Good Licenced Games

[Wraith]

Ahh, licensed games. Most of them are shit, due to the fact that they're practically garunteed to make cash. I mean, they star well known characters. Once people see characters they appreciate, they're practically drawn toward the product, so developers realy have no real reason to put effort into them.

But sometimes developers respect the property enough to make something special. Now, before we talk about the obvious like Arkham City and War for Cybertron, I want to talk about a game that needs more love.


Spongebob Squarepants Batyle for Biki Bottom.

Yes, I'm serious.

The game, which came out in the Gamecube days(AKA 2 generations ago. Damn I feel old.) was suprisingly good, with well paced, fluid platforming, a great soundtrack, humor reminiscent of the good old days of spongebob, and a suprisingly badass giant robot starfish. It was even praised by critics when it came out. Other Spongebob games attempt to replicate this one with little success.


What are some other good licensed games?

[Dr. Homem]

Last year four very good licensed games came out, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, The Walking Dead, The Amazing Spiderman and Lego Lord of the Rings. And I liked them, I heard good reviews and they were pretty entertaining. Other examples of great licensed games are Batman: Arkham Asylum/City. Some licensed games are incredible on their own, and even when they're mediocre, they still have the appeal of at least playing as the cool character you like from the source material.

 

I often think people are too harsh on licensed games, just for the fact they're licensed. They have always had a bad reputation not only because many of them are rushed but also because they usually have a lot of limitations due to having to follow the source material. So, people become even more critical towards them. That may be part of the problem with the gaming industry as a whole, where people are only able to give one of three different ratings when reviewing a game: "GOTY", "not horrible" and "steaming pile of crap". This might sound like an exaggeration, but it is very rare to hear someone say "I enjoyed this game" or "this game is good" and then leaving it at that. It's always either "this game is so fantastic it's one of my favorites" or "it's good but..."

Edited January 21, 2013 by Dr. Homem

[Tornado]

I think the idea that licenced games are always resolutely terrible with only exceptions to the rule is kind of a disservice to a good amount of great games that use a licence to add to the proceedings. How many great Disney games were there from 1990-1995? 5? 6? It had to have been close to one per year. The only one I can remember playing that was pretty poor was the Beauty and the Beast game; compared to all of the great Mickey Mouse titles, and The Jungle Book, and The Lion King, and both versions of Aladdin. What about Toy Story 2? That was a great action platformer at a time where they were so popular that the developer could have just half-assed everything, but they didn't.

 

 

Then we get into stuff like the James Bond licence, which has delivered several really good games (Goldeneye, The World is Not Enough, Everything or Nothing, From Russia With Love), or the Jurassic Park franchise which has its own gems (the 3 different games on the SNES, Sega CD and Genny were all pretty good, and Operation Genesis a few years ago was fantastic).

Edited January 21, 2013 by Tornado

[Sonic the Hedgehog in 3D]

 

This game was the shit when I was growing up, everything about it was so amazing. I always used to play on this with my brother.
The PS2 version even had online, apparently
It currently stands at 85 on MetaCritic, this means it's higher than Black Ops, Trine 2 (Wii U), New Super Mario Bros. U and It's Lego counterpart

[\gunther]

I was actually going to mention Battle for Bikini Bottom, but OP thought the same, aha.

 

It's not perfect, but it's far better than what you'd expect from a game starring Spongebob Squarepants. My 19-year old brother still replays it to this day.

Edited January 21, 2013 by JunkoEnoshimapan

[Tori Himemiya]

I will admit I did enjoy the Ghost Rider video game despite it being a tie-in game. It does the smart thing and does a different storyline that comic book fans would get more than the movie. It plays like Devil May Cry as well which is a plus I suppose but I digress. I should mention Blade also pops up at a point to the point he's unlockable which is neat. But at the end of the day its nice to play as Ghost Rider to curbstomp everyone in hell.

