The Movie Tie-in Era Was a Dark Time

There was a time when every major movie that came out had to have a game tied into it. I don’t mean that in the metaphorical sense, I mean that in the “it was damn near a requirement” sense. Or, at least, it felt that way. 

Games like Bad Boys: Miami Takedown and Catwoman (which was somehow worse than the film) are some of the worst examples of the insistence that a Hollywood movie comes with a game. There were some good ones, like the classic EA Lord of the Rings games that melded movie scenes with the game’s cutscenes. But, by and large, this era of gaming was a mess. 

LET’S JUST GO SEE A MOVIE

Part of the problem was that the games were beholden to the marketing and release schedule of the movie. If you were tapped to make the game, you had a clear, obvious endpoint for development. Meaning even the most talented of developers are going to throw up some bricks.

The other issue is that the games had to closely follow the plot of the movie. And if your movie’s plot wasn’t particularly game-friendly — or even good on its own — the game was almost assuredly heading toward stinker status.

These games were so offensively bad that when you got a decent one, it felt like the next Mario game. EA’s Batman Begins game was a perfect example of that. I love that game. And it was good, but it feels like Arkham Asylum compared to some of the other stuff we got. And quiet as it’s kept, it kind of was. But that’s a conversation for another day.  

END OF AN ERA

It’s weird. For an era of gaming that I remember so vividly, I don’t recall the “end” of movie tie-ins. It just felt like everything stopped one day. I know I played a number of these games. Way more than I should admit, if I’m being honest. The Blockbuster days were a big help here. I never used them for a movie, but when I wanted to torture myself with a tie-in game, they were my go-to.

I’m glad it’s over, though. Talented devs were in that trap. The aforementioned Catwoman game? Developed by Argonaut Games. The same company that gave us Star Fox and the Super FX chip. To take it a step further, former employees of Argonaut left and joined Rocksteady, of Arkham series fame. There were some beasts making these horrible movie games — they just didn’t have the chance to show it. We should rejoice that this era is over.