Best & Worst: Movie Videogames

Inspired by yesterday's feature, Best & Worst: Videogame Movies, we viced the versa and came up with this stroke of genius.

Often, the only thing worse than a videogame movie is a movie videogame, but thankfully there are diamonds in the rough and this list didn't have to devolve any 'lesser of two evil' shenanigans.

Best & Worst: Marvel Movie Videogames

Best

Spider-Man 2 (PS2, XBOX)

Why It Rocks: One of the most fully realized and interactive cityscapes in videogame history is why – Spidey can climb, crawl and swing his way around New York without interruption thanks to an improved web-slinging mechanic.

Taking a GTA approach to gameplay, Spiderman 2 involves roaming Manhattan, stopping a wide variety of crimes and earning points to buy new skills. There is also a linear mission involving Doc Ock and various villains from the comics.

Worst

Iron Man (PS3, XBOX 360)

Why It Sucks: Frustrating controls, repetitive gameplay, poor graphics are the main problems with this tie-in release, with a catastrophic rise in difficulty halfway through all but halting gameplay.

Although it features voice acting from Downey Jr. and co, you know somebody dropped a major ball when a game of this quality is released to tie-in with one of the best films of the year.

Next: Star Wars [page-break]

Best & Worst: Star Wars Videogames

Best

Star Wars Arcade (Arcade)

Why It Rocks: Released to coincide with the re-mastered Star Wars Trilogy in 1997, this game was an arcade only adventure with missions spanning the events of the entire trilogy.

The sumptuous graphics, crystal sound and original trilogy based storylines contribute to this being one of the greatest arcade games of all time, let alone the greatest Star Wars game.

Worst

Star Wars Masters of Teras Kasi (PS)

Why It Sucks: Up against the likes of Soul Calibre, Virtua Fighter and Tekken, this attempt to get a toe in the beat ‘em up market is woefully underdeveloped and clunky.

Lightsabers, able to lop off limbs in a single swipe, are reduced here to mere baseball bats. The physics engine, fighting, animation, graphics and variety of moves are painfully lackluster, which is why no-one’s ever played it.

Next: James Bond [page-break]

Best & Worst: James Bond Videogames

Best

GoldenEye 007 (N64)

Why It Rocks: For anyone with friends, this was the most epic invention in movie gaming since the joypad. The Goldeneye multiplayer deathmatch popularised multiplayer gaming, paving the way for the likes of Halo and Timesplitters 2.

Consistently rated amongst the best games of all time, Goldeneye sold in excess of 8 million copies, and invented head shots, zoomable sniper scopes, and a solid stealth solo mission make this gaming gold.

Worst

Tomorrow Never Dies (PS)

Why It Sucks: The license for James Bond was picked up by EA following Goldeneye, and their first effort was this pig’s pickle, released in 1999 to mediocre reviews and cries of “Seriously?” from Goldeneye diehards.

A third person shooter which deviates from the lot of the film and includes no multiplayer option, there is evidence to suggest that Tomorrow Never Dies was a BETA version rushed for release.

Next: Steven Spielberg [page-break]

Best & Worst Steven Spielberg Movie Videogames

Best

The Lost World (Arcade)

Why It Rocks: Strap into the jeep-styled arcade cabinet, put your finger on the trigger and don’t let go. The Lost World was a non-stop rollercoaster of adrenaline pumping chase sequences and mass dino-slaughter.

Eating your loose change faster than a 2am trip to the vending machines, but only because of the compelling gameplay – this is hardly a rip off. It isn’t the deepest most involving game you’ll ever play, but it is the most fun.

Worst

ET (Atari)

Why It Sucks: Made in 6 weeks after Steven Spielberg made a last minute personal request to the developer, who had impressed the Beard with his work on the Raiders Of The Lost Ark game – this rush job is practically unplayable.

You play the titular extraterrestrial, and you plod around trying to put together the pieces of a phone, you know, so you can ‘phone home’ while constantly getting stuck in pot holes. The frustration isn’t worth the aneurism.

Next: Arcade Videogames [page-break]

Best & Worst: Movie Arcade Videogames

Best

T2: The Arcade Game (Arcade)

Why It Rocks: With purpose shot footage featuring Arnie and Robert Patrick, this first person shooter allows budding Terminators out there to take down Skynet and save the future.

The first mission of the game is a backstory to the film, showing the T-800 and the T-1000 before they travelled through time. With photorealistic 2D images of the actors and addictive, quality gameplay, T2 arcade was the business.

Worst

Street Fighter: The Movie (Arcade)

Why It Sucks: Using motion captured photo-realistic images of the actors from the movie, and their voice talents, this should have been another solid entry into the Street Fighter franchise.

