10 Movie Tie-In Games That Were Actually Good

Movie adaptions make infamously bad video games but there have been a number of surprisingly fun exceptions over the years. Let's run through ten movie tie-in games that bucked the trend.
VO: Peter Austin
Script: Peter Austin
Video Editor: Peter Austin
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[@misterblakk3690]

"Batman Begins" THANK YOU! No one ever gives that game the credit it deserves. It honestly introduced a lot of the ideas expanded upon in the Arkham series.

[@titanguy7316]

As I like to say, it walked so that Arkham could run.

[@AndrewHarrington218]

Lord of The Rings: Return of the King was also actually a good movie tie-in game.

[@rytis5432]

One of my favorite ps2 games

[@JamieHiggins638]

I really liked LotR Battle for Middle Earth., and imho should have also been featured on this list.

[@Edhelvar]

Even better than The Two Towers, one of the best couch co-op games I've played.

[@abyssalspecter93]

I was about to say, why not that game? It's everything the previous game did but 10x better in my opinion. The co-op was so fun as well.

[@Grewskers]

FUCK YES IT WAS

[@charlie1029able]

The Warriors is one of the video game industry's most underrated games ever

[@CaesarKnight]

Most underated game was the barnyard game

[@iim4xii129]

YES

[@Beavie]

Another one: The Spongebob Squarepants Movie game. Similar engine to Spongebob: Battle For Bikini Bottom which is a surprisingly good game and aside from some glitches, very well done and fun.

[@spudserobrien80]

Scarface was pretty good.

[@ddsjgvk]

That is more of a what if sequel don't you think

[@livingminimumwage6359]

Godfather The Video Game and Scarface are two of the best video game adaptations.

[@nicksosicc]

@@livingminimumwage6359 ooh yes, I was just gonna mention the godfather.

[@NathanielBarlam]

I don't know if it's aged well, but I thought the Godfather video game was very fun when I was younger. It had a nice progression system, a pretty detailed open world, and had a good gang mechanic with the rival families. They even got many of the original actors to reprise their roles for it, even though the game came out over 30 years after the film.

[@tomtalks23]

I replayed it recently and it holds up. Sure, it's a shameless GTA clone, but the progression feels meaningful and the ability to play as a new character who is inserted into iconic moments from the movie is really cool.

[@JamieHiggins638]

Same. It was good enough the re-released it on PS3, 360 and Wii. Also, Scarface: The World is Yours was pretty good.

[@cloudtx]

The Godfather and Scarface are awesome. They're even better than GTA in some areas.

[@evanhanley6437]

The Godfather is an incredible game. It had so much effort and care put into it. I still play it today.

[@thegrimmcommoner2203]

The second Godfather game was the best one. Honestly brilliant and I have to go back to it once a year.

[@MrChrister123]

That rendition of "A whole new world" was hauntingly beautiful! Tears running down my face man... lol

[@IconEnjoyer]

The fact that LOTR The Return of the King is not on here is criminal. One of the best movie tie in games ever and much better then Two Towers

[@calvinnigh5489]

*than

[@billbailey1511]

The Two Towers was a boring game and it simply follows the same tropes as most bog standard movie tie-in's of the time. Average at best.

[@billbailey1511]

@@calvinnigh5489 Oh come on, that was clearly a typo.😒Are you aware that you come off as the real fool, by correcting a glaringly obvious typo?

[@calvinnigh5489]

. . . Yes!

[@jamiekremer-childs6656]

Personally I thought this was the funniest list video so far. The cockney orc got me the most.

[@tomf4787]

Apples and pears ello!! 😂😂

[@darkhawk4863]

Gotta give a shout to the Revenge of the Sith tie-in game here; the lightsabre combat and force use mechanics were a lot smoother on a single controller than most any game I'd played previously, and adding a few fight scenes where there weren't any before actually made the plot of the film make more sense. And finally, as you unlocked more and more characters, it also turned into a fairly competent player vs. player fighting game... Way better than the absolutely crap attempt they'd made at SW fighting games before

[@rawisgod]

X men origins wolverine is a very good game! But a terrible film

[@rorywalsh1985]

I wholeheartedly agree.

