Even if they don’t remember much today, there was a period in which the release of a great movie it was always accompanied by one videogame transposition. In recent years, however, this genre of video games have over time become increasingly rare until almost completely disappear. This is somewhat odd, considering the amount of billion dollar film franchises that hit theaters each year. There are so many reasons why tie-ins they are almost extinct nowadays. First, developers have continued to find new and exciting ways to breathe new life into established IPs to create unique and immersive gaming experiences, showing much more. creative freedom and more chances to develop a sense of identity and personality. Secondly, there appears to have been much less interest and demand for these kinds of products, most likely due to the continuing decline in quality due to hasty development and disappointing sales, this at least until the advent of Insomniac and Rocksteady.
The first licensed video games
Historically, in fact, video games based on films have always presented a fluctuating quality, and really interesting titles belonging to this kind of products are very few. In the 1980s, licensed movie tie-ins they were mostly side scrolling, and the most famous is undoubtedly the transposition of the film ET the extra-terrestrial released on the Atari 2600. The title in question is reluctantly remembered for being one of the worst video games ever due to its hasty development, with the production house pushing get the title out as soon as possible. During the 1990s, video game links became increasingly popular and even influential. For example, there were games based on famous Disney animated films, such as Aladdin, The Lion King and Hercules. These games adopted the side scrolling platform format with their infamous difficulty, and have recently been remastered for previous and current generation consoles.
During the transition to three dimensions, Goldeneye 64 proved extremely popular and has revolutionized the first person shooter genre, paving the way for future FPS game franchises, such as call of Duty. It didn’t have many direct references to the film of the same name that preceded it two years earlier, but that meant that the developers of Rare had much more time to better develop the work. This modus operandi, on closer inspection, it was somewhat futuristic.
The rise before the decline
The 2000s are probably the years when the tie-in trend had its rosiest period, both in terms of production and quality. Many of these games were based on famous films Marvel, particularly Spider-Man 2. There were many other tie-in games based on famous movie franchises such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, the Pixar film e Matrix.
Spider-Man 2, despite being linked to Sam Raimi’s 2004 blockbuster of the same name, revolutionized the way Spider-Man is conceived in video games and its influence can still be felt today with Insomniac Games titles.
The exact moment in which, however, this type of product has approached the decline can be approached in the early years of Marvel Cinematic Universe, ie at the end of the zero years and the beginning of 2010. At that time they were published Captain America: Super Soldier, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Iron Man 2 And Thor: The God of Thunder. These video games, of poor quality, have in fact put the final word (or almost) to the production of tie-ins throughout the videogame market. In the years since, however, various tie-in games have been developed for mobile devices, as they are much cheaper to create and easier to use for movie buffs who don’t have a console. Unfortunately, for the most part, they are mediocre titles that are closely related related to the mobile gaming experience hit and run.
The advent of Rocksteady and Insomniac
But what was the turning point for licensed titles? In recent years, licensed games have become truly unique with an original narrative created specifically for the game and designed specifically for a more visceral and interactive experience, not held back by the canon of the cinematic universe. In 2009, Rocksteady Studios released Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first chapter of what was to become the acclaimed Arkham trilogy, not counting the prequel Batman: Arkham Origins.
It was clear that the series had taken a lot of inspiration from the most recent films and television products dedicated to the character, such as the series Batman Animated and Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of films, but having created it a unique narrative unrelated to any type of product allowed the team to create a one-off work without the hassle of tight production timelines, typical of licensed games taken from specific films.
This new policy of producing licensed games later was also followed by the aforementioned Insomniac guys, who in 2018 gave new life to the Spider-Man character with an original narrative created by famous comic writers specifically for the game. . Despite in Marvel’s Spider-Man it was possible to unlock various costumes based on those seen in the various films released in the hall, the work was completely original and, like the Batman Arkham, it was totally disconnected from the narrative canon of feature films.
One of the key differences in the approaches between Rocksteady and Insomniac is the way their games create a narrative based on the reinterpretation of narrative elements taken from other works or going in a completely original direction. The series Batman: Arkham would fall into the former category, as much of its original narrative beats are built around adapting other iconic storylines in the comic world such as Death in the Family or The Killing Joke. There are certainly some original elements, but the games of Batman: Arkham they have often given fans direct comic references.
Marvel’s Spider-Man takes another approach instead, as the story within the franchise’s so far released games it is largely original. Many of Spidey’s historical villains they had completely new origins and many elements by Peter Parker himself they were rarely seen in other media. Having included Peter Parker and Miles Morales in the same universe right from the start is also a completely innovative element.
Although there is a minimal difference in approach, it cannot be denied that in both cases we have succeeded produce great games based on comics. Both, in fact, allow players to become their favorite superhero like never before. Any game can allow players to take control of a superhero and for a few hours, but Batman: Arkham And Marvel’s Spider-Man excel in making players feel connected to these characters.
Isn’t it all gold ..?
This new way of seeing licensed games, however, has also had negative responses from buyers: given the incredible popularity of certain franchises, including the aforementioned Marvel Cinematic Universe, many have often complained about the little resemblance between the characters of the video game and those seen in the room. These criticisms were specifically addressed to Marvel’s Avengers and at the most recent Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Many fans have complained that Star Lord doesn’t look like Chris Pratt, an actor who plays the Marvel Cinematic Universe character, and the same criticism has been reserved for Marvel’s Avengers, where the Avengers protagonists they had no resemblance with none of the actors who played them in the works of Marvel Studios.
But putting aside these “whims” on the part of the fans, this new way of developing licensed games has allowed us to have in our hands titles of incredible quality, the one that in the era of direct adaptations was unthinkable. When game developers get the rights to use a licensed IP nowadays, they are allowed to finally take the time to make the best game focus more by giving their own authorial imprint.
Fortunately, the pressure associated with having to meet the deadlines of film studies and respect the release dates of the film is therefore less. Suffice it to compare the aesthetic, narrative and gameplay beauty of Marvel’s Spider-Man with what is seen in the worst The Amazing Spider-Man 2 developed by Beenox, based on the film of the same name, which is probably among the worst character-based video games ever. It is no coincidence that the title in question has essentially put the tomb stone on licensed products based on films.
With the next licensed titles coming in the next few months, such as theIndiana Jones of Bethesda, the James Bond by IO interactive, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League by Rocksteady e Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora from Ubisoft, it is exciting to see how much developers continue to give their authorial touch to these franchises, without any kind of narrative constraint. And that’s thanks to a certain Dark Knight and a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man who revealed the true potential of licensed titles.
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