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I can never get into licensed games

mcjmetroid

Member
Has anyone ever had a problem getting into licensed games of any kind?

I've always found original IPs to be far more interesting than playing a new Star Wars game etc.
I gave Jedi Fallen order another try recently and all I could think to myself is " man I really wish this was an original IP" with cool new interesting monsters etc. Things I haven't seen before and ya...we have uncharted and Dark Souls lol.

My main problem with licensed games is that they're largely shackled story wise and sometimes gameplay wise. It's never going to go ABOVE and beyond it's original material.
I think maybe the ones I've been able to get into are Goldneye and the Batman Arkham games. I didn't care for Spiderman because again.. they couldn't do the interesting villians because of the movies etc etc licensing nonsense. That's a bit of a problem with them but really that's not he whole picture with me.

I find the idea of playing a game version of a movie very dull and boring. It just doesn't do it for me.
The Avenegers game for instance just made me goan even thinking about playing it.

Maybe it's burnt into me, I grew up gaming during the Ps2/Xbox/Gamecube era where licensed games were largely " Stay the fuck away from us" games.

For what it's worth though the quality of licensed games has largely improved but I'm still not really on board.

Anyone else feelthe same? or what licensed games do you like if any?
 

Kuranghi

Member
Play Mad Max, the combat is kind of like Batman, but more rigid. The driving is really satisfying. Mainly though you should play it because the world and lore really goes above and beyond whats in the films, just by that not being the focus of the films. Whereas here they have literally dozens of hours to tell you all about the different gangs and tribes.

Its like buttons to buy it on PC if you can do that, could be got on console for very cheap too though.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
Common sense stuff but licensed games are almost always shit because all the money went to securing the license over game development. So many laughably horrific licensed games released during the NES days.

There are very rare exceptions but they come out once a blue moon.
When Capcom gets the Marvel license is usually a big deal (minus the last mvc).
Dragon Ball Fighterz was quite the gem.
Little Nemo and Darkwing Duck on NES were excellent.
Ninja Turtles has a decent track record.
GI Joe and Nightmare on Elm Street were solid on NES.
Not sure if they count but NWO vs WCW Revenge and Wrestlemania 2000 are still at the tops of the genre.
Goldeneye is still the best example I can think of. That game broke all the rules and was too good.
 
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I super loved/hated Festers Quest on NES. I suppose some people have been burned way too many times by easy money grabs that even a wiff of licensed games already makes their stomach churn.
 

theHFIC

Member
I just did a second playthrough of South Park: The Fractured But Whole for the Platinum trophy and the game was just as funny as I remembered when I played it when it first came out. The show's creators were heavily involved in the development of the game (and The Stick of Truth) which makes a huge difference when working with licensed properties.

I think Telltale's episodic The Walking Dead series was decent for similar reasons.

Look how far Street Fighter has come after that horrible digitized MK knockoff game based on the movie first came out. It became a dominant competitive fighting game franchise.
 
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Play Mad Max, the combat is kind of like Batman, but more rigid. The driving is really satisfying. Mainly though you should play it because the world and lore really goes above and beyond whats in the films, just by that not being the focus of the films. Whereas here they have literally dozens of hours to tell you all about the different gangs and tribes.

Its like buttons to buy it on PC if you can do that, could be got on console for very cheap too though.

Super enjoyed my time with Mad Max! it has its shortcomings but felt like their heart was in the right place. I feel like Rage 2 was their unofficial sequal to it, but without the license and moving it to first person
 

Guileless

Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
Your loss mcjmetroid mcjmetroid

maxresdefault.jpg
 

GamesAreFun

Banned
I sort of agree. Generally I don't like licensed games for the same reasons, of the creative constraints and the boring story/characters the original license brings along, like with Spiderman. Though looked on my gaming shelves, and I do have a few licensed games I enjoy - Epic Mickey & Ghostbusters.
 

Rheon

Member
I would usually agree, but I feel like OP using Jedi Fallen Order is a bad example.

That's a genuinely good game (in my opinion) besides the fact that it's a licensed Star Wars game.
 

Stuart360

Member
I like both to be honest. Big Star Wars fan and loved Fallen Jedi. Take away the license and it would still be a good game, but would of been just another Mortal Shell, The Surge, etc Souls clone, and probably sell a 5th of the numbers it did.
 