Also I'm not sure if you would count it but Parasite Eve. Originality its a "sequel" to the book of the same name but you wouldn't had known that since who reads anymore? Its a great game though.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Crow the BOOLET

[...]

Ohhh, man. I have quite the story to tell about this game.

 

 

Star Was: Battlefront II. Possibly one of my favorite video games of all time. This game isn't just the average run-of-the mill shooter, and it does everything the first Battlefront had done right 10x better, and improves upon the problems of the first game as well. You can either play as clones or droids during the Clone Wars era, and the Empire or Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War (around time of original trilogy). The campaign mode is well done, especially with the fact it has it's own story of a clone trooper of the 501st Legion as he serves the Republic during the Clone Wars, and then the Empire during the galactic Civil War, as a stormtrooper. It just helps the game feel engaging, and you feel like you're going along with the clone's journey. The visuals are very nice, especially for a PS2/Xbox game (and it looks better on PC).

 

 

 

The varieties of each character on each side are well implemented, and very well replicated from their film counterparts. The best parts of this game are especially the space battles, with flying and shooting down your enemies, and then raiding their cruiser and weakening their defenses from the inside.

 

 

 

The best decision for this game was to add Jedi and Sith as playable characters instead of just assist characters like in the first game. The multiplayer is really fun, especially if you do Mos Eisley playing as Jedi or Sith. Had lots of childhood memories doing this with my sister. As usual for any Star Wars related media, the soundtrack for this game is AMAZING. I could listen to the Main Menu & Galactic Conquest themes on loop 24/7.

 

 

yeahhhhhhhhhh.

 

As probably evidenced from what you've read above, I love this game to death, and it remained the reason I kept my PS2 for years to come, and it's still my favorite Star Wars game of all-time, and one of the best licensed games out there. To this day, it has sold 6.5 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Star Wars game of all time, and for good reason. C'mon LucasArts, Battlefront III. You know you can do it.

 

...I can't believe I lost my disc for this game D:

Edited January 21, 2013 by Jar Jar Binks

[Senator NinjaShark]

Like Tornado, I agree that there are plenty of very Good Licensed games are out there, and the negative stigma sourrounding them kind of Bugs me, altough generally it seems as if Licensed titles are picking up the Pace again, judging by the Arkham Games and (from what I saw) the Amazing Spider Man game

 

 

anyway, aside of the aforementioned games like Lord of the Rings, and other Obligatory titles like Ducktales, Darkwing Duck and many other Great Licensed titles and such there is...

 

 

 

this little Gem here is one of my absolute favourite Titles of the Xbox/PS2/GC era, a Wide Open Manhatten all up for you exploring, Plenty of Characters not seen in the Movie, such as Black Cat and the Shocker, a very Fun Web Swinging system, and even better Fighting system that allowed you to do Tons of Combos with Just one Attack Button (and some help of the Jump and web button), Awesome Narration by Bruce Cambell, Plenty of stuff to do, and most Importandly

 

 

Piledriveing a Motherfucker off the Empire State Building

 

it's too bad the Game based on Spider Man 3 was total Horseshit, but hey

Edited January 21, 2013 by Mr. ZombieNinjaShark

[Badnik Mechanic]

I'm not sure if others would consider this to be a good game, but both are extremely memorable since I grew up with them and would play them both on end. Looking back on them I can see their flaws and problems, but one thing I still adore is the music.

 

First up is Batman on the Mega Drive.

 

This was an adaptation of the Tim Burton movie. It follows the events of the film very accurately and even has a driving and a flying stage. There are a lot of problems with it though, like power ups which lead to death and how some enemies can hit you off screen as well as you yourself being able to hit enemies simply by 'clipping' them as you jump.

 

But the music... *gaps!* my God the music! SunSoft really did a stella job on the music. With the exception of I think one song, everything is original music and bloody hell it's one kick ass soundtrack. Sometimes when playing a game I'll load up either the 'In the skies over Gotham' track of the boss theme just because it's that good.

