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The reviews of TMNT, the latest in a long line of movies to be turned into games, aren’t very surprising. It’s nothing special and relies on simple concepts and gameplay. It’s a shame, another movie franchise turned into a thoughtless game to make a quick profit.
It got me thinking, was it always like this? I remember lots of good movie games in the 8-bit and 16-bit days. Ok, so now they look dated, but at the time games like Robocop, Batman, Goldeneye, even ET on the Atari VCS were great for their time and some of them were really well polished games.
But taking off those rose-tinted specs (why I bought them in the first place, I don’t know, they don’t suit me!) I remember a few pretty bad movie tie-ins as well, like Predator, Darkman and TV based games such as Knight Rider and Grange Hill. So I guess there were a mix of good and bad. Still, looking back and replaying some of these, there does seem to be a greater amount of good movie games than bad ones, which is more than can be said of today’s game scene.
Why? Well, perhaps its because the industry is worth so much more money these days and publishers need to get movie games released quickly to tie in with the movie release, as opposed to spending months or even years developing a game properly.
It does seem annoying though, when you see a film and would love to emulate it in a game, or spot a great opportunity while watching a film. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought, or even said out loud ‘wow! That would make a great game’.
There are still good examples of movie games that work, though it was short King Kong was well made and playable (especially the Kong vs Dinosaur bits). Star Wars games have been hit or miss, but the best two (in my opinion); Rogue Leader on Gamecube and Battlefront on Xbox and PS2, really capture the essence of the movies.
Obviously, not every movie or TV show can make a good game idea (see Little Britain – the game for proof of this), I can’t see a Borat game, Little Miss Sunshine or Brokeback Mountain in the works. But at least we could get some worthy games based on recent films.
Children’s movies seem to be the worst offenders, for every Open Season (relatively good) there’s a Happy Feet or Shrek (awful) game, it’s as if the games companies think they don’t even have to try. We’re all losing out, really, as a good game based on an animated movie would sell really well.
I just live in hope that the next big movie franchise doesn’t bring the next big stinker of a game with it.
It got me thinking, was it always like this? I remember lots of good movie games in the 8-bit and 16-bit days. Ok, so now they look dated, but at the time games like Robocop, Batman, Goldeneye, even ET on the Atari VCS were great for their time and some of them were really well polished games.
But taking off those rose-tinted specs (why I bought them in the first place, I don’t know, they don’t suit me!) I remember a few pretty bad movie tie-ins as well, like Predator, Darkman and TV based games such as Knight Rider and Grange Hill. So I guess there were a mix of good and bad. Still, looking back and replaying some of these, there does seem to be a greater amount of good movie games than bad ones, which is more than can be said of today’s game scene.
Why? Well, perhaps its because the industry is worth so much more money these days and publishers need to get movie games released quickly to tie in with the movie release, as opposed to spending months or even years developing a game properly.
It does seem annoying though, when you see a film and would love to emulate it in a game, or spot a great opportunity while watching a film. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought, or even said out loud ‘wow! That would make a great game’.
There are still good examples of movie games that work, though it was short King Kong was well made and playable (especially the Kong vs Dinosaur bits). Star Wars games have been hit or miss, but the best two (in my opinion); Rogue Leader on Gamecube and Battlefront on Xbox and PS2, really capture the essence of the movies.
Obviously, not every movie or TV show can make a good game idea (see Little Britain – the game for proof of this), I can’t see a Borat game, Little Miss Sunshine or Brokeback Mountain in the works. But at least we could get some worthy games based on recent films.
Children’s movies seem to be the worst offenders, for every Open Season (relatively good) there’s a Happy Feet or Shrek (awful) game, it’s as if the games companies think they don’t even have to try. We’re all losing out, really, as a good game based on an animated movie would sell really well.
I just live in hope that the next big movie franchise doesn’t bring the next big stinker of a game with it.
terminator: rise of the machines was a bit dissapointing. the graphics lacked quite a lot of work. as for the gameplay,,,,,,,,,,,,(sigh) you only get about 5-8 levels from the film and during them you can't kill anyone. the fighting has much to be desired. not exatly tekken is it??? anyone played it?
The Thing, The Chronicles Of Riddick, Goldeneye, Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma and The Godfather.
All rather good, although some came about later than others. ;)
All rather good, although some came about later than others. ;)
pb wrote:
> It's based on Prince of Persia, and the film is trying to capture
> a teen audience more than anything.
Well that's nice. The Prince of Persia reference looks like lazy journalism in the 'name another game by the publisher that's slightly similar' vein and the two reviews I've glanced over have said the game is aimed at young children not teens as the film is.