[@alistair4909]

matt ok Matt

[@Eulogy10]

Fucking phenomenal tie in

[@bighand1530]

I'll take your word for it

[@Soulnightshade7777]

Especially if you didn't play the PS2 version. PS3 and Xbox n PC it was awesome and hard mode was actually interesting and not a dragged on bore. Plus if you combo mutagens properly and upgrade them to max you can make Wolverine as OP as in the comics even on hard mode. Such an underrated game because of its console alternate counter parts. I saw the PS2 and PSP gameplay and I was like "The actual FK" because they are different in story and gameplay in such a way it was unrecognizable to me.

[@bananamilk1987]

This list was worth it as soon as we got Peter singing. Oh yeah, and the content is 100% on point as well.

[@chrissiwhalley9315]

One of the first games I ever truly loved was Aladdin. So Peters beautiful musical tribute bought a tear to my eye... *sniff* Thankyou!

[@OhCrunchy]

The Cars movie video game was legit and still holds up pretty well

[@mjmottayaw]

Such a good game, so many characters and different paintjobs also !

[@35antonio]

The PS2 versions of the 3 first Harry Potter games are better in my opinion but thank you for mentioning the soundtrack. Jeremy Soule did a wonderful job.

[@KJM321]

Agreed. Chamber of Secrets on PS2/GC/Xbox is better than the PS1 and PC versions. Big misstep here.

[@quinnmarchese6313]

@@KJM321 i personally prefer the pc version of chamber of secrets, i was never able to beat the xbox version--there was a platforming section i think in McGonagall's challenge that the camera persistently wouldnt let me clear, i was always like slowing myself on the wall. that game had a really bad camera.

[@dadmonster1019]

PoA was bang on, on the GBC. Some of the best tunes from a handheld game.

[@madcamdisease]

Still play Azkaban often

[@pchtommy1268]

i heard philosopher's stone on ps2 was the worst one though

[@lucienb.3234]

Toy Story 2 was really good, but man Toy Story 3 was straight up fantastic (if you still have a PS3/Xbox360 give it a go)

[@Walamonga1313]

I literally only played the Buzz level on Toy Story 3 lmao

[@ikmnification5737]

A moment a silence for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the best movie tie-in game you can no longer play.

[@darkelybuddha]

The moment of silence is over, Scott Pilgrim is back for round 2.

[@quinnmarchese6313]

they finally hit the continue button on that game, its back

[@shelbysmith7725]

I LOVE the Madagascar 1 and 2, and Ratatouille game still stands up today!! By the way...love you're singing!!!!

[@Relyx]

I actually quite liked the Revenge of The Sith game as a kid. Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban game on PS2 was pretty damn good too. Being able to explore all of Hogwarts on your broom was really cool, and the puzzles were genuinely quite original and interesting. Collecting all the Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans was challenging but fun too. That game was great for young me who still gave a shit about HP.

[@CraigMetalHead]

"Wiiiindows" Hah, good luck rhyming that! "Flamingos" God. Damn! What just happened?!

[@spandexmonkey2745]

It's the beauty of a Yorkshire accent.

[@DCRStudios]

Transformers for the DS was a really good game, it had an open world, solid gameplay, gave to the characters personality and plot twists in the story mode, especially the Decepticons version, a true hidden gem

[@RobinJayne]

FLIPENDO! And I only had the demo of Toy Story 2, it had just two levels but I played it to death. Seeing it in this list gave me so much nostalgia. Which seems to be a theme lately and I love it.

[@thegrimmcommoner2203]

Was it the same demo that had wrestling and Ape Escape? I had the same disc.

[@RobinJayne]

@@thegrimmcommoner2203 I don’t remember the wrestling game but I remember playing the same level of Ape Escape constantly, so yeah probably!

