Movie games have a bad reputation of disappointing both gamers and fans of the original source material. While there have a number of great movie tie-in games, some of the worst games to ever grace our consoles have sadly been based on films.
Which ones are the worst ones, you ask? Well, the one and only Metacritic can answer that question for us. Without further delay, here are 10 movie tie-in games that Metacritic considers to be the bottom of the barrel's bottom.
10 Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part I (2010) - Metascore: 37
You'd think it'd be easy to adapt a movie about wizards battling dark forces while attending school, but apparently that wasn't the case for Electronic Arts. Actually, this makes almost too much sense for a company like EA back. Give them a property as creative and full of lore like Harry Potter, and they literally turn it into a generic shooter. No, really.
Picture Harry's wand as a gun and you pretty much got as generic of a shooter as you got. Not to mention that the level design to terrible, never taking advantage of the beautiful scenery in the movies. It's no secret that you should avoid this dump of a game like Death Eater in the Forbidden Forest.
9 Wreck-It-Ralph (2012) - Metascore: 35
This one's a little ironic, isn't it? Wreck-It-Ralph was celebrated by the gaming community for lovingly parodying arcade classics while still maintaining its own emotional tale of what it actually means to be a digital hero and villain. The game, on the other hand, has been accused as being nothing more than a cheap cash grab. Graphics weren't the only thing lacking in this game.
The level design and gameplay were very uninspiring. Nothing more than boring platform-jumping and combat which you could've sworn came right out of a '90s game. It's hard to resist an "I gonna wreck it!" pun when talking about Disney Interactive Studios making such a poor game to a great family film.
8 Robocop (2003) - Metascore: 30
Back in the '80s, Robocop killed at the box office, demonstrating terrific special effects, memorable characters and most of the most brutal violence put to screen at the time. So, it only makes sense to create a game based on it that's ugly as all heck and gameplay that's so tedious, it's practically unplayable. The titular character was difficult to control, which wouldn't be so bad, but each level is overloaded with enemies that pump you full of bullets until you are dead.
There wasn't a lot of imagination to the game, too. There's only a few different weapons at Robocop's arsenal and they're the usual rocket launcher, machine gun and his trusty pistol, but this is set in the future. Even the film brought out that cool rifle at the end! This was a mess of a game from beginning to end.
7 Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway (2002) - Metascore: 27
This is an interesting entry because, while critics hated this game, gamers seemed to actually love it with an 8.6 user rating. Possible trolling? Maybe, but that doesn't help with the fact that this is still a messy game. While the game was nothing to write home about, with dated visuals and terrible audio, it wasn't a complete failure. Some fun could be had if you're one of those die-hard Shrek fans.
The only real problem with the game is that it was obviously trying to be Mario Kart. From the gameplay to the power-ups, it's too obvious where its "inspiration" comes from. If you still have your Gameboy Advance still lying around, you can give this game a go but don't expect anything Shrektacular.
6 007 Legends (2012) - Metascore: 26
You'd think that this would be a game that a lot of care would go into. The James Bond series has given us some of the most celebrate video games of the '90s and early 2000's. So, a game advertised as a celebration for the franchise, going through each of the Bond's most exciting missions through the decades should be amazing... right? Well, unfortunately, it was given the generic shooter bug.
Fans and gamers didn't like how some of the James Bond's most iconic moments were just thrown into a generic shooter for a cheap thrills. Not to mention that the gameplay was very unimaginative, which is a real sin for these games because Goldeneye and Everything Or Nothing constantly gave a great mix of gun combat and 007's other capabilities. A nice thought, but not enough thought went into this dud of a game.
5 R.I.P.D. The Game - Metascore: 26
A common trend with these awful movie-based games is that, usually, if the movie is bad, the game will follow suit. R.I.P.D., unfortunately, is no exception. This is a shame because the idea for R.I.P.D. is actually pretty clever for both a movie and video game. You play as a deceased cop who brings in undead fugitives for judgement, this should be full of insane action and cool visuals.
Unfortunately, the visuals and gameplay were criticized for being insanely boring. R.I.P.D. takes little advantage to want this idea could be and just turns it into generic, repetitive shooter that really feels like it was rushed to meet the movie's release date. Thanks to this game, don't expect the franchise to make any sort of comeback in the future.
4 Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (2005) - Metascore: 26
This game is just not fun. You'd think a game where you platform through Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory would be at least offer a little creativity but this is a very lackluster game. The graphics look very dated and the terrible controls make the game feel more like work than fun.
After finishing a level, you're more likely to exclaim, "FINALLY!" than "YES!" Much like the Tim Burton remake, it's hard to imagine anyone having the patience to sit though this poor excuse of entertainment.
3 Charlie's Angels (2003) - Metascore: 23
Remember that trope of bad movies make bad games? Well, here we are again with Charlie's Angels. Not only is it one of the worst movie-based games ever created, but it's probably one of the worst beat'em up games ever.
The combat was very limited and repetitive while the camera is everything you fear with early 3D games. While you're trying to understand the controls and fight some thug, the camera could be focusing on something else or just not be centered properly. Much like the movies, this is incredibly difficult to get through; they're both not very funny and not much fun.
2 Rambo: The Video Game (2014) - Metascore: 23
You probably already knew that this was going to make the list. Literally, the only thing people know about this game is just how universally despised it is among the game community. Some have even labelled it as so bad, that's actually good in a weird way. Trying to bring the genre of arcade rail-shooter back to its former glory, this was a glorious disaster full of problems.
Where to start? The graphics looked like they came from the last gaming generation, the gameplay was annoyingly repetitive and the overuse of quick-time events, which is already a hated gaming trope, was frowned upon. Believe everything you've heard about this game - it is truly the pinnacle of crap in the gaming community.
1 Fast & Furious: Showdown (2013) - Metascore: 21
You can call this a Fast & Furious game but it has so little to do with the franchise, it almost seems pointless to do so. It boasts itself as a cooperative, car combat game. Thing is, the level design and gameplay were so unimaginative that you could swear this was a dare that the developers put in to get you to stop playing before you even reached the finish line.
Along with buggy gameplay, dated graphics and a weak tie-in story, this was a purely awful game. The franchise may have found new life in the movies, but Showdown isn't going to get Dom and family started on the gaming highway anytime soon.