The 10 WORST PS2 Movie Tie In Video Games
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Brown
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Brown
The PS2 was a wonderful system, but it still got its fair share of bad movie tie-in games. For this list, we're looking at not only the ones made as just a pure cash grab, but also the ones that just make us wonder who greenlit this at all. Our list includes “Bad Boys: Miami Takedown” (2004), “Charlie's Angels” (2003), “Fight Club” (2004), “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” (2008), and more!
Script written by Aaron Brown
Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’re wanting our money back as we look at the 10 worst movie tie-in games on the PS2. We’ve already looked at some of the best movie tie-in games and now we’re looking at not only the ones made as just a pure cash grab, but also the ones that just make us wonder who greenlit this at all. What was the worst movie tie-in game you ever played? Leave your nostalgia behind and let us know down in the comments.
Batman has had his share of duds in the video game space, but all it took was one solo outing for Catwoman to send her to the pound. Attempting to make the most out of Catwoman’s agility, most levels and enemy encounters are designed to display her acrobatics, but the devs forgot to implement a camera that could actually keep up with her feline ferocity. With basic and unrewarding combat, incredibly linear level design and abysmal controls, along with tedious voice acting, the game’s eight-month development time is undeniable. Catwoman, much like the movie, is an insult to the character and is anything but the cat’s meow.
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the game can afford to put the likenesses of the series’ stars on the box art but not the game? The Bad Boys films are essentially video games already, with their bombastic over the top action and complete disregard for the law as well as police paperwork, so what went wrong? Well, pretty much everything you could imagine. Miami Takedown is as by the books as you can possibly get with a video game. Enter room, kill everyone and everything in sight and repeat ad nauseam. Couple this with absolutely awful dialogue and some of the worst voice acting of all time, along with a nonsensical story, even by Bad Boys’ standards, and you have an adaptation that makes Michael Bay’s movies look like Oscar contenders by comparison.
There can be no greater power fantasy than that of stepping into the titanium exoskeleton of the T-800. While most games focus on putting players on the side of the Resistance, Rise of the Machines let everyone finally become one of the most famous cybernetic organisms ever created. Unfortunately, this is a model that Skynet should have recalled and sent back to production. With a color scheme that makes the nuclear apocalypse of the films look downright cheery, enough bugs to bring down Skynet, shooting mechanics and gameplay that is beyond generic, as well as some bizarre one v one fighting game sections against other Terminators, the only saving grace is that the game is blissfully short. This is one time we really hope he won’t be back.
The original two Brendan Fraser-led Mummy films are some of the best adventure movies out there. The third movie, however, ended the series on a sour note, and the video game adaptation was the final nail in the sarcophagus. At the very least the title borrowed heavily from another tomb raider and the puzzle mechanics and environments were well designed, it’s just everything else between these sections that dragged down the entire experience. With no control over the camera, abysmal gunplay and hand to hand combat dragged what should have been some of the most exciting moments of the game to a halt and what is with all these adaptations using art slideshows for their cinematics? We’d normally say you’d be better off watching the movie but considering the film it’s based on, not even Brendan Fraser’s charm can save an entry that should have stayed buried.
Oftentimes when a video game tie-in releases, it’s to capitalize on the film’s popularity and projected success. That’s not to say it can’t still happen like with The Warriors, but with very few ties to the source material, the only thing this game had going for it was its use of visible injuries incurred during each match. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to carry this woefully generic fighting game to victory as every other aspect dragged it below even mediocrity. Fight Club the game takes too many core mechanics from other better games to even mention and somehow manages to make them worse, and when your reward for suffering through the game’s graciously brief story mode is to unlock Fred Durst as a playable character, you didn’t really have much to fight for in the first place. Remember the first rule: We Don’t Talk About Fight Club: The Game.
Proof that not every golden ticket is a winner, we have Charlie and the Chocolate Factory based on the mostly unnecessary remake by Tim Burton. While much of the game is a basic platformer set in Wonka’s fantastical factory, the game also includes Pikmin style objectives in which Charlie uses the numerous, and thanks to the art style, disturbingly baby-like Oompa Loompas and their individual abilities and talents to progress. With an army of Oompa Loompas at your command, players must attempt to rescue the other children from themselves as well as the factory. Speaking of the art style, the game features none of the wonder of the film’s visuals and is instead just dull and lifeless, complete with static slideshow cutscenes. Unlike the end of the movie however, you win nothing by playing.