[@thegrimmcommoner2203]

@@RobinJayne Also the same three levels from Monsters Inc. It was the same disc, I think I still have it.

[@georgehouse5421]

Toy Story 3 was actually really good, too. I played it way after it came out, and I was actually surprised how polished it was, although sometimes it was ridiculously hard.

[@JonGee420]

I remember having a lot of fun with the "Die Hard Trilogy" for the PS1

[@timmartinez100]

thought so as well.. 3 in 1 game. Also the gun worked really good.

[@reyh89]

Something not mentioned for the Warriors was the split screen. The freedom for you and your buddy to do WHATEVER you want was so fun. My brother and I had probably a combined thousand hours just screwing around with it. 11/10

[@riveramnell143]

Yes, the Aladdin game! So many good memories playing that one. The Lion King game for Sega was really good as well, imho. And you can never go wrong with the LEGO games. My personal favorites are the Harry Potter ones, but that’s because I love Harry Potter; all the LEGO games are great. The best thing about the LEGO games to me is the mix of LEGO humor combined with the source material’s original charm. Great list guys, and thanks for that BEAUTIFUL song, TP!

[@bobmalibaliyahmarley1551]

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers was actually a really fun game, I enjoyed the second one in the series aswell, the Return of the King, but I liked Two Towers better.

[@christophergrant3596]

Oh I just know mine won't be on the list: •Transformers Revenge of the Fallen •Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith •TMNT (Gameboy Advance)

[@lordprimethe1st]

i think that all transformers tie in games to the movies were good, well not the fourth but you get it

[@kylemulkey9659]

Tmnt gba is great. Played it last night

[@kristijan0590]

Return of the King was better for me, and HP games were deffinitely better on PC.. I would also put on there X-Men Origins Wolverine

[@RepKyle95]

Oh man, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was great if you got the uncaged version. The level of detail was fantastic. Even if the movie it was based on was absolute ASS lol

[@feathertopDT]

Peter is clearly having a lot of fun with these lists and that makes me happy

[@swinehouse]

I absolutely love the humour that never leaves your content, you dirty jinkles.

[@D-Dude1405]

Was expecting X-Men Origins: Wolverine to be here. It's one of the rare cases where the game was better than the movie

[@joevictor53]

Same. How are you putting a lego game but not X-Men Origins Wolverine or Toy Story 3 or Lord of the Rings Return of the King. The Lego games are great but they shouldn't be on a list like this. It's like you're struggling to fill up the list

[@moongoddessjikook]

I would love to hear Tiny Peter's full rendition of A whole new world 😂

[@bingoblackdynomite]

I'm probably alone on this one, but Stuart Little 2 for the PS1 is a masterpiece in my opinion. The soundtrack is great and it (along with Sly Cooper and Mario 64) is one of the games that got me into gaming as a whole

[@novustalks7525]

The DS games for the first transformers film were amazing tie ins

[@klydejohnson7520]

First video by this channel I’m watching loving it so far 🖤🖤💯

[@scarlettbandit2803]

The Warriors was absolutely fantastic, and I think more older movies should be adapted into games.

[@duggy92]

Lord of the rings the two towers was one of my top 5 favourite PS2 games! Spent hours and hours as a young lad just enjoying what I considered at the time my favourite movie title games. The cheats on that game was so much fun as well! King Kong was so underrated, it felt like a survival game, I remember I was 12-13 years old that I woke up at 3.30am to sneak down stairs to play it before I had to get ready for school. I recently played it last year for the Xbox (never played the 360 Version) and the nostalgia and playability is still there as I remember it! Spider-Man 2 was so much fun, I never owned it but a friend of mine when we was in school had it and let me borrow it maybe about 3-4 times. It was ahead of its time especially for a movie tie-in game! Still to this day I’d climb the tallest building just to jump of it the catch a web sling and think “that was awesome!” 😂

[@davidcuellar4410]

I love how the warriors was not only a game based off the movie but it also gave us extra stuff that wasn't in the movie.

