Terminal Reality, the developer behind the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the upcoming Ghostbusters game, said the game is indeed slated for release during the week of June 16th, to coincide with the release of Ghostbusters on Blu-ray. But, what about the Wii version of the game?

It's being developed by Red Fly and, while we'd like to think the game will release alongside the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, nothing has been confirmed. Stay tuned for more info as it's made available.

In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Dan Borth, lead developer on Red Fly Studio's Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, offers his thoughts on the market for "core" Wii games, his own game's chances on a system dominated by Wii Fit and such, and designing a game to be accessible to a wide and varied audience.

Oh, and he calls out Deadly Creatures. When asked if he's familiar with Rainbow Studios' critter-based brawler, Borth responded with: "I have heard about Deadly Creatures. I have many opinions on that game, especially how it came into being right after THQ received our pitch document for Mushroom Men. I will let you draw your own conclusions."

We can't say if there really was any such malevolent behavior behind the conception of Deadly Creatures, but oh snap just the same. And while we may not have seen a parallel before, now that he mentions it, they're both 3D action/fighting games about small creatures adventuring, unseen, in the human world. But we still think Creatures could turn out awesome.

The lucky folks over at Joystiq managed to get their hands dirty with all of the different versions of the Ghostbusters game recently. Now that it's confirmed to, y'know, actually exist, we're wondering if the game is as good as it seems to be on paper. Also, how does the Wii version stack up against the other versions of the game? Well, we're glad to say that Joystiq said the Wii version was their favorite. That makes two now!

As for the rest of it, head on over and check out the piece here.

We've been raving about Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars for the best part of a year. Starved of a top-drawer platformer since Mario did his thing in oh-seven, hopes are high in these parts for Red Fly's platformer. The big question: can the gameplay match the undoubtedly stellar art design (as seen in the latest trailer above)? Let's copy and paste text to find out together:

• Official Nintendo Magazine UK (86%) provides the most effusive review to date: "It'd have a Gold Award but for the camera. That aside, it's pretty wonderful." [Dec 2008, p.75]

• Game Informer (58%) is less enamored (in its really, really short review): "Mushroom Men has a few things going for it, like cool characters and clever sound design. Unfortunately, none of the good stuff has any bearing on the gameplay, which is a total mess. The camera is awful, the level designs are boring, and combat is comprised of whipping the remote around and hoping that you hit something."

• Nintendo Power (80%) found it to be vintage platforming fungi: "If you're hungry for some classic 3-D platforming, Mushroom Men is definitely worth checking out." [Holiday 2008, p.84]

• 1UP (C) thinks it's just a pretty face, and is reminded of generic PS1 platformers (surely it's not as bad as Croc?): "The rich presentation fills out its role in the game just fine, but the core mechanics simply can't back it up. Visually intriguing environments break down to straightforward platforming and switch-flipping puzzles; inspired design rears its head every now and then, but -- by and large -- Mushroom Men's stages are anything but progressive, falling right alongside a forgotten swath of PS1 platformers."

Developer Terminal Reality isn't ruling out the chance that the final holdout from the original Ghostbusters cast, Rick Moranis (Louis Tully), will lend his voice to its upcoming game. Still, he's not present or accounted for in the latest trailer for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC version of Ghostbusters: The Videogame. But oh is it dripping with Ghostbusters vibe like so much ectoplasm.

Atari, the new publisher of this June 2009 title, has also released a handful of new shots from the next-gen and Wii versions of the game. While it doesn't sport nearly the same level of detail as the other versions, we found ourselves unexpectedly pleased by the Real Ghostbusters-esque art direction of the Red Fly developed Wii game when we saw it in action. What do you say: charming, or too kiddie?

Kotaku got to try out the Wii version of Ghostbusters and, predictably enough, revealed that it differs quite a lot from its high-definition cousins on the other machines. The voice-acting and script aside, the Wii build sports its own level designs (which are smaller, naturally), a Wii-specific control scheme, and a far more cartoony visual style.

Precisely none of which is surprising. Games developed for a spread of consoles often look and feel quite different on the Wii, but this doesn't seem to harm Ghostbusters. Kotaku reports that the Wii title has been built from the ground up, and deems waggling a Wiimote to capture spooks "a little more intuitive" than punching buttons.

On a personal note, we definitely prefer the rounder, more rubbery character models found in Ghostbusters Wii. The franchise always felt pretty goofy to us, so these just fit more closely to our expectations of a Ghostbusters game. We've included a couple of comparison shots in our gallery for you to peruse and make your own minds up.

Atari recently caught the Ghostbusters game in its ghost trap, and has now revealed a release date for the title -- the once-shaky project will escape its Ecto-Containment Unit in June 2009! There's no word yet on which region that date is for, though Atari's press gathering is taking place in the UK, for what that's worth.

Who's excited, then? We noticed a few naysayers in the comments of our last Ghostbusters post, but the involvement of (Mushroom Men creator) Red Fly gives us confidence!