It seems that games created from Blockbuster films aren’t quite as commonplace as they once were. They were often released at the same time as the film itself, giving the developers limited time to plan storylines and graphics in the depth that they would ideally like. Here at Game Ogre we try to be sympathetic, but in some of these cases, the results were simply laughable. These film-based games attempted to fool film fans into buying their randomly cobbled together game ‘experience’ – and they failed. Miserably.
Total Recall (1990)
Pre-Millenium games should be given a little leeway with regards to graphics, but the guys who made Total Recall for the NES might have done better. Their efforts left a lot to the imagination, with one random man in a green shirt meant to be Arnold Schwarzenegger and a bunch of clownish acrobats, his terrifying opposition.
With perhaps a different title, this might not have been consigned to our wilderness of unwanted games. However, the fact it was trying to faintly resemble Paul Verhoeven’s science-fiction film from the same year meant this one fell well short of the standards it set itself. Do better next time, guys – otherwise I’ll erase your butt.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts I and II
The poor graphics in this game meant we couldn’t see the magical effects that should have been unique to the game. In Part II the main character has to fight the same Death Eater for hours with scenes getting increasingly tedious and repetitive. In most cases, part of the thrill of gaming is winning one battle in order to see what the next storyline is.
Considering that this game was based on one of the most revered books of all time, the absence of a mildly captivating narrative is simply baffling. Those who created the game should have put a lot more care into reading the book, picking out the most exciting bits and constructing a game that does it justice. The developers solemnly swore that they were up to no good.
007 Legends (2012)
Much like Total Recall, 007 Legends was guilty of trying to do too much. The game attempted to bind all the James Bond films, creating a long, extensive storyline that allowed gamers to re-discover their nostalgic love of all things 007. Instead, the challenges were surprisingly same, with the task of shooting your way past infinite guards a recurring theme. The multiplayer system was buggy at best in a game that promised the earth – but it turned out the world was not enough.
Jurassic Park: the game (2011)
Off the back of its box office success, the Jurassic Park franchise has enjoyed relative commercial success down the years, with theme park rides, Monopoly games and even slot games produced in homage to Spielberg’s pre-historic creatures. But on the video game side of things, this Telltale games release back in 2011 was somewhat wide of the mark.
This game has an unclear storyline and bland characters, who get lost in a park that does not resemble the more thrilling scenes we saw in the film. The interactive side of the game was limited with a shortage of challenging puzzles and a lack of context for conversation options, giving the gamer little control over how the game plays out.
It asks nothing of the player but very basic motor functions, rendering the game little more than a poor man’s film. Stay away from the game, instead head over to Orlando to try the official ride or better yet, have a game of Jurrassic Monopoly from the comfort of your or spin the official Jurrassic Park game.
The Wizard of Oz (1993)
Think of Victor Fleming’s 1939 film and the words musical, fantasy and comedy will most likely spring to mind. It clearly didn’t however, for whoever developed this 1993 game. The makers armed Dorothy with a laser-blasting magic wand and the power to kick her enemies to death. Clearly our Judy Garland-played protagonist has some anger management issues. If she wanted to jump up and down in frustration, she struggled to do even that, with erratic jumping controls typical of the era. Fair to say then, that this is not the game that will be missed most of all.
Top Gun (1987)
Most of the time, landing a plane is not the hardest part of a game. In this Top Gun game, failure in the overly challenging task of controlling the angle and speed of the plane when landing means you shoot over the side and into the ocean, undoing all your good work. Any progress made will be done in silence, with no background soundtrack. This was rectified in a later version, which made the difficulty of landing a little fairer on the beleaguered gamer.
Most Shrek Games
The main problem with the Shrek games is the lack of both quality and originality. The storyline is based entirely on the movie series, meaning there is no room for unknowns in terms of narratives. The games themselves are nothing special, the racing ones looking very similar to Mario Kart, only without the quality of graphics. Essentially, if you want the best possible story of Shrek: just watch the Mike Myers-narrated film. If you want the most enjoyable game, just play a more enjoyable game.
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I like it. The worst
So you like these games despite the fact that they are bad? That’s interesting!
I love your comment on the Shrek Games, it’s true there is really no originality in those games. Most of those games are just remakes of Shrek doing someething he wouldn’t be doing. Personally, I find him a lot in GMOD
In theory, they are making something increbdible but the execution is way off. They want to incorporate everything like in 007 which resulted to a boring game. While, the harry potter was just a disappointment.
In theory, they are making something increbdible but the execution is way off. They want to incorporate everything like in 007 which resulted to a boring game. While,the harry potter was just a disappointment.
That does happen with games time to time.
I wasn’t a fan of 007 Legends either but other James Bond games like Nightfire and From russia with love were pretty good.
Shrek games do have a bad legacy of being bad (it doesn’t mean that there isn’t any good Shrek games) and consider the fact that there is a lot of bootleg Shrek games out there just proves the point further.
Some movie based games have actually nailed it and some of them just missed the mark. One decent game that i can recommend that was based on the movie is Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure for PS2 and i suggest you to check out if you are interested.
Indeed nice statement.
I’ve say Jurassic world is worse lol ..
Main reason why these games even exist is mainly for promotional reasons. If people buy the games, then they’ll probably also watch the movie, and the same vice-versa.
I think the reasons why there are terrible video games based on movies is because of (1) promoting products require timing, because you probably would want a game and a movie to release at around the same time, (2) it’s sometimes difficult to license a product/franchise/etc. to a reputable company, and (3) there may just be challenges in trying to develop a game or a movie, especially if there are complexities that don’t translate from one product to another.