by Greggory Delman

Created on: July 06, 2009   Last Updated: July 08, 2009

Movie based video games are as a group bad. They just don't seem to generate the great reviews that original titles generate, however they consistently sell. Why is this?

Well there are a lot of reasons to make games based on movies. Movie based games inherently appeal to the fans of the movie. People who watch a good action film want to be immersed in the world of the film. They will spend their time discussing scenes and trying to puzzle their way through the rationale and reasons behind different characters. They will enjoy the thrill ride that stunt scenes invoke. They want to see how they can do out running a boulder, or navigating a water slide of a branching tunnels. They want to be in the movie.

A great movie based game will give the player the next level of immersion after cinema. Instead of shouting out "Don't do that!", they have the opportunity to do things their way. They can see what it is like to be the hero by giving the opportunity to be the hero, instead of just trying to associate themselves with the lead. All of these things are great for the player.

For the studio who makes these games, it can also be a very good deal. If the movie is a hit, the game's audience has the potential for being huge. As long as the studio can get it out at the same time the movie hits either the theaters or the home video market, there is a good chance that they will make money. This can allow a video game company the extra revenue to funnel into their more experimental games. And this potentially a good outcome for players.

The problems arise in making games based on movies when game publishers realize that it doesn't matter what they release because the game will still sell. This causes many licenced games to be developed in a rushed environment that makes the end result suffer. Developers will take look at the movie and see which game that is already successful most closely resembles the franchise. Then they will make a clone of the game with the movie theme added. In the best cases this results in a mediocre game, and often the results are even less then that.

By relying on the movie characters and themes it limits the creativity that many licenced game designers have. With the budget and time constraints it's hard for them to get a game out to market with no bugs and decent play mechanics. These are also the games that hyped with movie tie ins and therefore get their hands into the most non-gamers, giving them a false sense of the quality of video games.

There are good games based on movies, but they are not necessarily licenced games. People who played "Black" on the PS2/Xbox will remember the scene when they found themselves in the bathroom from "The Rock". "Tomb Raider" and "Uncharted" are based on the adventures of "Indiana Jones", but they don't share the same characters or settings. "Crimson Skies" owes a lot of its story telling style to the serials of the 30's. "Dawn of the Dead" is clearly the inspiration for "Dead Rising".

Games based on movies are not inherently bad. Often times it is hard for movie tie in games to get the funding and development time that they need. Games that use movies as inspiration though have been memorable experiences an worthy of our time and money.

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