Astral Dog

Member
I understand preferring og series but there are good license games made as well as bad.

Recently DBZ Kakarot and SpiderMan PS4 are very fun, Harry Potter looks cool too
 

jakinov

Member
Has anyone ever had a problem getting into licensed games of any kind?

I've always found original IPs to be far more interesting than playing a new Star Wars game etc.
I gave Jedi Fallen order another try recently and all I could think to myself is " man I really wish this was an original IP" with cool new interesting monsters etc. Things I haven't seen before and ya...we have uncharted and Dark Souls lol.

My main problem with licensed games is that they're largely shackled story wise and sometimes gameplay wise. It's never going to go ABOVE and beyond it's original material.
I think maybe the ones I've been able to get into are Goldneye and the Batman Arkham games. I didn't care for Spiderman because again.. they couldn't do the interesting villians because of the movies etc etc licensing nonsense. That's a bit of a problem with them but really that's not he whole picture with me.

I find the idea of playing a game version of a movie very dull and boring. It just doesn't do it for me.
The Avenegers game for instance just made me goan even thinking about playing it.

Maybe it's burnt into me, I grew up gaming during the Ps2/Xbox/Gamecube era where licensed games were largely " Stay the fuck away from us" games.

For what it's worth though the quality of licensed games has largely improved but I'm still not really on board.

Anyone else feelthe same? or what licensed games do you like if any?
What makes you think that? They have many of the villains from the movies in the first Spiderman game alone. And i don't see why they would care what characters they use in the games while they have the movies.
 

GametimeUK

Member
I kind of get what you are saying and I guess in a way I mind of agree, but stick with me.

These days I wouldn't particularly be hyped for a game licensed after a movie. When I say that, I mean as in a game that is based on the events of the movie and follows the plot points, shares the characters etc.

However I much prefer licensed games that are free to explore an IP's extended universe or create its own. I wouldn't have hyped Arkham Asylums release if it was a "Dark Knight" game based off the movie.

That being said a great game is a great game at the end of the day so I'll play it regardless.
 

Belmonte

Member
Licensed games usually have the pressure to satisfy non gamers, stricter release dates and the IP owner can mess too much with the dev team. But when it works, it works.

I never will forget the impact I had when I saw Marvel Super Heroes. It was like being transported to a Marvel comic. After it, me and my friend could stop arguing about who was stronger, Spider-Man or Wolverine, and start training to prove it on the Arcade.

Spider-Man won. :messenger_sunglasses:
 
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good games are good. Bad games are bad.

Historically licensed games have been on average bad.
I'd like to challenge that statement, it should be bad devs make bad licensed games.

There are quite a few bangers in the licensed games category, from the 5th and 6th gen Bond games and the great Toy Story 2 and Toy Story Racer to Tony Hawks Pro Skater series (yes it's licensed so it counts!).
 

plip.plop

Member
I was actually hoping they would have made a Pacific Rim game with the ability to customize Jaegers like Armored Core. I think that was a lost opportunity.
 

radewagon

Member
Hmmmm... OP namedrops Goldeneye as being a licenced game he could get into. References Fallen Order and Spiderman as games that aren't interesting enough cause they're shackled to an IP......

We are just going to have to agree to disagree. Goldeneye is a joke compared to the what Spiderman and Fallen Order did with their respective licenses.
 
Has anyone ever had a problem getting into licensed games of any kind?

I've always found original IPs to be far more interesting than playing a new Star Wars game etc.
I gave Jedi Fallen order another try recently and all I could think to myself is " man I really wish this was an original IP" with cool new interesting monsters etc. Things I haven't seen before and ya...we have uncharted and Dark Souls lol.

My main problem with licensed games is that they're largely shackled story wise and sometimes gameplay wise. It's never going to go ABOVE and beyond it's original material.
I think maybe the ones I've been able to get into are Goldneye and the Batman Arkham games. I didn't care for Spiderman because again.. they couldn't do the interesting villians because of the movies etc etc licensing nonsense. That's a bit of a problem with them but really that's not he whole picture with me.

I find the idea of playing a game version of a movie very dull and boring. It just doesn't do it for me.
The Avenegers game for instance just made me goan even thinking about playing it.

Maybe it's burnt into me, I grew up gaming during the Ps2/Xbox/Gamecube era where licensed games were largely " Stay the fuck away from us" games.

