The Atari 2600 first introduced us to a movie/TV tie-in game known as the worst game ever made. That game is E.T. Though its is now known more as an urban legend, at some point in September 1983, an article was written by Alamogordo Daily News of New Mexico stating that between 10 and 20 semi-trailer trucks dumped a significant amount of Atari consoles and cartridges into a dump site in that town. As time has pushed forward and games have become more extravagant, the curse of the movie tie-in game is still alive and well.
When will Companies learn?
Thor: God of Thunder: 3/10, Star Trek: 4/10, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct: 4.5/10, and Dr. Who: The Eternity Clock: 3.5/10. These four games mentioned are based on both television shows and movies that have either been on the airwaves for some time or pre-production was announced with plenty of time for a game to be produced and have the same caliber as the pictures they represent. The fact that fan-boys will buy the game should not be an excuse for movie studios or game developers to milk the proverbial cash cow by producing shoddy games to make a quick buck.
That is not to say all games are bad.
Scott Pilgrim: 8/10, Xmen Origins:Wolverine 7.8/10, and of course what could be argued as the best tie-in game in history, Goldeneye:007: 9.7/10. The games mentioned took time and effort. Most gamers know Goldeneye and have sat for hours with friends playing death match and finding new and interesting ways of playing. Knowing that a quality product is better than rushing (the Goldeneye game released 2 years after the movie.) If developer takes an extra few years after the release of a movie, and pushes out a game that will receive excellent reviews, not only will they profit from customers loyal to the respective franchises but also from gamers that wait until a review is released.
Time to wait it out.
By now most gamers know to wait for IGN, GameInformer, or even GameSkinny to post their findings before throwing their hard-earned money into a movie/TV tie-in game. I hope that big companies will finally learn the lesson and listen to what gamers and fans alike want and deserve in a tie-in game and that if a product is bad enough it might just end up piled high in the hot New Mexico desert.