[@flikcbigg]

TP singing, Wildcard throwback AND laugh out load jokes? You are spoiling us Mr Austin!

[@ArchangelSteve]

No "Die Hard Trilogy"? For shame!

[@timothygraham4304]

Brilliant game and the argument could be made that it should be on the list and be number 1. However, the 3 modes don't really follow the movies and isn't a tie-in.

[@bluenerdlabs6158]

Another top notch list. Keep up the good work.

[@spookyTwigg]

When is your Aladdin song dropping on SoundCloud?

[@hunternoll5897]

I feel like I'm not seeing anyone give a shout to the Lion King game for SEGA and that's upsetting me to my core.

[@elchar3577]

Why does this channel have that number of subscribers? This deserves more

[@SlapadelicMusic]

I remember having a lot of fun with one of the Gamecube HP games back in the day

[@Xegethra]

Loved the Warriors game. It even had an extensive prequel story. I also enjoyed Scarface, I get why it wasn't on the list, it was a "What if story."

[@Astolfo2001]

In my opinion, Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the 2005 original) is the absolute gold standard in which all games based on movies are hereby should be held to. It's not common to see a game so filled to the brim with polish, love, care, and excellence that even those who aren't big fans of the very source material the game was based on in the first place can enjoy it but oh boy, kudos to the developers of SWBF2 2005 for making a game that succeeds expectations of what a game based on a movie should be like. And to me, that's an accomplishment that deserves to be (at the very least) admirable and respected.

[@-thesalemcrow-5941]

Toy Story 3 and Lego Star Wars shouldn't be considered a movie tie in

[@Stusims1983]

I need to be able to like this video a billion times. Peter, you have a beautiful singing voice.... what a wonderful list!!!

[@juleshoket8330]

Can I just say what we’re all thinking?- we need more singing by TP ASAP.

[@mattball8622]

The opening minute of this carries a lot of Worst Games Ever PTSD.

[@bigboom2438]

A list of games that I really enjoyed but weren't mentioned: - The Incredibles for PS2 - Shrek 2 for PS2 and Gameboy - The Simpsons Hit and Run (not a movie but still) - The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (yes movie is in the game name) - Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure (probably doesn't fit here but I don't care it still slapped) - Monsters, Inc. Scare Island for PS1

[@joeharrod672]

Xmen origins wolverine the game was amazing. Prob the best in my opinion

[@xanadu7686]

Gotta go re-play those Harry Potter games now. Those were my life as an 11 year old.

[@olngomarilegendnegusgrant373]

They really need to do more games based on movies.

[@badreedinedjellali1328]

yeah frankly movie video games seems to be more successful then video game movies I wonder why

[@xAMK_Epic]

All these games are great. My personal favourite is the Italian job video game as it followed the movie really well, especially the escape mission from Turin as well as all the characters and voice acting playing such a good part in game

[@jmmypaddy]

I have gone back and re-played Goldeneye and it's still class. Challenging and fun missions.

[@w_4ca]

15 years ago we got bad games based on popular movies. Now we get bad movies based on popular video games.

[@roryk101]

So when does the Triple Jump album come out? tripleju.mp

[@nancygonzalezgarcia8701]

Putting PS1 Hagrid In The Thumbnail Was Epic Dude

[@RedForLife68]

Oh man. This bring back some crazy nostalgia feels. Aladdin was the 3rd game I owned on my Megadrive. Absolutely loved that game.

[@juleshoket8330]

Also hell yeah LOTR:two towers- that helms deep battle was amazing. I mean I does a million times. But it was amazing.

[@DrownInLysergic]

I loved Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone if you want to get Red, White, and Blue about it) when I was a kid, and of course I also had King Kong, Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins, and Lego Star Wars. This was basically a nostalgia list for me and reminds me how great some of the games from my childhood really were.