> It's based on Prince of Persia, and the film is trying to capture
> a teen audience more than anything.
Well that's nice. The Prince of Persia reference looks like lazy journalism in the 'name another game by the publisher that's slightly similar' vein and the two reviews I've glanced over have said the game is aimed at young children not teens as the film is.
Superman 64 was awesome.
whenever there is a movie theres going to be some horrible cash in to lure stupid fans, parents and other unsuspecting people into buying those games.
Avoid at all costs really. If there are ones worth buying they'll make themselves known.
Avoid at all costs really. If there are ones worth buying they'll make themselves known.
It's based on Prince of Persia, and the film is trying to capture a teen audience more than anything.
TMNT is clearly a game for young children.
Not exactly hardcore but probably a fun rental.
Not exactly hardcore but probably a fun rental.
The reviews of TMNT, the latest in a long line of movies to be turned into games, aren’t very surprising. It’s nothing special and relies on simple concepts and gameplay. It’s a shame, another movie franchise turned into a thoughtless game to make a quick profit.
It got me thinking, was it always like this? I remember lots of good movie games in the 8-bit and 16-bit days. Ok, so now they look dated, but at the time games like Robocop, Batman, Goldeneye, even ET on the Atari VCS were great for their time and some of them were really well polished games.
But taking off those rose-tinted specs (why I bought them in the first place, I don’t know, they don’t suit me!) I remember a few pretty bad movie tie-ins as well, like Predator, Darkman and TV based games such as Knight Rider and Grange Hill. So I guess there were a mix of good and bad. Still, looking back and replaying some of these, there does seem to be a greater amount of good movie games than bad ones, which is more than can be said of today’s game scene.
Why? Well, perhaps its because the industry is worth so much more money these days and publishers need to get movie games released quickly to tie in with the movie release, as opposed to spending months or even years developing a game properly.
It does seem annoying though, when you see a film and would love to emulate it in a game, or spot a great opportunity while watching a film. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought, or even said out loud ‘wow! That would make a great game’.
There are still good examples of movie games that work, though it was short King Kong was well made and playable (especially the Kong vs Dinosaur bits). Star Wars games have been hit or miss, but the best two (in my opinion); Rogue Leader on Gamecube and Battlefront on Xbox and PS2, really capture the essence of the movies.
Obviously, not every movie or TV show can make a good game idea (see Little Britain – the game for proof of this), I can’t see a Borat game, Little Miss Sunshine or Brokeback Mountain in the works. But at least we could get some worthy games based on recent films.
Children’s movies seem to be the worst offenders, for every Open Season (relatively good) there’s a Happy Feet or Shrek (awful) game, it’s as if the games companies think they don’t even have to try. We’re all losing out, really, as a good game based on an animated movie would sell really well.
I just live in hope that the next big movie franchise doesn’t bring the next big stinker of a game with it.
It got me thinking, was it always like this? I remember lots of good movie games in the 8-bit and 16-bit days. Ok, so now they look dated, but at the time games like Robocop, Batman, Goldeneye, even ET on the Atari VCS were great for their time and some of them were really well polished games.
But taking off those rose-tinted specs (why I bought them in the first place, I don’t know, they don’t suit me!) I remember a few pretty bad movie tie-ins as well, like Predator, Darkman and TV based games such as Knight Rider and Grange Hill. So I guess there were a mix of good and bad. Still, looking back and replaying some of these, there does seem to be a greater amount of good movie games than bad ones, which is more than can be said of today’s game scene.
Why? Well, perhaps its because the industry is worth so much more money these days and publishers need to get movie games released quickly to tie in with the movie release, as opposed to spending months or even years developing a game properly.
It does seem annoying though, when you see a film and would love to emulate it in a game, or spot a great opportunity while watching a film. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought, or even said out loud ‘wow! That would make a great game’.
There are still good examples of movie games that work, though it was short King Kong was well made and playable (especially the Kong vs Dinosaur bits). Star Wars games have been hit or miss, but the best two (in my opinion); Rogue Leader on Gamecube and Battlefront on Xbox and PS2, really capture the essence of the movies.
Obviously, not every movie or TV show can make a good game idea (see Little Britain – the game for proof of this), I can’t see a Borat game, Little Miss Sunshine or Brokeback Mountain in the works. But at least we could get some worthy games based on recent films.
Children’s movies seem to be the worst offenders, for every Open Season (relatively good) there’s a Happy Feet or Shrek (awful) game, it’s as if the games companies think they don’t even have to try. We’re all losing out, really, as a good game based on an animated movie would sell really well.
I just live in hope that the next big movie franchise doesn’t bring the next big stinker of a game with it.