When it comes to picking out a video game to dive into, it’s generally understood by most gamers that a licensed game base on a tv/movie/comic property, isn’t gonna be the best. Sure, sometimes, they get it right, like with Goldeneye 007, Batman: Arkham Series and the Kingdom Hearts series. Most times, however, you get a game that’s been rushed to market to capitalize on the popularity of the initial property.
These ones here are the worst offenders, filled with glitches, crappy graphics and underwhelming boss battles.
Ghostbusters (2016)
With the Ghostbusters reboot coming out in 2016, with an all-female crew, a brand-new game was developed to capitalize on it. Sadly, it was rated the worst game of the year.
You never got to play as the movie’s characters, the mechanics were horrible and there was no real plot. Also, the music was annoyingly repetitive and there was no innovation. This game should have just stayed dead to begin with.
Superman 64
This game is the stuff of legend. While a lot of developers used the updated brainpower of the Nintendo 64 for good, this game just plain sucked. But it wasn’t exclusively Titus’ fault.
The game had a lot of interference from WB and DC comics and was supposed to be an adaption of the animated series. Instead of being awesome, it was sent to market all glitchy and unfinished. Most hated the game because it had very poor controls and graphics, plenty of bugs and glitches and there was just too many hoops to literally fly through, in repetitive levels.
The Simpsons Wrestling
It’s a shame that this game was so bad, as it was the only Simpsons game released on the Playstation. While most of the licensed game about Homer & Co. weren’t all that bad, this one was.
While they had the original voice talent, the game play was too simple and less about wrestling finesse and more about luck and button mashing. Also, take a look at the screenshot. Those were the graphics. They were horrible. This would definitely have been a rental, cause dropping money on this would have been a sad waste.
Rambo: The Video Game
Despite the fact that we haven’t seen a Rambo film in a while, someone thought this would be a good idea in 2014. It was an arcade rail shooter that tried to distill the first 3 movies into one seamless game. But instead of being full of violence and nostalgia, it was full of outdated graphics, low quality soundbites from the films, shitty aiming and a lot of bugs and crashing.
The Legend of Korra
This game isn’t as bad as the others on this list, but it’s included because it could have been so much better. Based on the Nickelodeon cartoon, it has some decent combat, but the design is flat and the enemies are pretty meh.
Most critics and reviews found that it was too simple, not witty enough and it was just a shallow game. They wanted more, and the game didn’t deliver what it promised.
Terminator: Salvation
Developed to release at the same time as the film, it’s just as bad. While some of the actors voiced their gaming counterparts, Christian Bale refused to lend his voice or likeness to John Connor, so the game’s protagonist looks completely different.
On top of that, the entire game barely lasts 4 hours, and the mechanics are horrible. The combat is shit, the AI isn’t intuitive at all and the storyline was pretty bland for what could have been an amazing concept.
Sega’s Iron Man
When they launched the MCU, Marvel Studios wanted to milk that cow for all it was worth, so they approached Sega to develop games based on the MCU properties, starting with Iron Man. While the film was amazing, the game wasn’t.
We were all excited to be Tony Stark, but that all faded when we couldn’t control the suit smoothly, and none of it looked all that good. As a plus, they did get Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard to voice their characters, but what was the point when the game was too frustrating to complete?
The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
On one hand, this game really brought the TV show to life and let us live in a world with zombies. On the other hand, it wasn’t the greatest. While most of us know the Telltale Games version of the games, that were based on the comics, there was also a game that was canon to the show.
Instead of letting us be Rick and kill the dead, you play as Daryl and Merle Dixon, in the early days of the apocalypse. I’m not sure how you screw up a chance to play as one of the most badass characters in the game, but they did. Most said the gameplay mechanics were broken and the environments bland.
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Not sure how you screw up an adaptation of the best Aliens movie, but here ya go. Based on the marketing and pre-release trailers, this game was supposed to be amazing.
What we got instead, was boring gameplay, extremely shitty graphics and piss-poor AI. This is a shame, because this game could have been legendary. Instead, it was game over, before it even began.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Based off of the Nickelodeon cartoon, this hack and slash game with the 4 turtles should have been legendary. But it wasn’t.
The game was short, bland and had far too much repetition. Plus, there was no local co-op multiplayer to speak of.
Fight Club
This game is in the vein of Street Fighter II & Tekken, where you pick your fighter and beat the shit out of the other guy. Except, it’s not worth it.
It doesn’t translate the violence and countercultural vibe of the film and it’s a literal clone of more popular fighting games. It doesn’t bring anything new to the genre, and feels like a blatant cash grab.
Thor: God of Thunder
Sure, we haven’t heard from Sega in a long time, and this is probably why. They were given one last chance with Marvel to develop games based on the MCU, and this one tanked.
Like most on this list, they had some original voices, but there were too many glitches. Apparently, the Nintendo versions fared better, but if you were on PS or Xbox, you’re experience was horrible when playing this game.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Unlike the upcoming Spiderman game from Insomniac Games, there haven’t been a lot of good games about the wall-crawler; this one being the last one we’ve seen. Based on the poorly-received movie, this game as a free-roaming, open world that works for the game, but that’s it.
The combat in the game is so-so, NYC is a pain to swing across and there’s no rhyme or reason to the missions. It’s all a disconnected mess.
Plus it suffers from what the rest of these licensed games do; it’s a rushed job with too many bugs, glitches and bad visual environments.
Kinect Star Wars
Had to know this one was coming, right? Consisting of a series of mini-games, this game is more of a demonstration of what the Kinect can do (or should be able to do), rather than a real Star Wars Game.
Sure, the lightsaber duels are fun and the pod racing is decent, but what’s up with the Dance Central rip-off? People were hoping for more from this game, than they got.
Sad, it was.
Via The Gamer
