The Video Game Critic

ESauce wrote:Die Hard Arcade is a good deal of fun. I'm not sure if it's based on any of the movies in particular; it doesn't seem like it. I wouldn't say it makes you feel like John McLain, but it is fun to play with a friend. I think it was ported to Saturn and PlayStation.

Die Hard Arcade is indeed a lot of fun. It has a truly insane number of weapons and maybe the oldest example of quick-time events I've ever seen in a game (unless you count something like Dragon's Lair, which is entirely quick-time events). The Die Hard Trilogy is also a lot of fun, with each game following a different movie and having it's own genre (third-person shooter/action, FPS and driving).

No one ever brings it up, but Gremlins 2 for the NES (by Sunsoft, makers of the aforementioned Batman game) is a very solid game. It has some of the best graphics on the NES (made even more impressive by the sheer number of enemies and traps that can be onscreen at any given time) and a goofy/sinister score that matches the mood perfectly. It also makes overhead platforming enjoyable and forgiving, with one quirk: firing your weapon mid-jump will cause you to drop immediately, making fighting around pits a bit of a pain. Like Batman, the game is difficult but not unfair.

Toy Story is the golden example of how to make a game based on a movie. That game retained the films plot, while including GENIUS gameplay, clean graphics, good music, and crisp controls. I'm partial to the Genesis version myself, but the PC port is pretty decent. Avoid the SNES and Gameboy ports though.

Aladdin (Genesis) & Toy Story (Genesis)

Star Wars games have a very respectable track record. In terms of tie-ins to the movies themselves, there isn't a better one than Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. It's everything the original trilogy deserved in a game and more. Even more impressive for being a GameCube launch title.

My second-favorite is probably Episode I Racer (a far, far better game than that movie deserved). Insane speed, huge courses, and excellent graphics (especially on the PC version, which I had). The only problem is that you can keep racing after beating the game but won't get any more winnings, so your pod will eventually fall apart with no way to buy new parts, and the coolest stuff will all be locked again if you just start over.

Please don't think I have a Tron-infatuation complex since I mentioned the movie in another thread, but the arcade games "Tron" and "Discs of Tron" are really fun to play. And I really like INTV's "Discs of Tron" and "Tron Solar Sailor" (although "Tron Maze-a-Tron" is pretty terrible).

A lot of good titles mentioned; I agree with:

Batman (NES)
Episode 1 Racer (N64/DC)
Super Star Wars series (SNES)
Toy Story (loved that game growing up)
Aladdin
The Lion King
Goldeneye

Others:
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Xbox)
Spiderman The Movie (Ps2)
The Lord of the Rings games (PS2, NGC, Xbox)

All good games for sure. I have to give it to Batman Returns (especially the SNES and Sega CD versions). Also I think Demolition Man for the 3DO is a great tie-in game offering a wide variety of play styles (racing, fighting, FPS, shooter, etc...).

Goldeneye is obvious

I'd also go with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Gamecube) which is surprisingly really good.