Summary
There was a time when almost every successful movie came with its own movie tie-in video game. These often adapted the plot or even extended it by adding new characters, locations, scenarios, and more. Sometimes, even the original actors would return to reprise their roles, adding that extra bit of immersion to the title.
At worst, a movie tie-in game would become creatively bankrupt and resort to making a one-off racing game. At their best, however, a game adaptation could go above and beyond to create something truly memorable. These are the ten best movie tie-in games ever made.
10Shrek 2
It’s All Ogre Now
Shrek 2 is one of the greatest animated comedies of all time, and when it was first released, it also came with a pretty good video game to match. The Shrek 2 game was released on every platform imaginable, includingXbox,PlayStation 2,Gamecube, and handhelds of the time.
The game added new locations and characters to interact with. It also featured four four-player co-op, allowing you to smash and fight your enemies together, and each character had their unique powers, abilities, and hero moments.
9Peter Jackson’s King Kong
Explore Skull Island
Peter Jackson’s King Kong mixed horror and adventure into a vicious blend that would keep anyone up at night. The game is played in first person with limited ammunition for weapons, forcing the player to use bones and spears to fight off much of the island’s wildlife.
This included terrifying insects of all shapes and sizes popping out of ominous holes in the wall and creeping through tall grass. You could also take control of Kong during some levels, allowing you to fight giant dinosaurs and bats.
8Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith
The Best Alternate Ending
Star Wars Revenge of the Sithhad some of the best movie tie-in games of all time no matter the platform, and theNintendo DSandGame Boy Advanceversions were excellent beat-em-ups. Meanwhile, the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game offered a 3D adventure where you could experience moments and scenes not seen in the film.
It even included one of the greatest alternate endings to the film, having Anakin defeat Obi-Wan’s high ground. He then slays Palpatine and becomes the new emperor of the galaxy.
7Spider-Man 2
The Best Web Swinging
Spider-Man2 was a great film with some of the best action sequences and campy editing that truly made it feel special. It also came with a great movie tie-in game that would eventually be the basis for a modern-day reboot.
Spider-Man 2 on PlayStation 2 has some of the best web-slinging action. It also lets you walk on walls, climb from the bottom of a building all the way to the top, and even perform some devastating combos on enemies, showing a level of immersion that was unreal for the time.
6Golden Eye 007
A Nintendo 64 Classic
If there’s a first-person shooter worth mentioning from the Nintendo 64 era, it was Golden Eye 007. Here you played the iconic James Bond, in single-player missions that had you defeating enemies, saving hostages, and retrieving vital technology.
It offered so much in just a small package, includingmore realistic graphicsfor the time, stealth missions, and an unforgettable deathmatch mode. The split screen allowed up to four players to compete against one another in a variety of modes, from golden gun mode to last man standing.
5The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King
One Ring To Rule Them All
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had everything a fan could want. Gollum and Frodo fight for the ring, Aragorn takes the throne, and Sauron is defeated when the one ring is destroyed.
Every iconic moment was made yours to experience in the game adaptation, which took the form of a hack-and-slash adventure. As you fight your way through orcs, you can upgrade your fellowship’s abilities by getting fancier kills, and it also featured the all-star cast from the film reprising their roles.
4X-Men Origins Wolverine
Hack And Slash
X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a hack-and-slash video game that some might even consider better than the film it was inspired by. You take the role of Wolverine as you explore story elements from the movie as well as original content inspired by the X-Men comics.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine feels like a combination of God of War and Devil May Cry. It also features gore elements, allowing you to cut enemies down and impale them with your adamantium claws, making it one of the grittiest superhero games of all time.
3World War Z
A Modern Classic
Long after the demise of the movie tie-in genre, World War Z was released. Following the worldbuilding of the films more than the book, World War Z had running zombies that swarmed the players in a Left 4 Dead-style shooter.
With a four-player co-op, players would go from point A to point B while fending off the undead. During certain segments of the game, building up defenses would be a requirement before all hell breaks loose, and you must keep your weapons loaded because it’s a nonstop fight from start to finish.
2Batman Returns
Take Down The Penguin
BatmanReturns is a blend of a beat ‘em up and a fighting game. Released on theSuper Nintendo, you could play as Batman on his quest to foil The Penguin’s plan to take over Gotham.
What made this game unique was that each enemy had a health bar making each one feel like a micro boss. It also allowed you to use many of Batman’s iconic skills and gadgets, and one particularly fun to use was the Batarang, which could be tossed at enemies.
1The Thing
Alien Among Us
Before Among Us took the world by storm, John Carpenter’s The Thing was released on PlayStation 2. Unlike other movie tie-ins, the video game was a sequel to the original film, and it followed a team sent to investigate the incident at the Antarctic base where the movie took place.
The game featured a new trust system in which NPC would either help you or refuse to take your orders depending on whether they suspected you of being The Thing. This forced players to protect the NPC and heal them to earn their trust and assistance.
