Feature: 1P Vs 2P #4 - Movie Tie-ins
Posted 08 Jun 2008 at 11:54 by Tom Phillips
Contributed to by 1P and 2P
A certain two N-Europe staff members discuss the positives and negatives of movie tie-in games. Who is to blame - the consumer, developer or movie studio?
1P:You're only saying that because I won again!
2P: Like the jeebers you did!
1P: Sore loser. It's sad, you know.
2P: Better that than a bad winner. Everyone knows you cheat anyway!
1P: Ooh, that be fighting talk! Care for a rematch?
2P: No thanks! I'm too busy waiting for that new Iron Man game to be delivered. The movie kicked names and took ass!
1P: Surely you mean: "Took names and kicked ass"?
2P: Whatever.
1P: Ha, well, besides, just because the movie was good, doesn't mean that the game will be too. Haven't you worked that one out yet?
2P: I liked the Catwoman game�
1P: Ah, so you were the guy who bought it! Shame you couldn't convince another couple of thousand people as well, then Argonaut wouldn't have folded. Licensed games are bad, that's the law.
2P: What about that Transformers Armada game that came out before the movie? That was a pretty good game: they even made the "keekawkorkekeh!" noises and everything.
1P: I'm pretty sure that's not how you spell that. But yeah, it had its moments. As a general rule though, if it's based on a movie, comic book or TV series, then it's going to be a load of old dollop. Take the Matrix game for instance.
2P: The last two movies were pretty rubbish as well. It sold a million in a weekend though, didn't it?
1P: Something silly like that. There should be a law against that sort of thing, you know, crap games should be forced to sell badly to make developers buck their ideas up.
2P: But they sell on the back of the name, so more get made. And I would guess that for a developer it's a pretty sweet deal as they know that even if they turn out something really second-rate, small children will still pester their parents for it.
1P: It can't be that good a deal: the movie studios must stick their noses into things "it needs more explosions! Why can't he fly? You can't do that with our property! Change it back, I liked it when Superman controlled like a piece of jelly on an ice-cube!"
2P: What makes you say that?
1P: Ever seen Alien 3?
2P: I was trying to forget I ever had. Bad movie. Game was bad too. And it made no sense.
1P: The studio basically had their oar in from day one, made the directors life a misery. Imagine that with video game production: a lot of the developers aren't that big, so they're easy to bully.
2P: Just like you.
2P: *whispers* Bedwetter.
1P: SHUT UP!
2P: I still think that licensed games get a bad reputation for no reason. Maybe we expect too much of them. The last couple of Simpson's games were actually fair. One was a GTA rip-off and the other was every platform game ever, but still they were good. Much better than something like Carnival Games or�
1P: I didn't buy Carnival Games!
2P: I didn't say you did, the point I was making�
1P: But I didn't, okay?
2P: Okay� but there are a lot of original properties that make a big splash even though they are conceptually unoriginal and generally cruddy, you only need to look at an IP like Red Steel to know that developers can create something new but still miss the mark.
1P: I suppose. But the general rule that you can apply to anything with its roots in a movie is that it will not be well received.
2P: I still want to play it.
1P: I bet you enjoyed Dancing with the Stars too.
2P: It was bad, but yes, I enjoyed it in a weird way.
1P: Pff.
2P: Come on, if there's fun to be had at the heart of the game, then what's the harm? These things may be bad in comparison to other titles, but if there is enjoyment to be had, then the game is in its own way successful.
1P: Drone.
2P:What?
1P: Drone, mindless drone! Subservient to the corporate media machine!
2P: Oh goody, the "Corporate Media Machine" speech again. Catch you later, Sarah Connor.
1P: Come back! Say no to mass-market games! Support indie developers! Pirate games kill pandas! The first ones had rubber skin: we spotted 'em easy! They'll find you! I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit: it's the only way to be sure! Age Quod Agis!
1P and 2P invite you to air your feelings on movie tie-ins below...
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