Admit it: at least 90% of all movie games suck.  They are often cookie cutter knock offs of more popular games.  Most of them are rushed out well before any real effort can be made to make them decent games, and they usually serve as little more than an additional revenue stream for studios.  Once in a while, however, a studio has the time, resources and inclination to produce a quality game that compliments and enhances the movie experience.  This is such a rare occurrence in the industry that I feel it's important to give credit to the games that manage to be more than just a cash-in.  As such, this is my list of the top ten movie tie-in games of all time*.

 

* - Please note that no Star Wars games were included, as they would have taken up at least five of the ten spots.

 

10 - Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Gamecube, PC)

For me, it was the first game that really had that "Next-Gen" look to it.  Excellent visuals, however, aren't enough to make a good movie game (I'm looking at you, Transformers).  Fortunately, Ubisoft realized this and made sure to include quality gameplay and story elements for both the first-person and third-person (or third-ape) segments.  Add in excellent voice-acting and intense dinosaur on gorilla combat, and you've got the formula for an outstanding movie game.

 

9 - Godfather (PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, PC)

Turning a new movie into a respectable game is hard enough, but doing it with a 35 year old classic is even more daunting.  Electronic Arts took a big gamble with this title that fortunately payed off for gamers.  Staying surprisingly true to the source material, The Godfather tells a compelling, lengthy story that interweaves nicely with Mario Puzzo's opus and provides solid gunplay throughout.

 

8 - The Warriors (PS2, Xbox)

If you think EA took a risk with their 35 year old license, even more credit should be given to  Rockstar Games for digging up this 28 year old little known cult movie.  The beat-em-up genre is well-known for repetitive, simple gameplay, but The Warriors manages to deliver a thoroughly entertaining, thoroughly violent experience that captures the cheesy panache of the 1979 film that inspired it.

 

7 - Goonies 2 (NES)

I know I'm showing my age here, but this was one of my absolute favorite title for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Mixing 2d puzzle-platforming with pseudo 3d segments, Goonies was actually a huge, nonlinear, ambitious game that few people actually played to 100% completion.  And damn, if that music didn't get stuck in your head for weeks!

 

6 - Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC)

With a rock solid combat engine, thrilling scripted events, exemplary sound design and gorgeous, lush environments, Return of the King was easily the best of the three LotR direct movie tie-ins.  Simple, but challenging, Return let you play out cinematic moments as every surviving member of the fellowship and did so with a level of polish and style that set this game apart from other hack and slashers.

 

5 -  Ghostbusters (NES)

Back to the old school.  If you're anything like me, you're all fired up about the upcoming Ghostbusters game.  As exciting as it is, there's one element that was in the NES game that won't be in this one:  Accounting!  Don't ask me why, but managing a budget for Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston was almost as much fun as capturing phantasms and stopping Zuul.  

 

4 - The Thing (PS2, Xbox, PC)

A little known game based on a little known movie, The Thing was actually an extremely innovative survival horror experience that forced you to take the sanity of your teammates into account.  Get into  too many terrifying situations, and your fellow survivalists might just throw up, wet themselves, or even completely melt down and destroy the whole complex.  The concept of earning the trust of your helpers is one that hasn't been done before or since, and it was done very well here.

 

3 - Spider-Man 2 (PS2, Xbox, Gamecube)

Forget the repetitive combat, the flat voice work and the sometimes infuriating camera:  Never has a game nailed the feeling of webslinging this well.  For the first time, Spider-Man 2 let you fling yourself from rooftop to rooftop in a fully realized version of Manhattan, utilizing all the tricks that make the nimble superhero such a sensation.  Some boss fights were excellent as well, though others fell a bit flat.  Overall, however, this is still probably the best spandex fantasy fulfiller in gaming.

 

2 - Goldeneye: 007 (N64)

It was the first fps to succeed on a home console, the best James Bond game by far, and for the duration of the console's lifespan, the best reason to own an N64.  Graphically, it may seem a bit dated by today's standard's, but there's still a lot of 4-player fun to be had with Goldeneye.

 

1 - Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Xbox, PC)

As if there was any doubt.  Developer Starbreeze and Hollywood superstar Vin Diesel collaborated on this fps that flew well under the radar until people got a chance to play it.  Boasting the best
graphics of any game in its generation and a visceral melee combat system, Chronicles of Riddick blew unsuspecting gamers away in 2004, proving that an unknown developer could take a B-list property and turn it into an absolute gem of a game.