Last week the topic was perfect scores and Grand Theft Auto IV. We had some reader feedback supporting the idea that no game is perfect therefore no title should get a perfect score, but others felt that a 10 doesn't necessarily stand for unattainable perfection and the best games should get the best score possible. Both sides of the argument seemed to agree that perfect scores are thrown around a little too much these days and such flippant use diminishes their impact.
This week we'll turn a scornful eye to the movie tie-in videogame.
The summer movie season officially launches this weekend with the release of "Iron Man" (look for our review on Friday) and for the next four months you can expect a healthy dose of super-heroic action at the cinemas. What does that mean to us as gamers? It means we can also expect a slew of questionable licensed games to hit store shelves right around the same time as their respective movies. If you're like me you assume unequivocally that any game tied to a movie will be borderline terrible. It's a prejudice but it's one that comes from years of experience.
As with all things there are exceptions to the rule. GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 comes to mind even though it came out two years after the film, and the last-gen games for "The Two Towers" and "Return of the King" were able to capture the action from the movies in an arcade, beat-em-up presentation that was surprisingly good. But for every GoldenEye there are hordes of Spider-Man 3s, Fantastic Fours and Transformers games that take what was good from the movies and screw it up in game form. What is it about the translation from movie to game that proves so difficult to overcome that only rare exceptions can punch their way through unscathed?
The film and games industries seem determined to continue their courtship in the hopes that they can spawn some kind of entertainment juggernaut that would reap the benefits of a Halo 3 launch and a Spider-Man 3 opening weekend. The reality of this crossbreeding has more often than not resulted in movies and games that fail to entertain movie-goers or gamers. It's becoming clear that filmmakers don't understand videogames and game developers don't understand film.
It may surprise some to learn that the producers of movie tie-in games don't really expect the returns of a Halo 3 or a Grand Theft Auto IV. What they really seek is just a game that turns a profit. Sure, it'd be nice if their movie tie-in game was an enormous hit but really they only seek to capitalize on the hype and bleed some more money out of consumers in their wake. They are more concerned with delivering the game on time than they are delivering a quality game.
The problem is a lack of ambition. The people behind movie tie-in games aren't interested in making an award winning game or even a great game. They just want a game that is marketable, that works and is on shelves when the movie hits. At least that's how it has been in the past.
Screenshot from Sega's upcoming Iron Man game.
When games are made from movies, it's ideal to release the two together in the hopes that excitement from one will drive business to the other. Unfortunately, game development is more complicated than filmmaking and being forced to hit a targeted weekend from years away means sacrifices must be made. Priorities change from design and gameplay to making sure everything works on every available system before the movie releases. When creativity takes a backseat to the release date you end up with bad controls, poor mechanics and uninspired design choices. Action scenes that work for a movie will not necessarily work for a game.
Forward-thinking companies are realizing that the movies are just another extension of a brand and if the brand stays strong it can be a gold mine. Take Iron Man for example; not the movie or the comic but the brand. When you think of Iron Man as a brand you realize that there's more money to be made in the long run by making more than one Iron Man game as opposed to one game that ties into one movie. This is the kind of thinking behind Marvel's multi-year agreement with Sega to make videogames based on the "Iron Man property." The first game is a movie tie-in but when there are multiple games in the pipeline you can no longer count on the movie hype to sell the game. The game has to sell itself and it has to be good enough to sell future games. For that reason, the upcoming Iron Man game may be more of a franchise starter than a quick-cash ploy to pad the movie.
This summer we can expect to see games based on the films "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "Prince Caspian," "Kung Fu Panda" and "Wall*E." The games that have my interest are Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. This is because of an early public demo of Iron Man and how the Hulk title uses elements from a previous well-received game, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Kung Fu Panda and Wall*E just fall off my radar completely as games and a Prince Caspian title makes me think of the games for "The Golden Compass" and "Eragon," which is to say most unfavorably. Hopefully, not all the movie tie-in games for this summer will be atrocious but I urge you to look at each one with a healthy dose of skepticism before considering a purchase.
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