[@Dr170]

I'd play the shit out of Green Goblin's Airborne Pizza Delivery Adventures

[@Brodysseus]

Feel those comments on Eragon and Narnia, but Narnia I found alright. Also, yet to finish the video, but I did also like A Series of Unfortunate Events on GC.

[@vanishing4673]

Mad Max was a highly underrated tie-in game. While it doesn't technically follow a story like any of the movies, it was a confirmed canonical prequel to the events of Fury Road. And the game was released along side the home media release of Fury Road as well

[@deggbag]

can’t believe enter the matrix didn’t get a shout, ties in so well with the last two movies with regards to what is happening in the background of the main plot

[@qT_p13]

Need you on my karaoke team after that rendition of A Whole New World

[@rhdrbob]

Peter's cockney orc impression is beautiful!

[@lucy30011]

So many games I played as a kid I forgot about. Hp chamber of secrets was my preferred of the two, but the quidditch one was hands down my favourite as a child. But the Disney Hercules game was just beautiful, I found it really difficult as a kid I remember. I’ll have to drag it out and try again

[@H6ngman]

That Alladin song was beautiful

[@KatarnCrusader]

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Sage was not a TIE(Fighter)-in game...

[@phoenixrayne_yt3432]

Honorable mention: 1) X-MEN origins Wolverine 2) The Godfather 1 3) The Godfather 2 4) Scarface: The world is yours 5) The Amazing Spiderman

[@ogcronbat]

that orc clip got real dark real quick lol

[@Soulintent95]

Those lord of the rings games were amazing. Wish theyd remaster them. Hard to play them these days.

[@thegrimmcommoner2203]

Just a few months ago my friend and I beat Return of the King on co-op. Still holds up dude.

[@Soulintent95]

@@thegrimmcommoner2203 they still do its just, unless you have one of the old consoles its hard to play. At least for me, windows 10 sucks and the things that work for every one else dont work for me.

[@thegrimmcommoner2203]

@@Soulintent95 I'm a retro collector, so I had the advantage as you said.

[@Ray3D]

I have such fond memories of Harry Potter 123 from PC.

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

You should've included Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game! That was one of the most requested video games to get a re-release after getting delisted from online services for a reason.

[@ElTequilla]

I think the narrative has been overspun though. While I enjoyed it very much myself back in 2010, it got A LOT of extra attention because of that delisting. And it was also very unorthodox for a tie-in game, by not being sold as a boxed product.

[@Macephtopheles]

Peter's 100% right about Goldeneye 007. (You got the title wrong, guys) Maybe a year or so back I got an N64 because I was getting nostalgic for my high school days spent on that game and yeah... it's *REALLY* bad when the nostalgia specs come off. Wish I seen Peter's warning before going back and playing it... But X-Men Origins: Wolverine definitely deserved a spot. If for no other reason than it's the one movie tie-in game that was undoubtedly better than the film it was based on.

[@cloudtx]

I'm with you! I recently beat the first Harry Potter game on the PS1 and it still holds up. Though the coin mini-game in the bank was a pain to beat in order to get 100%!

[@FloosWorld_AoE]

You forgot Blade Runner (the Westwood game from 1997) It doesn't follow the movie's story line but rather plays at the same time

[@glenndonnelly7730]

Haven't watched full video yet but a low key decent game would be star wars episode 3 that was actually really fun especially the vs mode

[@LOMAZKO7]

I know I’m late but Finally There is someone Who has Peter Jackson’s KING KONG!!! My Favourite Movie-Tie in game ever!!! Here is my list for my favourite Movie-Tie in Games: 1. PETER JACKSON’S KING KONG 2. SPIDER-MAN 3. SPIDER-MAN 2 4. SPIDER-MAN 3 5. SHREK 2 6.The Amazing Spider-Man 7. SHREK 3 8.TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES 9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2(even tho everyone hates it) 10. Shrek 4: Forever After ( even tho its kinda short

[@crimsondreams9634]

Where's Stuart Little 2 on ps1?!