For what it's worth though the quality of licensed games has largely improved but I'm still not really on board.

Anyone else feelthe same? or what licensed games do you like if any?
Will you be applying this philosophy to the upcoming outsourced Metroid sequel?

You clown.
 
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mcjmetroid

Member
Will you be applying this philosophy to the upcoming outsourced Metroid sequel?

You clown.
Why are you having trouble with this entirely simple thread?

Metroid = videogame license not external license.

Can you see the difference?

Do you need any more help with this complicated subject?
 
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mcjmetroid

Member
Hmmmm... OP namedrops Goldeneye as being a licenced game he could get into. References Fallen Order and Spiderman as games that aren't interesting enough cause they're shackled to an IP......

We are just going to have to agree to disagree. Goldeneye is a joke compared to the what Spiderman and Fallen Order did with their respective licenses.
Well Goldeneye is a very old game.

I'm not into licensed games as a concept. I prefer original videogame IPs. I name dropped some examples whether logical or illogical that in the past I was able to get into it.

I mean I don't really like sports games but I can get into certain Tennis games. There will always be exceptions.
 
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Serengrad

Neo Member
Astro Boy: Omega Factor is a great game, in part because it's a love letter to Tezuka's larger body of work.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Off the top of my head, aside from playing licensed sports games, all my fav franchises and games have nothing to do with licenses, movies or comicbook characters.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Not at all for me. I'm more of the opposite I suppose. I feel connections with licenses, depending on what they are of course. There was definitely a period where licensed games were just being ass blasted onto shelves unfortunately. However there were some decent/great ones that weren't anything like that.

Some really great/decent experiences off the top of my head...

The Arkham Series
Shadow Of Mordor (Shadow Of War was pretty cool too)
Alien Isolation
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order
Star Wars The Force Unleashed 1/2
Star Wars Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Jedi Outcast, and Jedi Academy
Mad Max
LOTR The Two Tower & Return of the King
Alien Vs Predator (2000), Alien Vs Predator 2
Alien Vs Predator Extinction
Predator: Concrete Jungle
The Punisher

I think there are some more, but gotta stop somewhere. 😜
 
Maybe it's burnt into me, I grew up gaming during the Ps2/Xbox/Gamecube era where licensed games were largely " Stay the fuck away from us" games.

For what it's worth though the quality of licensed games has largely improved but I'm still not really on board.

Anyone else feelthe same? or what licensed games do you like if any?
isn't that the era where a lot of liscenced games were GOOD though? or atleast a 50/50?

a lot of games like Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom, Simpsons Hit and Run, even stuff like that Family Guy game of all things i heard were are all really good.
 

EekTheKat

Member
Licensed games are a way to keep a studio going. Platinum went through a phase where they took on a couple licensed games that were middling at best. Though I kind of liked their take on TMNT and G1a Transformers.

I also do think they're a way to get some game engine/concepts greenlit by attaching it to a licensed name that somebody is willing to pay for. Not a lot of people will buy a generic low budget fighting game regardless of how brilliant the underlying fighting engine/mechanics are, but tie it to something like Power Rangers and that gets it some attention.
 

bit_blaster

Neo Member
They're hit or miss, but there are some decent to great ones.

Here are some good ones I recommend:

- Terminator Resistance
- Mad Max
- Spider Man 2 (PS2)
- Chronicle Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
- TMNT: Turtles In Time
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga
- LOTR: The Third Age
- Batman Arkham City
- Rocky (PS2)
- Goldeneye 2010
- Star Wars Episode 3 (GBA)
- Ultimate Spider Man
- Batman (NES)
- The Thing (PS2)
- Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee
- Batman Begins (PS2)
- Indiana Jones And The Emperor's Tomb
- Star Wars Republic Commando
- NBA Jam
 

mcjmetroid

Member
I felt like a lot of people were missing the point in this thread.

my point was and still is:

I'm more into original ideas in gaming. I like ideas that are born from games and stay with it.
I can't usually get into Marvel avengers videogame or a Star Wars game or whatever and no it Isn't because theyre just BAD.
Conceptually I just like to seperate movies from videogames.

For the record I don't like movies based on games either. It's a bit of a laugh sometimes going to them but I can't fully get into when I know it's never going to be the flagship material.

I'm sure Comic book fans feel this way about the movies the whole time as well.
 
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