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10 movie tie-ins that nobody wanted

Films that didn't need to be made into games, made into games

Words: Matt Cundy, GamesRadar UK

Everyone expects certain movies to receive the video game treatment. It's pretty much law, for example, that all kid films and superhero flicks are converted for the purposes of gaming entertainment. But sometimes a movie tie-in that absolutely nobody was waiting for comes out of nowhere and surprises us all. They're the games based on the movies that really have no business ever being made into a game. Here are 10 such examples of misfiring movie tie-ins that nobody wanted, but got made anyway.

Fight Club

Obviously nothing endorses the movie's anti-consumerism message quite like a cynical cash-milking tie-in. And with nary a supersonic incendiary punch in sight, the spectacle of nondescript (with the exception of Bob and his magnificent bitch tits) blue/white collar workers subjecting each other to reciprocal violence never felt inherently suited for a gaming translation. To paraphrase Tyler Durden: "This movie tie-in is just more shit we don't need."

Give My Regards to Broad Street

Without doubt one of the most baffling movie tie-ins ever made. Based on Paul McCartney's 1984 movie flop, in which Paul McCartney self-indulgently plays Paul McCartney as he searches for some missing Paul McCartney master tapes (yes, it's as terrible as it sounds), the game was a Commodore 64 and Spectrum oddity that appealed to no one besides Paul McCartney. First rule of making movie tie-ins: if the film bombs, don't bother.

Little Nicky

This is exactly what we're talking about. A film like Little Nicky is 90 minutes of entertainment. Nothing more. We watch and we move on to the next dumb-for-fun comedy that's doing the rounds. It's just not the kind of film we invest much time in. We don't sit around waiting for the 2D side-scrolling platformer to come along. Even if it does turn out to feature the only instance we can recall of a pixellated lady stripping down to her brassier on the GameBoy Color.

Jaws Unleashed

Everyone loves Spielberg's flick from 1975 about the hungry fish that loved to chew on swimmers, right? Well hello 30 years later and a movie tie-in that absolutely nobody was waiting for. Apart from maybe sharks. Did publisher Majesco not notice that the consumer feeding frenzy around the Jaws licence died around the same time as disco? We'd suggest that tie-ins should at least be released in the same decade as the film to really maximise those sales.

The Godfather

Holy Virgin Mary. Is nothing sacred? One of cinema's most epic, tightly-woven and sophisticated pieces of work given the game treatment courtesy of EA. It's like Nickleodeon having a crack at Tolstoy's War and Peace. Sure, if you asked gamers to list their favourite films, The Godfather would frequently crop up, but were any of them desperate to see it make the jump to derivative game form? Director Francis Ford Coppola described it as "a misuse of film." And despite thinking the game is decent enough, we'd have to agree with him.


 
38 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
solsurvivor  - 4 months 3 days ago 
First rule of Fight Club: Do not play Fight Club.
loonyman978  - 4 months 3 days ago 
Napoleon Dynamite's a game!!!! epic!
Bossco  - 4 months 3 days ago 
How about a few screen shots?
Jordo141  - 4 months 3 days ago 
The crappy Godfather games really devalue the films. They don't really have the same magic anymore. :(
darkfly23  - 4 months 3 days ago 
Hmm I've always wondered what they classify a "bad" gamestore as. Great article as usual.
ELpork  - 4 months 3 days ago 
What we do want?:

28 days/week's later
killerwhalen  - 4 months 3 days ago 
I remember when the Fight Club game came out. Me and my friends were huge fans of the movie and we saw a review on the internet. I'll never forget the look on my friends face. It was just this frightened, disturbed expression. He turned to us and asked: "Why...why would they do that"? We thought it was funny at the time, but I was pissed about it too.
killerwhalen  - 4 months 3 days ago 
@solsurvivor: Second rule of Fight Club, DON'T PLAY FIGHT CLUB!

Recaptcha: Brazil Zebra
Unoriginal  - 4 months 3 days ago 
Im still waiting for the Citizen Cane game adaption.
afroninjakatana  - 4 months 3 days ago 
Why would anyone want to play the Wizard of Oz videogame?
clucky120  - 4 months 3 days ago 
third rule of fight club, if you see someone about to play fight club convince and/or beat his ass in
Stabby_Joe  - 4 months 3 days ago 
But Jaws and the Godfather sold well however (the former winning GameSpot's dubious award for well selling bad games).
Csheroe  - 4 months 3 days ago 
I completely agree with GodFather. They turned it way too much into an action game. That's why I never played it.
skyguy343  - 4 months 3 days ago 
napolean dynamite was a dumb F*CKING movie. just terrible...
Cyberninja  - 4 months 3 days ago 
good thing i didnt know any of these games
CapnCrotchPunch  - 4 months 3 days ago 
I thought that fight club was pretty fun, at least for a little while
stroypa  - 4 months 3 days ago 
speak for yourself there mate, i always wanted a godfather game. although one was quite enough.
speno93  - 4 months 3 days ago 
its like a vicious circle,
a game is based from a movie that was based on a book that was influenced by another videogame that was made from another movie that was based on another book and etc.

Wont somebody PLEASE stop this!
Amnesiac  - 4 months 3 days ago 
Oh Jebus, I thought I had forgotten about Seven Samurai 20XX.
lava_lamp  - 4 months 3 days ago 
@ELpork- we already have that its called Left 4 Dead
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