Much like the Terminator, a video game that allows players to step into the boots of Robocop should have been an easy win. However, developed by Titus Interactive, the same developers of Superman 64, you can get a pretty good idea of how this was going to end up. Even with its bland environments and terrible gunfights, the game still struggled to maintain a constant framerate, enemy hostages could be saved simply by rescuing them through the walls they’re adjacent to, and although most of your mission briefings detail unrest in the streets between rival gangs, the world is almost completely empty. Despite being the ultimate cop, he can’t seem to kill a single low-level enemy without emptying an entire clip into them. And that’s if the game even registers you’re shooting them at all. Instead of dead or alive, it’s just dead.
Whereas the Charlie’s Angels films were campy, self-aware fun, the game is one call from Charlie the Angels should have sent to voicemail. The game was seemingly created for no other reason than to have the Angels run around in skimpy or impractical outfits, especially since it has no narrative ties to either film. The gameplay, sure let’s call it that, is a standard beat ‘em up where the Angels fight the endless stream of henchmen thrown their way just as much as they do the camera. The game almost feels like it was originally planned to be something else but was then reskinned as a cash grab tie-in with how little care and attention was put into not only the combat but the animations themselves. Seriously, have you ever in your life seen someone run like that? Let alone in heels?
Cheap cash grab games based on mediocre movies are nothing new, but even by the lowest of standards, Jumper: Griffon’s Story hits rock bottom and just continues to dig. Focusing instead on Jaime Bell’s character Griffon from the movie, the central mechanic of the character, namely his ability to “Jump” to different locations at will is limited to simply dashing around the environments and enemies as they half-heartedly attempt to stop your schizophrenic teleportations. The combat, if you can call it that, mostly revolves around approaching an enemy, “Jumping” around them and blindly stabbing them as they mostly just stand around and do nothing to stop it. Occasionally there are puzzles that allow Griffon to expand his “Jump” abilities further, but these are marred by linear design and the game’s inability to keep Griffon from clipping into the furniture. The only place Griffon’s Story needs to jump next is straight into the bin.
Coming a full decade too late to capitalize on the original Macaulay Culkin films, and seemingly not based on any of its inferior sequels, we just have to wonder not only what the thinking was behind this adaptation, but also, why it exists at all. Utilizing an isometric perspective and an art style that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the N64, players need to guide Not-Kevin and numerous other similarly dead-eyed children around their home and various other environments locking windows and doors while setting up rudimentary traps to prevent the neither Wet nor Sticky bandits who are most definitely NOT Harry and Marv from breaking in. The game is so pathetically pedestrian it’s laughable and even Macaulay Culkin himself said it’s better to just pretend this game doesn’t exist.
Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’re wanting our money back as we look at the 10 worst movie tie-in games on the PS2. We’ve already looked at some of the best movie tie-in games and now we’re looking at not only the ones made as just a pure cash grab, but also the ones that just make us wonder who greenlit this at all. What was the worst movie tie-in game you ever played? Leave your nostalgia behind and let us know down in the comments.
“Catwoman” (2004)
Batman has had his share of duds in the video game space, but all it took was one solo outing for Catwoman to send her to the pound. Attempting to make the most out of Catwoman’s agility, most levels and enemy encounters are designed to display her acrobatics, but the devs forgot to implement a camera that could actually keep up with her feline ferocity. With basic and unrewarding combat, incredibly linear level design and abysmal controls, along with tedious voice acting, the game’s eight-month development time is undeniable. Catwoman, much like the movie, is an insult to the character and is anything but the cat’s meow.
“Bad Boys: Miami Takedown” (2004)
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the game can afford to put the likenesses of the series’ stars on the box art but not the game? The Bad Boys films are essentially video games already, with their bombastic over the top action and complete disregard for the law as well as police paperwork, so what went wrong? Well, pretty much everything you could imagine. Miami Takedown is as by the books as you can possibly get with a video game. Enter room, kill everyone and everything in sight and repeat ad nauseam. Couple this with absolutely awful dialogue and some of the worst voice acting of all time, along with a nonsensical story, even by Bad Boys’ standards, and you have an adaptation that makes Michael Bay’s movies look like Oscar contenders by comparison.
“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003)
There can be no greater power fantasy than that of stepping into the titanium exoskeleton of the T-800. While most games focus on putting players on the side of the Resistance, Rise of the Machines let everyone finally become one of the most famous cybernetic organisms ever created. Unfortunately, this is a model that Skynet should have recalled and sent back to production. With a color scheme that makes the nuclear apocalypse of the films look downright cheery, enough bugs to bring down Skynet, shooting mechanics and gameplay that is beyond generic, as well as some bizarre one v one fighting game sections against other Terminators, the only saving grace is that the game is blissfully short. This is one time we really hope he won’t be back.