Unfortunately, with Van Damme’s accent making all his dialogue completely inaudible and the photo-realistic 2D characters looking wooden, and graphics and physics engines that were beyond their prime, this is one to miss.

Next: Movie Monsters [page-break]

Best & Worst: Movie Monster Videogames

Best

Aliens Vs. Predator (PC)

Why It Rocks: With three playable characters – the Alien, the Predator, or a Colonial Marine, each with their own storylines, gameplay and features, AvP was a revolutionary experience in game design.

Loaded with bonus levels, gore, weaponry and inventive methods of dispatching enemies, AvP is about as complete as gaming experience as possible, making everyone who played beg for a movie version. They should have kept schtum.

Worst

Jaws Unleashed (Xbox)

Why It Sucks: From the makers of Ecco: The Dolphin, who announced that in the Jaws game you will play the shark itself, causing palpitations of junk food clogged geek-hearts and prompting a change of shorts for most.

They promised GTA in the ocean. What they delivered was a boring, glitchy game that was prone to freezing and had camera problems. Sure it was fun killing random swimmers, but boy if it didn’t get old after three or four deaths.

Next: David Perry [page-break]

Best & Worst: David Perry Movie Videogames

Best

Disney’s Aladdin (SNES, Genesis)

Why It Rocks: David Perry is a super-developer responsible for some of the most popular videogame titles of all time. He is also responsible for several movie tie-ins, including this, his effort for Disney’s Aladdin.

Slicing and dicing your way through level after level of Arabian adventure, the game closely follows the plot of the film, with magic carpet rides and Genie bonus levels.

Worst

Enter The Matrix (PS2, XBOX)

Why It Sucks: The developer of one of the greatest movie videogames is also responsible for one of the worst. Released as a prequel to coincide with the arrival of The Matrix Reloaded, this was just as hyped, and just as disappointing.

Featuring none of the major characters from the film, crappy graphics, glitches, and felt rushed. The inclusion of a total of two hours of purpose shot footage and an expansion of The Matrix storyline did little to sate fans desperate for Neo.

Next: Philip K. Dick Movies [page-break]

Best & Worst: Philip K. Dick Movie Videogames

Best

Blade Runner (PC)

Why It Rocks: The excellent animation, immersive plot and fully realised characters are part of the reason, not to mention the possibilities for repeat play with up to 13 different endings.

You play Blade Runner Ray McCoy in a point and click detective adventure that serves a side story to the 1982 movie, this was the first game to use 3D models as apposed to pre-rendered hand drawn 2D models.

Worst

Total Recall (Spectrum)

Why It Sucks: Somewhere between the bearded purple midgets and the lack of three-boobed hookers lies the fact that this game is skewer to the retina of any loyal Recall fan looking for a realistic movie experience.

Apparently sticking close to the plot of the film, this involves walking around while little people in purple jumpsuits shoot at you from rubbish bins, and passing cars throw balls at you. Save time and punch yourself in the throat instead.

Next: Dan Ackroyd Movies [page-break]

Best & Worst: Dan Ackroyd Movie Videogames

Best

Ghostbusters (Spectrum)

Why It Rocks: Taking the form of a driving game, this rivals Mario Kart for the title of most addictive car game of all time.

The 8-Bit graphics really capture the… oh, bugger it. The graphics and the sound are rubbish, but that’s not the point, this is first class gaming.

Worst

The Blues Brothers (NES, SNES, N64)

Why It Sucks: A platform game where Jake and Elwood must collect things for no reason, this was made by people who had never seen the film, never heard the blues or soul music, and never made a videogame before.

Featuring none of the music from the films, none of the acting talent, none of the plot and no logic whatsoever, this also did away with the nuns, Nazis and cops in favour of flies, lawnmowers and snails. Abysmal.

Next: Category We Couldn't Be Bothered To Make Up [page-break]

Best & Worst: Category We Couldn’t Be Bothered To Make Up

Best

The Chronicles of Riddick (PC, Xbox, PS2)

Why It Rocks: A prison break game combining stealth and hand-to-hand combat gameplay this is a prequel to the largely disappointing film, released in the weeks before the film came out to build buzz for the feature.

Praised by critics as far superior to the movie, with the graphics on the Xbox version rated alongside those of Half-Life 2, the voice acting of Vin Diesel and Cole Hauser also helped put this above the usual tie-in fare.

Worst

Moonwalker (Master System/Mega Drive/Genesis)

Why It Sucks: RIP Michael Jackson and all, but if this videogame were his only legacy, his career would have had a rather different trajectory.

Moonwalker takes the form of a Beat ‘Em Up, except Jackson attacks enemies with dance moves and magic not physical contact, the objective is to rescue small children… we're going to stop now before this gets even worse.

Any we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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