Meanwhile, strange things were afoot in the basement, where a genuine sense of unease was being generated by haunting glissando violins, subtle sound effects and excellent use of shadows. Drew stalked through the level, guided by the fluctuations of his PKE meter.
Suddenly, books leapt from shelves like popcorn from a furnace, then formed into lumbering hardback warriors that Drew incinerated with a volley from his proton pack. Drew only stopped dispatching these spooks when he met his fellow 'busters, who dispelled the tension with the genius comedic one-liners that made the movies.
"We're trying to rely on tension rather than gore," explained lead level designer Andy Dombroski as an on-screen Egon remarked how the off the chart paranormal readings were going to force him to make new charts.
"There are sections in which you'll jump and be genuinely scared," continued Andy. "We don't use gore unless it's funny gore. Our uneasiness and scares are usually kind of goofy, just like in the movies."
One of the less goofy scares came from the Librarian, who turned her frail frame into a whirring ball of power that sucked books into its core and spat them out as legions of apparitions.
The 'busters - rather than running away screaming as they had when they first met her - fought frantically to stem the tide, using an array of weaponry previously unseen in the movies, including proton torpedoes, electron pulses, and even shotgun-style particle-accelerated blasts.
After repelling all that the Librarian threw at them, the 'busters captured the fleeing ghoul in their beams, slammed her against shelves to soften her up (causing no end of destruction thanks to the superb physics of Terminal Reality's Infernal engine) and then sucked her into a trap, ready to be deposited into the containment unit back at the firehouse.
"Our emphasis is on lots of physics, lots of action and environmental manipulation, as well as all of the weapons and gadgets you've seen in the movies," enthused Drew as the level came to a close with a couple more wisecracks from the victorious 'busters.
"Every ghost that you trap you'll earn money for," he continued. "We're looking into letting you earn more cash if you manage to capture a ghost in impressive ways, like bouncing it off a wall and straight into a trap."
Apart from the tether gun (a goo-firing weapon that'll allow you to link objects in order to solve physics-based puzzles), all of the game's weapons will be fired from the proton pack, which will double as a HUD. You'll also be able to upgrade each weapon with the cash you earn, bolstering each one's range and ability to inflict damage.
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