Summary

The PlayStation 2 epoch - which already has one of the most impressive plot catalog across the different cabinet propagation - had some peculiarly sound pic tie - ins to match some of the epic franchises hitting cinemas at the time . These include the ilk of 2002’sTheLord of the Rings : The Two Towersand 2003’sReturn of the King , 2004’sSpider - Man 2 , some of the earlierHarry Pottertitles , and Peter Jackson’sKing Kong , the latter of which combined intense first - person shooter activity for the human characters with third - someone brawler gameplay that have player take control of Kong himself to tell both side of the story .

Although no longer democratic , picture show tie - in video games were a dandy product of their meter , declare oneself hours of playfulness . These are the good !

Why Did Movie Tie-In Games Die Out?

Tie-In Games Often Had A Shorter Development Time Compared To Movies

film link - ins varied in quality , often due to just how step on it the developer were to see the movie ’s release date . While some studio were give an insight into the movie ’s news report very early on due to early copies of the hand or concepts - or , in the case of tie - Hoosier State for movies that were adapt novel , could reference the beginning textile - others were push into rushing out a rubric as something of an afterthought , which go to some outlandish tie - indium for movies that did n’t really need them .

This was apparent even in the earlier twenty-four hours of plot growth when it did n’t take quite as foresighted to farm games , but anyone who has been follow the diligence in recent years can see just how muchdevelopment windows have increased for AAA titles , with some games taking anywhere between 5 and 10 year to make . This would n’t fit in with the variety of output docket for most blockbuster films , even if a game developer were to be postulate in the other stages of production , so the kinds of linkup - ins became more about wed into a enfranchisement and expanding its macrocosm rather than adapting a movie ’s story to meet its release day of the month right away , much like 2023’sAvatar : frontier of Pandora , which released a year after the movieThe Way of Waterand could still capitalise on its success , but told its own tale that allowed players to explore a practical Pandora instead .

In some cases where a continuation was much insure , such asLord of the Rings , where the trilogy was shot back - to - back , developers could have more clock time to design ahead for future titles . In the case of theSpider - Man 2movie tie - in , the physics - based swinging machinist the biz was so heavily praise for were conceptualise by a developer while work on the movie tie beam - in for the firstSpider - Manmovie , giving the sequel a head begin that certainly paid off .

Two side by side images of a Star Wars battle with lightsabers and a Star Wars video game.

Movie tie - in video game used to be all the craze , but there are still several that gamers likely missed .

Movie Tie-In Games Could Be A Fun Way To Relive A Movie

Especially When The Wait For A Home Release Was Longer

Currently , with streaming service and the pick to digitally hire a movie closing the gap between a cinematic release and a home freeing of a moving-picture show , audiences may not even have to hold off much longer than a calendar month before they can live a film again in the comfort of their own habitation , but in the day of the PS2 - earned run average , the wait for a videodisk button of a picture show could be several month to almost a year later depending on region . Therefore , caller used tie-up - in games , prescribed novelizations , and comic books to give audiences a direction to relive the plastic film while waiting for the home handout .

While sometimes , draw - in game unsurprisingly had to rework the history to offer more gameplay to keep players more occupied , other changes came from the studio work from earlier versions of a fib . These even allow for an unofficial , interactive deleted panorama that sometimes give gamers a incentive insight into the story that moviegoers did n’t always get .

Sometimes video game based on flick make a crowd of changes to their source fabric by modifying the plot , or by just getting weird .

Unknown movie Tie-In games cover image

Most Movie Tie-Ins Can’t Be Revisited On Modern Consoles

Licensing Deals Have Long Expired

unluckily , most movie affiliation - ins can no longer be played unless player have a transcript on their original consoles , as these titles are often not include in various backward compatibility system or available to buy digitally , mainly due to various licensing deals give-up the ghost . Therefore , whole generation have move solely without some of the well license games of past , which is a disgrace .

With Nightdive Studiosreviving 2002’sThe Thinggame- which did n’t follow the outcome of the motion picture but did provide some insight that tie up some loose ends , while taking the themes of paranoia in the movie and turn them into a core gameplay automobile mechanic with its NPCs - then hopefully other studios could look to revive some of the other lose motion-picture show sleeper - in games from thePlayStation 2era as well . Whether this is in the material body of a remaster or remaking , it would be gracious to revisit some of these titles on modern ironware rather than dusting off the older cabinet each time , as some of them , like the aforementionedLord of the Ringsgames , still definitely hold up .

The Lord Of The Rings The Third Age Video Game

Characters from The Two Towers PS2 game, The philosopher’s stone ps2 game and king kong from the PS2 game

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

Spider-Man launches into a swing in the 2004 Spider-Man 2 movie tie-in game

playstation 2