Movie Licensed Games: Thread edition

[Soldier]

Hello,

(If this thread already exists and has been done before, i apologize, and would want this to be deleted).
Any person who grew up with video games is guaranteed to have played a few movie licensed games in their time. In between your legend of zelda's, marios and kingdom hearts their gaming collection would contain a few titles based on what was popular back in the day. Some might be movie tie ins, released around the time of the film to bolster sales, while others are based off television shows. They are often made with little effort involved, taking a basic genre (collect a thon, beat em up) and just copy pasting the characters onto it. But not all of them are shoddily made, and can actually provide an engaging story that doesn't have to tie in to the movie's plot. Now that i think about it, this genre of gaming seems to have slowed to a halt recently, with only a few being released. I remember shelves stacked with movie tie-in games for the ps2, Xbox and Wii. In any case, i made this thread to discuss some of these games that i grew up with, and to see if anyone else had the same experience that i had. What were some titles that you grew up with? did they meet your expectations, or were they just something you picked up once and never again.
I'll start,

Growing up in the early 2000's, i only had one console to my name, and that was the PS2. Some of my fondest memories are of me improving my skill with a controller at the ages of 8-10 utilizing the various genres at my disposal, but one game stuck itself out above the rest as one of my all-time favorite games, that is, Ice age 2: the meltdown the game.

I loved the ice age movies with all my heart, as it focused on the extinct animals that kept my interest into modern day. So when i heard of this game, i had to get it. The game centered around Scrat (the saber-toothed squirrel) did during the movie, sprinkling some clips from the film to fill in the gaps. Rarely, you would play as the main three heroes, but only in the form of a simple mini game, nothing special. What i found interesting is that they kept it true to the movies, (you couldn't kill most foes you came across, only knock them out for a few seconds before they got back up again). While there wasn't anything of true worth in completing it, only getting a few special features about the game itself, it provided an interesting experience with a good soundtrack behind it. It might not hold up by today's standards, as the 3D models haven't aged well, but i'll still hold onto my copy, movie tickets and all.

 

[ImVentus]

I like this kind of subject.

Yes I find myself familiar growing up with movie tie in games. Over the years I've learned also how these were made and why most of them have a more critical reception. It really isn't the enginers, modellers fault but they often had unfair deadlines to finish and polish the games to match with their theatrical releases. They may not have aged very well but the innocence and fun times playing them as young are still around.
I also played that Ice Age game on PS2 and remember liking it, thought the 3rd game was pretty decent too.

Ive noticed for example that a childhood favourite movie licensed game Monsters Inc does not hold up well at all when it comes to the graphics

Yeeesh!
However the gameplay is actually enjoyable and works with a pretty interesting theme.

Tarzan the video game that was licensed was actually really well made for it's time back in 1999. The game is very simple but can be challenging but I think it holds up for it's time.

Movie licensed 102 Dalmatians was very different from the film with a original story. Growing up with this game as a really young kid was wonderful. The game doesn't really look great but it was really fun and I still think for a movie licensed game with Emperor's New Groove they hold up rather decently gameplay wise.

Shrek 2 was another favourite on PS2 and I don't think the graphics are holding up well but they're not horrible either. And that game is so much fun to play with friends. Something really great about the game is that while it's based on the film it also ties in new story elements, which is very refreshing and new.

In some cases Ive found some video games based on movies actually been better than the actual film. This goes for that Cars 3 video game that was a movie licensed game. The movie was boring,cliche and also very mean spirited. While the video game actually had pretty good rendered models, and a variety of missions and world maps. It focused far more on racing than the movie did. Honestly for the pressured deadline I'd say they did a good job with the models and texture, the game still feels rushed but it's not bad. It's pretty good for a racing game.

I can think of many more movie licensed games but the Harry Potter games after Prisoner Of Azkaban were not fun or good games.

 

[Soldier]

Another person who grew up with Ice age 2 the video game? this calls for a celebration!

This is absolutely fantastic, never thought i'd see the day. Anyways, i agree that Ice age 2 the game is good, but in my opinion, the sequel game is eh, it has the same models as it's predecessor but went in an entirely different direction. The main reason i liked 2 was because of the environments and creatures you came across, all the diverse and colorful wildlife that fueled my interest in prehistoric life all those years ago. It may not have been the main focus, but it was a welcome change. But in 3, most of the time you're just fighting the same dis-proportioned dinosaurs over and over, which can get pretty tiresome. Yeah the different weapons do change the dynamic, but i still would've loved to just play as scrat for the majority of the time.

