5 Weirdest Licensed PlayStation 2 Games

The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console of all time, so it’s no surprise that developers were falling all over themselves to put out new games for the successful system. One way to churn out games in that age was to grab a license and develop a game around it. That strategy gave developers a potential leg up because fans already knew the property, which, in theory, made it easier to sell copies. However, some of those licensed games took things in a bonkers direction. These weird games aren’t necessarily bad, but it’s fair to say that most fans never expected games like these from the respective IP.

Here are the five weirdest licensed PlayStation 2 games.

5) WWE Crush Hour

Of course, the WWE was massive during the PlayStation 2 era, with dozens of games launching on the system. However, most of those were actual wrestling games. Crush Hour imagined a world where Vince McMahon took over every television network in the world and had to find a way to pump out enough programming to keep people happy.

As you’d expect, that led to wrestlers joining a Twisted Metal-like demolition racing show. What else would they do? It received middling reviews, but it’s a fun offshoot from traditional WWE games. Plus, good ole Jim Ross is on commentary, which is always a blast.

4) Little Britain: The Video Game

Little Britain is a British sketch comedy show that ran from 2003 to 2006. It is definitely of the time, which means plenty of crass jokes that wouldn’t fly these days. For whatever reason, the publishers at Mastertronic Group decided the world needed a video game version of the show.

It only launched in Europe, which isn’t too surprising, especially when you look at the putrid review scores. There are seven mini-games to play through, which try to gamify popular sketches. That includes skating as a bikini-clad single mom, navigating a Pac-Man-like grocery store maze to eat cookies and cheat on your diet, and playing a version of Tetris themed around feeding an old lady. It’s as weird as it is bad.

3) The Sopranos: Road to Respect

In the mid-2000s, The Sopranos was massive. Grand Theft Auto was its equal in the video game space, so you can understand why THQ would try to combine the two to make a game based on the hit HBO show. The publishers added to the hype by announcing that it would take place between the fifth and sixth seasons.

Unfortunately, it quickly became clear this wasn’t going to be a hit. The developers looked at how successful GTA‘s open world was and decided to instead make a linear game. Sure, they got many of the show’s actors into the booth to record VO, but series creator David Chase came out ahead of launch to announce that the show and game had no real connection. It was a disappointing slog of a game that tossed aside all of its potential.

2) Pimp My Ride

For the other games I’ve mentioned on this list, you can understand why someone thought it might work. Pimp My Ride, which is a show about tricking out a lucky person’s car with a jacuzzi and ice machine or something equally ridiculous, never made any sense as a video game.

The developers of Pimp My Ride clearly agreed. Yes, there was some car customization, but most of the gameplay was playing various mini-games. You could play the “Hot Steppin” rhythm game or the “Ghost Ride the Whip” rhythm game. There were driving sections, but those all felt like driving through sludge. The only real positive of the PlayStation 2 release is that it isn’t nearly as bad as the PSP port.

Somehow, Pimp My Ride got a second game, Pimp My Ride: Street Racing, on the PS2 and Nintendo DS. If you guessed that it was a bad version of Need for Speed Underground, you would be exactly on the money.

1) Akira: Psycho Ball

Akira is one of the most beloved manga and anime of all time. The cyberpunk masterpiece is often cited as one of the seminal anime of the ’80s, and the manga is equally rated. With that in mind, you can understand why someone would want to make a video game based on the popular property. What I can’t understand is why the team at Bandai decided to make it a pinball game.

Granted, it does feature a soundtrack inspired by the film and even plays movie clips across the four pinball tables. It’s also not a horrible pinball game, but it makes absolutely no sense that a developer thought this game needed to exist. There is an Akira adventure game from 1988 that launched on the NES, so it’s not like no one ever tried to adapt the manga and film. For whatever reason, Bandai decided this was the direction to go, and we haven’t had anything else since.

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