5 Movie Tie-In Games You Forgot Were Awesome

There’s an unwritten rule when it comes to video games, and it’s that all movie tie-in games absolutely suck. It’s been this way for ages, and the first truly offensive example is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on the Atari 2600. While there are far more terrible movie tie-in games than there are good ones, the scales occasionally tip in favor of great programming, surprising pretty much everyone. We looked through a whole mess of movie tie-in games, looking for the best ones that are fun to play, well-programmed, and offer great stories, resulting in the following five, presented in chronological order of release.

1) Batman: The Video Game

Sunsoft developed and released Batman: The Video Game in 1989 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and beating all odds, it’s a fantastic platformer and one of the best DC games ever released. It came out alongside the 1989 Tim Burton film and received positive reviews from critics and players alike. Batman: The Video Game consists of five levels, a wall-scaling mechanic reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden, and a plot that has almost nothing to do with the movie Batman. Perhaps that’s why it worked so well — it’s a movie tie-in game that shares little in common with the movie it was released to promote.

2) The Matrix: Path of Neo

While there are criminally few games in the Matrix franchise, the ones that were released are actually pretty good. In 2005, Atari published The Matrix: Path of Neo, an action-adventure title tied into the film franchise’s first three movies. In that sense, it’s not directly tied to a specific release, but we’re counting it all the same. The Matrix: Path of Neo came out on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PCs, allowing players to play out some of the best action sequences from the movies, making it a reimagining of the trilogy’s best moments. 

3) Scarface: The World is Yours

We’re admittedly stretching the concept of a tie-in game with the previous entry alongside this one, as Scarface: The World is Yours wasn’t released to promote a movie so much as it was made in honor of one. The game was released in 2006 as an action-adventure title for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PCs, based on the 1983 film Scarface. It functions as a sort of sequel to the movie’s narrative, essentially forgetting what happens to Tony Montana (Al Pacino) at the end of the film. Regardless, Scarface: The World is Yours is a fun title that, in many respects, is similar to the Grand Theft Auto games released in the early 2000s, and an entertaining dive back into the world of Scarface.

4) X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Typically, movies inspire games that suck, but in the case of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, most fans would agree that the game is considerably better than the movie of the same name. It’s the film that muted Deadpool and is considered a weak entry in the X-Men film franchise. The game, on the other hand, is a beautifully crafted action-adventure that features an excellent story and God of War-style action sequences. An “Uncaged” version featurea a ton of digitized violence, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a rare example of a movie tie-in game that’s better than the movie, which also happens to be one of the best X-Men games ever made.

5) World War Z

While World War Z wasn’t the zombie movie that fans of Max Brooks’ novel were looking for, the game is actually pretty amazing. This is somewhat ironic, as the movie failed to adapt the book, while the game failed to adapt the movie, but for the better. Granted, the film isn’t a bad zombie flick, but it’s not like the book at all. Regardless, the game, released in 2019 alongside the film, is set within its universe, focusing on four survivors of the apocalypse and their fight to survive. World War Z also has a multiplayer mode, and did well with players and critics, selling over 3 million copies.

What’s your favorite movie tie-in game? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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