The modern entertainment industry is built on a handful of principles, with multimedia franchises often proving to be one of the most prolific. For decades now, a successful movie just simply isn’t enough. Fans want more of the stories they love, and studios want to deliver in the interest of ongoing financial success. In theory, it’s a win-win situation, and major movie franchises have repeatedly dominated the box office in recent years. However, with the rapid development of increasingly powerful technology, there’s nothing to say that a popular franchise needs to stick to a single medium. Many franchises have delivered both movie and TV projects, with others also dabbling into other forms of media, too.
Where novelizations and comic books were once the go-to for multimedia franchises, more recent years have seen many movies deliver video games that either serve as tie-ins or as independent stories designed to flesh out a franchise’s world. Once, video games were made into movies, but there have also been several great examples of movies that delivered excellent video games. As these popular movie franchises are best remembered for their films, many fans have forgotten that they have also delivered some truly brilliant video games over the years.
Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s seminal fantasy novel of the same name, The Lord of the Rings franchise is one of the best-known in movie history. For all its iconic moments and performances, the original live-action trilogy is widely beloved, and several additional adaptations, including The Hobbit trilogy and several movie and TV spin-offs, have fleshed out its story on our screens. However, many movies might have forgotten that there have also been some truly exceptional Lord of the Rings video games over the years (and a handful of absolute stinkers, in fairness). The tie-in games for the original movie trilogy were excellent, and standalone titles like The War in the North, The Third Age, Shadow of Mordor, and Lord of the Rings Online have also delivered amazing interactive Middle-Earth stories. The franchise’s big-screen success means that its games are often overlooked or forgotten entirely, even though the majority of them have been absolutely brilliant.
When talking about great movie tie-in games, many fans forget to mention The Matrix. The Wachowskis’ 1999 movie utterly redefined edgy sci-fi with its cyberpunk ideas and eye-catching action, and the sequels proved almost as successful among fans. The story of Neo and his role in the ongoing future war between humanity and sentient machines gripped audiences and resulted in a handful of video game adaptations and tie-ins to attempt to capitalize on the movies’ popularity. The Matrix: The Path of Neo and Enter the Matrix both gave fans the chance to step into the titular simulation, making use of the powers demonstrated in the movies while fighting against the oppressive machine regime. They’re absolutely excellent games that perfectly match the tone of the franchise, but many movie fans are only vaguely aware of their existence, so they’re often forgotten altogether. It’s a shame, too, as some fans even consider the games far superior to the original movie’s sequels in terms of fleshing out the franchise’s story.
The 2000s were an interesting decade for movies, as practically every major release came with an official tie-in game. The vast majority of these were utterly terrible, but 2005’s King Kong unexpectedly boasted one of the most amazing licensed games of all time. Peter Jackson’s version of the iconic story proved an excellent entry into the wider Kong franchise, but the strength of the tie-in game was absolutely astounding. With an official yet clunky title of Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, the game was unbelievably strong in the way it brought the story to life, with impressive cinematics and fun missions that allowed the player to explore and survive on Skull Island as both protagonist Jack Driscoll and King Kong himself. As almost every other movie tie-in game released in the 2000s was utter dross, it’s all too easy to overlook and forget about the 2005 King Kong game, but those who played it will tell you just what a great addition to the iconic movie franchise it is.
The original Ghostbusters was one of the defining sci-fi movies of the 1980s, and its legacy as a beloved franchise lives on thanks to several successful movie sequels and a beloved animated TV show. 1989 saw the release of the direct sequel, Ghostbusters II, but the movie franchise then struggled to find any success until the 2021 release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. However, fans didn’t have to go without any Ghostbusters media, as 2009 saw the release of a third Ghostbusters story that followed on from the events of the second movie. Ghostbusters: The Video Game is beloved by fans of the franchise, as it puts the player in control of a new recruit to the iconic team, and even features the voices of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis reprising their movie roles. Despite being widely celebrated as one of the best video game additions to a movie franchise, Ghostbusters: The Video Game isn’t overly well-known outside of the franchise’s fans, and it’s often forgotten that the original Ghostbusters movies also have an excellent video game sequel.
Sci-fi horror movie Pitch Black started an unexpected spin-off franchise that ultimately became Vin Diesel’s passion project. The Chronicles of Riddick is relatively divisive among fans; many consider its sci-fi worldbuilding a work of brilliance, while others are quick to dismiss it thanks to its occasionally clunky writing and predictable action beats. Regardless of personal feelings, the simple fact is that the franchise is pretty popular, even without regular releases keeping audiences engaged. Many more casual fans might not even know that it also boasts two excellent video games, Escape from Butcher Bay and Assault on Dark Athena. Both games combine stealth and action to bring the eponymous character to life, delivering a unique and enjoyable experience that in many ways is actually more entertaining than the franchise’s movies. However, the lack of mainstream success means that the games are often forgotten, leading many to overlook the franchise’s wider potential.