(Hate to be that guy, but scientifically speaking this triceratops should NOT be able to stand, let alone walk with that large frill on it's head). But i think we can both agree that the Ice age collision course THE GAME is complete trash, it's just a shameless mario party clone that doesnt even have a real ending, it just kind of stops.

As for the monsters inc. game, i can't say i played that one, or the Tarzan game you mentioned. But i DO remember Tarzan: Untamed for the PS2, and let me tell you, that game certainly hasn't aged well.

(I know this was probably rushed in development but, Eeugh)
It doesnt help it's case that it repeats itself in terms of stages. it's all the same, Start off with a adventure-style segment where you're slinging spears, climbing vines and killing animals, then go into a river rafting segment, a ski segment, and then fight a boss. Rinse and repeat until you fight the final boss, a generic clayton clone and that's it.

Ahh, shrek 2, the first video game i ever beat as a kid, the memories of those moments are coming in like a flood now. i'll always treasure the hero times you had to perform, especially the one where "The Devil went to Georgia" played and you had to race uphill destroying massive pumpkins, good times.

And i'm not the biggest racing game fan, i had Cars for the PS2 but got bored of it after a few minutes. It didn't help that the ONLY song they played in the overworld was "Free ride" and it would constantly loop over and over. It's a fun song for the first few minutes, but it wears you down after a while.

Glad to know someone else out there had some fond memories of these games, i knew i wasnt the only one.

 

[ImVentus]

Another person who grew up with Ice age 2 the video game? this calls for a celebration!

This is absolutely fantastic, never thought i'd see the day. Anyways, i agree that Ice age 2 the game is good, but in my opinion, the sequel game is eh, it has the same models as it's predecessor but went in an entirely different direction. The main reason i liked 2 was because of the environments and creatures you came across, all the diverse and colorful wildlife that fueled my interest in prehistoric life all those years ago. It may not have been the main focus, but it was a welcome change. But in 3, most of the time you're just fighting the same dis-proportioned dinosaurs over and over, which can get pretty tiresome. Yeah the different weapons do change the dynamic, but i still would've loved to just play as scrat for the majority of the time.

(Hate to be that guy, but scientifically speaking this triceratops should NOT be able to stand, let alone walk with that large frill on it's head). But i think we can both agree that the Ice age collision course THE GAME is complete trash, it's just a shameless mario party clone that doesnt even have a real ending, it just kind of stops.

As for the monsters inc. game, i can't say i played that one, or the Tarzan game you mentioned. But i DO remember Tarzan: Untamed for the PS2, and let me tell you, that game certainly hasn't aged well.

(I know this was probably rushed in development but, Eeugh)
It doesnt help it's case that it repeats itself in terms of stages. it's all the same, Start off with a adventure-style segment where you're slinging spears, climbing vines and killing animals, then go into a river rafting segment, a ski segment, and then fight a boss. Rinse and repeat until you fight the final boss, a generic clayton clone and that's it.

Ahh, shrek 2, the first video game i ever beat as a kid, the memories of those moments are coming in like a flood now. i'll always treasure the hero times you had to perform, especially the one where "The Devil went to Georgia" played and you had to race uphill destroying massive pumpkins, good times.

And i'm not the biggest racing game fan, i had Cars for the PS2 but got bored of it after a few minutes. It didn't help that the ONLY song they played in the overworld was "Free ride" and it would constantly loop over and over. It's a fun song for the first few minutes, but it wears you down after a while.

Glad to know someone else out there had some fond memories of these games, i knew i wasnt the only one.

Yeah let's celebrate:wink:
I really agree on the Ice Age 3 game. Still liked the beginning where you could play as Sid. Oh yeah I never even tried to play either the 4th or 5th game.

Gee that Tarzan game looks really outdated yeeesh.

Yeah about the first Cars game it was fun to just crash into other cars and the free roaming, but man the music choice was so lazy. The 3rd game is better racing wise.

 

[Noir]

One of the movie games I've been toying around with lately is Westwood's Blade Runner (1997). It's a game I've had in my possession for probably the past 20 years, since I remember playing it as a kid, and not knowing what was going on. Probably because 6 year old me hadn't watched Blade Runner yet. Imagine that.

