Movie-based Games

UniversalWolf

UniversalWolf

eaten by a grue.
I'm constantly seeing ads for Harry Potter games and Transformers games and whatnot, but I've always assumed they're junk. Are any of these good games, or are they all just marketing tie-ins?
 
I wouldn't bother with them. They are made to milk cash out of a popular franchise.

If you are interested in movie-based games, try The Ghostbusters and Chronicles of Riddick. Both are very enjoyable titles, in spirit of the movies. I suppose you already did try at least one of the two, but if you didn't, do so.
 
Ravager69 said:
I wouldn't bother with them. They are made to milk cash out of a popular franchise.

If you are interested in movie-based games, try The Ghostbusters and Chronicles of Riddick. Both are very enjoyable titles, in spirit of the movies. I suppose you already did try at least one of the two, but if you didn't, do so.
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The ads for the Chronicles of Riddick game are what prompted me to ask the question. I can see how a game made from a movie that's not being simultaneously marketed would have a chance of not being garbage. Games that come out alongside movies make me suspicious, though.
 
UniversalWolf said:
Ravager69 said:
I wouldn't bother with them. They are made to milk cash out of a popular franchise.

If you are interested in movie-based games, try The Ghostbusters and Chronicles of Riddick. Both are very enjoyable titles, in spirit of the movies. I suppose you already did try at least one of the two, but if you didn't, do so.
Click to expand...
The ads for the Chronicles of Riddick game are what prompted me to ask the question. I can see how a game made from a movie that's not being simultaneously marketed would have a chance of not being garbage. Games that come out alongside movies make me suspicious, though.
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I tell you that Chronicles of Riddick is one of the better FPS games I've played recently. Good voice acting, fun dialogue and story, climbing elements, engaging melee combat, solid shooting, sneaking - all in one game. There are annoying moments, where difficulty is too high due to bad design, but it's very enjoyable overall.
 
As said above, most of them are crap.

However, not all movie-based games are bad. Anyone remember Goldenyeye on N64?

In my opinion, they're very hit and miss. Sometimes they nail it on the head. Most the time though, movie-based games to me feel like just an add-on for the movie (was not a fan of "The Matrix" games).
 
Best movie-based games, if you ask me:

A number of Star Wars games (KOTOR, Lego, etc)
Chronicles of Riddick
Golden Eye (N64)
Aladdin (gen)
PJ's King Kong
Enter the Matrix (I liked it)
Lion King
Godfather
 
Aside from the same mechanic being used to gauge your effectiveness in a drug deal and difusal of a bomb, the scarface game was pretty good. Consoley as fuck, but entertaining for long enough that i didn't feel cheated.
 
UniversalWolf said:
I'm constantly seeing ads for Harry Potter games and Transformers games and whatnot, but I've always assumed they're junk. Are any of these good games, or are they all just marketing tie-ins?
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Most of them are crap.
Some of them aren't.

I liked the Wolverine game, it was significantly better than the movie. I mean, it was just a hack 'n slash game, but there was something satisfying about using Wolverine to rip people to shreds, and it was pretty well done at that.

Usually games that are movie-based but are released years later are significantly better, as they aren't trying to ride the hype-wave and hence have to make it on quality. I think the Godfather games are pretty decent (not great, way too short for that), for instance. Goldeneye was a great game. Some of the Disney platform games were pretty cool as well in the '90s. Star Wars games are very hit and miss (more miss than hit, too).
 
maximaz said:
Enter the Matrix (I liked it)
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I don't like you.

Regarding movie-based games, Disney movies spawned quite a few decent-to-great platformers - Aladdin, Lion King and Tarzan come to mind. I'm certain there were other solid movie-based games, yet I can't recall any more right now.

EDIT: How could I forget all the outstanding Lucas Arts games, such as Indiana Jones adventure games (especially Fate of Atlantis, the first Indy game to have an original story), Star Wars space-sims (X-Wing, Tie Fighter, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, X-Wing: Alliance) and the Dark Forces series (Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy).
 
Nobody mentioning AVP???

FFS what's wrong with you people!?!

Also I pretty much enjoyed Battle for Middle-Earth.
 
I remember the older movie games (ones that were in the SNES/Genesis era).

Ah... True Lies, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd. Wow... those ones we're like... the bottom of the barrel to me.

Sucked, but were definitely novel.
 
Scorpius said:
I don't like you.
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Ha, I knew I'd get that reaction. The game is by no means great, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun when I was playing it though. As far as movie-based games go, you could do a lot worse.
 
There is not a real environment or market for good movie ties. For the environment they have fixed release date, they have to be design the missions around elements of the film and face annoying limitations from the IP licenser. Also companies don't exactly put the best managers and designers on the team and often the studio making the game have had zero experience in that genre of the game.

Then there is the market. If the movie is a hit, especially with children people will buy any old crap video game that ties into the movie.

Post release licenses are different. Basically in that situation the studio/publisher can and has to focus on just making a game.
 
I've played a lot of great games that came from movies.

Aliens (Genesis)
Mickey Mania (Genesis)
Goldeneye64 (N64)
Episode 1 Racer (PC)
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 (PC)
Rogue Squadren (PC)
Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast (PC)
Knights of the Old Republic (PC)
Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (PC)


For sure most of the tie-ins nowadays are trash.
 
Hamenaglar said:
Nobody mentioning AVP???

FFS what's wrong with you people!?!
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Oh, yeah, forgot about that one. And I also forgot about all the Terminator games. There were a few good Terminator platformers and first-person shooters for 16-bit consoles and DOS back in the '90s. Bethesda's Future Shock and SkyNET in particular were considered quite sophisticated for their time, pioneering many technical and gameplay features that are nowadays commonplace in first-person shooters. Incidentally, SkyNET was produced and designed by none other than Todd Howard, and he also did some design on Future Shock.
 
Scorpius said:
Regarding movie-based games, Disney movies spawned quite a few decent-to-great platformers - Aladdin, Lion King and Tarzan come to mind. I'm certain there were other solid movie-based games, yet I can't recall any more right now.
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Regarding Disney games the Toy Story ones were quite good as well, especially the first one as it featured among other things a doom esque romp through the bowles of the claw machine. Man I played that game a lot.

Oddly some of the Harry Potter ones have been quite good. Had the first one on the playstation and it was pretty a good platformer and the Quidditch World Cup on the Gamecube was frikkin' awesome.
 
Yeah, most of them are junk. Harry Potter games were pretty dull, the only fun one to play was the Quiddich game - even if it was pretty easy.

The abovementioned Wolverine game was a lot of fun, I wish the movie was more like it.

The first Matrix game was godawful. The Path of Neo was pretty fun, I liked how they scripted a few different choice possibilities along the way, so it wasn't completely linear.

I haven't played the Transformers games, but thye look like junk. There's a lot of good games that involve robot-fighting already anyway.
 
Harry Potter games at PS2 were fun. Even though pretty medioc...
What ?!
*angry lynch mob breaks door down*
No, dont burn me, please.......... Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!
 
your best bet is the games that are released without worry about the movie's release date. So games like Godfather for Wii are awesome, as was Chronicles of Riddick
 
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