Some things are worth waiting for, like Atari's new Ghostbusters game. A quarter-century after the cinematic introduction of Venkman and the rest of the jumpsuited crew, we finally get a chance to join the team.

Really.

The game's clever design lends it a you-are-there immediacy in a compellingly immersive experience. Playing the game is exactly like spending a few hours as a working Ghostbuster, right down to the slime and generous helpings of marshmallow fluff.

The script (which was penned in part by the original writers) is set two years after the second Ghostbusters film. As the player, you are hired for the newly created position of Experimental Weapons Technician. The good news is that you get to play with all of the cool new toys Egon is creating. The bad news is … well … you have to play with all of the cool new toys Egon is creating.

When your in-game character is asked his – or her, the game lets you play as a male or female character – Venkman insists that you keep your name to yourself so that the rest of the team won't get attached to you. If something goes wrong with one of Egon's new toys they don't want to miss you too much. You spend the rest of the game tagged with friendly nicknames like “cadet” or “rookie”.

This works beautifully to put you in the game. Even though the play-style is third-person, over-the-shoulder it's a thrill to hear Dan Ackroyd congratulating you for a particularly good ghost capture. The major roles are all voiced by the original actors and the performances are both energetic and pitch-perfect. The graphics run to caricature, but that doesn’t detract in the least from the fun.

Once you've met the rest of the team, you get a chance to roll on your first mission. Generous in-game tutorials ease your transition from raw recruit into seasoned paranormal investigator. The controls are straight-forward – the Wii remote aims you and your proton pack and the nunchuck moves you forward, back, left and right – and easy to master. During game play they all but disappear as you find yourself absorbed in the action.

Occasional cut-scenes advance the plot, but they are rendered with the in-game engine so they never feel intrusive. Additionally, the other characters are generous about interacting with you while you're playing so the game progression feels smooth. The various in-game and cut scenes add up to an intriguing story which could easily have been a third Ghostbusters movie. Playing this is as much about the story as it is the experience.

Finding the ghosts and ghouls is easy once you've mastered the PKE meter. Just like its counterpart in the movies, the meter sports glowing green lights and two arms that raise in the presence of psychokinetic energy. Sooner-or-later you'll find yourself playing the paranormal version of warmer/colder while searching for some ghastly horror. Even this is fun as a result of the game's great music and atmosphere.

The PKE meter also allows you to scan apparitions to learn more about them. This information coupled with your electronic copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide can be invaluable in defeating some of the more unusual spooks you encounter. You can also use the Spirit Guide to collect art pages (featuring appropriately ghoulish likenesses of the spirits). The art pages are hidden among the levels and trying to collect them all adds another dimension to the game play and give the levels a modicum of replayability.

Capturing ghosts is pure pleasure. Working side-by-side with the heroes (or occasionally alone) you'll use the proton pack's capture stream to contain a ghost. You throw a trap by making a bowling motion with the nunchuck and help the unhappy spirit “go toward the light.” The transfer from film to game experience is nearly perfect.

Missions are made up of multiple assignments, which is a good thing because the automatic saves only happen at the end of an assignment. Fortunately, individual assignments are short enough that you'll never be too far from a save point. Once you've saved, you can jump back to the Ghostbuster's firehouse (complete with fire poles) until you're ready to pick up the game again.

Each time you re-enter the game, you can choose to play alone or with a friend. If you have a second Wii remote/nunchuck (and a friend) you can engage in coop play.

The game is accessible to players of nearly any ability. When creating a character, you can choose between easy, medium and hard difficulty levels. The easy level is described as being appropriate for casual gamers and would also, most likely, be appropriate for younger players. It's nearly impossible to lose, but the ghosts still deal enough damage to make it interesting.

On the easy level, the game will only last a few hours. Re-playability is limited to searching for the missing pages, but the experience is so enjoyable most players won't mind the $39.99 price tag. Of course, it is fully a Ghostbusters game so parents who are uncomfortable with the subject matter of the movies would likely be uncomfortable with the game. Parents with older children – especially those with fond memories of Egon's techno-babble, Ray's affable gee-whiz reaction to the supernatural, Peter's wise-cracking and low-key lechery, and Winston's pragmatic approach to the job – will enjoy this opportunity to strap on an unlicensed nuclear accelerator and bust some ghosts.