I started writing up a script for a review on the game, but since I no longer have access to Sony Vegas Pro, that isn't happening for a while. All I can say is, it's actually really interesting, but nowhere as good as most publications would have you believe. It's nice having a separate story, but it decides to stay too close to the movie by having starring characters randomly appear in the game because it's set at the same time, in the same city. I prefer when games expand without needing to rely on already existing factors, such as these characters. It's a great setting, so let's see a lot more!

 

[Phantom]

One of the licensed games I really enjoyed as a kid was Monsters, Inc. I found it really fun, the game actually felt a bit challenging back then and the gameplay was good as well. Sadly, when I played it again after a long time couple of years ago, it just wasn't as fun anymore. There wasn't any challenge anymore, so the game just felt too boring to my taste.

 

[Chuman]

had a lot of fun with hercules, tarzan, bug’s life, toy story, atlantis the lost empire, and more ps1/early-ps2 disney games. plus this one mickey mouse racer for the game boy. but we all know the best license-based games are KINGDOM HEARTS AND BATMAN ARKHAM CITY BAAABEEEE

 

[VoidGear.]

I absolutely adored A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc, with the latter still being pretty enjoyable to me (although I didn't play in a while, so who knows). Played the shit out of those, it was crazy.

 

[Soldier]

Can't say i've played most of the pixar games, but i have played my fair share of games that weren't received well enough to warrant sequels, Case in point, Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian: The Game

Now this was a game i played frequently around the age of 10 at my grandmothers house. I loved the franchise so much that when i saw it on the shelf i HAD to have it. Unfortunately, my love for the series blinded me to the true repetitive broken mess of a game that this was. It HARDLY follows the plot of the movie, only showing off some of the locales briefly. Want to explore the entire Natural history museum in new york? you can't! you're stuck in the main lobby. The tutorial teaches you one admittedly cool aspect of the game (riding a T-rex) that you only get to perform ONCE near the very end. Plus, the game treats enemies as the blundering buffoons, you can't attack them unless you use your environment to kill them. This is rectified when you can shoot thunder at your foes during the second to last stage, but it wouldve been more useful before. Also, the game is incredibly easy to beat, so if you're looking for something pathetic to speedrun, this game is your stooge!

 

[Chill]

This.
I've had a copy ever since I was little ((though it's scratched beyond belief now)), and it's my favourite movie-licensed game. Not only is it a legitimately good game, but the co-op mode made for even more fun. And rage.
Now that I've thought some more, the King Kong game on PS2 was pretty good too.

 

[Recon]

Rented this on a whim and played all weekend haha. It wasn't extremely good, but the game had its merits. I mean, c'mon, you were Disney characters riding skateboards.

You know you've played it before! I spent a lot of time playing this as a kid at "drop kid off here" places.

 

[Soldier]

@recon, can't say i've ever played that lion king game, as i didn't own any nintendo consoles until 2009 with my first wii. Looks pretty good though. Now that i think about it, i remember another game that was pathetically easy to beat 100%, but had a lot of bad concepts. Anyone remember Where the wild things are? They made a game out of it!

Now the genres that they used for this game were adventure and collect-a-thon, but the collecting part was optional. If i remember, the game didn't look that great, with way too many foresty levels sprinkled about, and some pretty bland enemy designs. You basically fight electrified wasps and black sludge that mimic the heartless from kingdom hearts, but in all the wrong ways. There's also a hub world where you can interact with the beasts, but that's effectively useless. For example, the game encourages you to have a dirt clod fight with the things, which sounds fine, you think you can snipe them in the head and knock them out right? wrong! What happens is that these blasted creatures NEVER die from the dirt, no matter how many times you hit them. And if you hit them enough times, they get pissed and eat you (i'm not kidding, that's actually what happens, there's a trophy for it!!!). The end game has little pay-off, with a ending that diverts from the movie drastically. Not going to spoil anything, as it really isn't worth knowing. All in all, i loved the book as a little kid, but playing this as an 11 year old (when i actually played this game, don't have it anymore) didn't capture that feel.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

EZ.

This.
I've had a copy ever since I was little ((though it's scratched beyond belief now)), and it's my favourite movie-licensed game. Not only is it a legitimately good game, but the co-op mode made for even more fun. And rage.
Now that I've thought some more, the King Kong game on PS2 was pretty good too.

A buddy of mine had that back in the day. I can confirm this was super dope and an awesome way to spend an afternoon after school.