[@animationstation1005]

They really forgetting about the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Game, Return Of The King, Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince, Aeon Flux, & Chronicles Of Riddick?

[@coyoteartist]

Not a promise I can keep. About Goldeneye I mean.

[@MidniteMeatBus]

Best Movie tie in game I ever played was King Kong and any of the Lord of the Rings games from the 6th gen

[@Walamonga1313]

Hell yes! LOTR games of that era were no lie amazing, King Kong was really hood too and very underrated imo

[@WillieManga]

One of my personal favorites is Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know "it's based more on the comics art style" but fuck that, I say it still counts. It was published by Universal, the people who made the movie, and damn, I'm so glad they got their shit together after the travesty that was Spyro Enter the Dragonfly... till they took it off the marketplaces and then released it on the Nintendo Switch... So I suggest you get it now while you still can! You do the same thing Scott was doing in the movie; beat up over the top bad boys, hopefully learn from your past sins, and make bank to pay off your debts. They apparently initially wanted an open ended point and click style game, but they soon decided "nah, it'd be more fitting if it played more like River City Ransom." And I'm quite glad it does. There's a lot of enemy variety, each befitting their level theme, and the levels themselves are packed with personality. The best part are of course the bosses where all the personality peaks. Gotta say, I did not expect the third one to turn into a vegan Tetsuo. Oh, and did I mention it's an RPG? Hell yeah, a beat em up where you can unlock more ways to beat em up is an instant legend, I'd say.

[@efrainjunior2409]

The Spider-Man Trilogy movies were in a tie-in games too. You know?, with Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man.

[@user-nh6fu2dn6h]

yes dude. Those first few Harry Potter games are timeless. Actually playing Chamber Of Secrets on Gamecube this week so was excited to see i’m not the only one who loves that series

[@DeathCrustPunk]

For nes: karate kid, die hard, jaws, back to the future, nightmare on elm st, Batman

[@chappy2121]

You missed the Diehard Trilogy games. The second one had the light gun and 3 was a driving one. I used to waste loads of time on them as a kid

[@colingznetworkplus4618]

Spongebob Squarepants: the Movie’s game should have been on here, but technically that’s not a movie universe!

[@MsRichardMartin]

You missed out the 2 lion King tie games aon sag don't qput me onso good it got released on ps1 Also hercules but not sure eas based on the film or the anamatied Tv sires

[@matokaste9562]

I honestly think the best Lego game is The Lego Movie video game. It shows you clips from the movie as cutscenes and it fits so well since everything is Lego anyway! It also has fun mechanics like master builders and Emmett only being able to construct Lego with a manual that you have to collect. I do love the Lego Star Wars games though, I preferred the times when they didn't cut out audio from the movie and put it straight into the game (Lord of the Rings, I'm looking at you and your horrible sounding dialogue).

[@bencampbell198]

I was not prepared for the cockney orks. Jesus Christ, Petron

[@Chigen_Atomic]

I want to see a movie where the fear system of Begins and Arkham is something in-universe. Bats, using the locations he's in against the gang he's fighting, watching them succumb to fear as he picks them off. I'm surprised there hasn't been a Warriors sequel or reimagining. I never did beat A Bug's Life. There is a funny story involved with it though. My mom is not a gamer, by any means, and she was not able to master the controls enough to get out the tutorial level. Her comment to this day is, "I couldn't even get out of the hole."

[@The_Fuse_Maestro11]

The thumbnail was the real reason why I tuned in and watched this video

[@jamietempest-mitchell889]

I really enjoyed the King Kong game did it on a weekend off, solid list

[@ayderla789]

everyone loves harrypotter philosophers stone on ps1 but i tell u what playing that game without a memory card as a kid makes me think i can speed run today

[@YoDzOnHalo]

Picked up two towers by chance. Never even watched the movies or read the books. Just wanted a game to play. I got it for like $15 at GameStop around maybe 2004 or so. And god damn I was addicted to that game.