“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” (2008)
The original two Brendan Fraser-led Mummy films are some of the best adventure movies out there. The third movie, however, ended the series on a sour note, and the video game adaptation was the final nail in the sarcophagus. At the very least the title borrowed heavily from another tomb raider and the puzzle mechanics and environments were well designed, it’s just everything else between these sections that dragged down the entire experience. With no control over the camera, abysmal gunplay and hand to hand combat dragged what should have been some of the most exciting moments of the game to a halt and what is with all these adaptations using art slideshows for their cinematics? We’d normally say you’d be better off watching the movie but considering the film it’s based on, not even Brendan Fraser’s charm can save an entry that should have stayed buried.
“Fight Club” (2004)
Oftentimes when a video game tie-in releases, it’s to capitalize on the film’s popularity and projected success. That’s not to say it can’t still happen like with The Warriors, but with very few ties to the source material, the only thing this game had going for it was its use of visible injuries incurred during each match. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to carry this woefully generic fighting game to victory as every other aspect dragged it below even mediocrity. Fight Club the game takes too many core mechanics from other better games to even mention and somehow manages to make them worse, and when your reward for suffering through the game’s graciously brief story mode is to unlock Fred Durst as a playable character, you didn’t really have much to fight for in the first place. Remember the first rule: We Don’t Talk About Fight Club: The Game.
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005)
Proof that not every golden ticket is a winner, we have Charlie and the Chocolate Factory based on the mostly unnecessary remake by Tim Burton. While much of the game is a basic platformer set in Wonka’s fantastical factory, the game also includes Pikmin style objectives in which Charlie uses the numerous, and thanks to the art style, disturbingly baby-like Oompa Loompas and their individual abilities and talents to progress. With an army of Oompa Loompas at your command, players must attempt to rescue the other children from themselves as well as the factory. Speaking of the art style, the game features none of the wonder of the film’s visuals and is instead just dull and lifeless, complete with static slideshow cutscenes. Unlike the end of the movie however, you win nothing by playing.
“Robocop” (2003)
Much like the Terminator, a video game that allows players to step into the boots of Robocop should have been an easy win. However, developed by Titus Interactive, the same developers of Superman 64, you can get a pretty good idea of how this was going to end up. Even with its bland environments and terrible gunfights, the game still struggled to maintain a constant framerate, enemy hostages could be saved simply by rescuing them through the walls they’re adjacent to, and although most of your mission briefings detail unrest in the streets between rival gangs, the world is almost completely empty. Despite being the ultimate cop, he can’t seem to kill a single low-level enemy without emptying an entire clip into them. And that’s if the game even registers you’re shooting them at all. Instead of dead or alive, it’s just dead.
“Charlie’s Angels” (2003)
Whereas the Charlie’s Angels films were campy, self-aware fun, the game is one call from Charlie the Angels should have sent to voicemail. The game was seemingly created for no other reason than to have the Angels run around in skimpy or impractical outfits, especially since it has no narrative ties to either film. The gameplay, sure let’s call it that, is a standard beat ‘em up where the Angels fight the endless stream of henchmen thrown their way just as much as they do the camera. The game almost feels like it was originally planned to be something else but was then reskinned as a cash grab tie-in with how little care and attention was put into not only the combat but the animations themselves. Seriously, have you ever in your life seen someone run like that? Let alone in heels?
“Jumper: Griffon’s Story” (2008)
Cheap cash grab games based on mediocre movies are nothing new, but even by the lowest of standards, Jumper: Griffon’s Story hits rock bottom and just continues to dig. Focusing instead on Jaime Bell’s character Griffon from the movie, the central mechanic of the character, namely his ability to “Jump” to different locations at will is limited to simply dashing around the environments and enemies as they half-heartedly attempt to stop your schizophrenic teleportations. The combat, if you can call it that, mostly revolves around approaching an enemy, “Jumping” around them and blindly stabbing them as they mostly just stand around and do nothing to stop it. Occasionally there are puzzles that allow Griffon to expand his “Jump” abilities further, but these are marred by linear design and the game’s inability to keep Griffon from clipping into the furniture. The only place Griffon’s Story needs to jump next is straight into the bin.
“Home Alone” (2006)
Coming a full decade too late to capitalize on the original Macaulay Culkin films, and seemingly not based on any of its inferior sequels, we just have to wonder not only what the thinking was behind this adaptation, but also, why it exists at all. Utilizing an isometric perspective and an art style that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the N64, players need to guide Not-Kevin and numerous other similarly dead-eyed children around their home and various other environments locking windows and doors while setting up rudimentary traps to prevent the neither Wet nor Sticky bandits who are most definitely NOT Harry and Marv from breaking in. The game is so pathetically pedestrian it’s laughable and even Macaulay Culkin himself said it’s better to just pretend this game doesn’t exist.