 

 

That track is playing as you fly the batwing shooting down the Joker's Balloons with a gual gattling gun and launching side winder missiles at hunter killer helicopters...

 

It's just... just... just... Is this life!?

 

The stage itself if you look at it purely from a gameplay perspective, it's not that great, there are certainly better levels around in games at the time with a lot more imagination and challenge. But for what it lacks for in that department, it makes up in being a really fun and challenging stage. Theres no serious glitches or problems with the quality. It feels like you're playing top 5 game and when you have a soundtrack like that pumping out at you, you'll be yelling "I'm the God Damn Batman and I'm flying a Batwing!"

 

The next one... is... another Batman game... and it's for similar reasons.

 

Batman Returns on the MegaDrive/Super Nintendo is... ok... it's not that great. Certainly not as fun as the original, it's a much slower feeling of a game, level design on some stages is really bad and some enemies can't be killed unless they take away a ton of your health as they can't be staggered when they attack... from off screen. It's ok... but nothing more.

 

Hmmm whats this... Batman Returns on the Mega CD? Driving mode? Well lets see what this is....

 

 

 

JESUS CHRIST!!!

 

Batman Returns on the Mega CD has the platforming game which was on the Mega Drive, but it also includes a huge 'driving game' the first three quarters see you driving the Batmobile through the streets to gotham chasing down the red triangle circus gang. your arsonal is dual gattling guns and hell fire missiles. Only they do something of genius with this.

 

Mega CD games are notorious for having good soundtracks. Batman is no exception. The music is amazing, especially the boss themes, but they also take it a step further with the sound effects. The machine guns are a bit... meh... but the missiles! Oh god, you only have a limited supply of them so you are encouraged to save them for boss fights or tricky sections.

 

Now when you fire a missile, you don't just get the usual missile sound effect, you get this screaming noise that sounds like a demon as the missiles errupts from your car down the road to it's target, the explosion noise is also a thing of beauty too.

 

However it does have it's problems. The Batmobile segments are fantastic. But... the problem comes with the boat sections. They sacrifice the shooting for an 'obsticle course' and it becomes fucking stupid at points. There is no way you could do these stages without repeating them over and over because it's so unfair.

[Tori Himemiya]

Oh another one I do wanna mention is...

If memory serves right the game can be challenging. But also the raptors will learn what tactics you use throughout the game and uses that to its advantages. This is one of the first, if not the first, games with an evolving AI. But they tried to do the same thing, with dinosaurs emulating emotions and we got...

If you thought Sonic 06 was unplayable due to glitches you never played Jurassic Park Trespasser. The game had so many glitches in the game you get to see dinosaurs trip over themselves just for trying to emulate emotion. Hell the player character doesn't fair much well either.

Granted its shit but its noteworthy because in fact this game inspired...

...Valve's Source engine.

It could had been a great game too if they had more time to develop everything about the game. But sadly all we get a giant laughing stock of...

Granted it is funny but still. Its like this game is making fun of what potential it had.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Crow the BOOLET

[Blue Wisp]

I'll talk about two games TODAY, and they are of the same series.

 

First, possibly one of the weirdest games that have ever been witnessed by mankind. What game am I talking about? Well none other than SpongeBob: Creature From The Krusty Krab.

 

 

This game is totally weird from a SpongeBob point of view. I mean, a giant Plankton-eating Krabby Patty chasing you around? Getting eaten by a giant Alaskan Bull Worm ALASKAN BULL WOOORM? Being a grunge race-car driver and driving your bed? How is that NOT tripping? The gameplay was also fun, a bit tedious sometimes but it was manageable. Not to mention the great soundtrack, or the Patrick Star levels where he turns into a cliché superhero.

Absolutely one of my favourite games.

 

But the other game I wanted to talk about is possibly one of my favourite games from the PS2 era.

 

 

Oh god /this game/ was glorious. It was basically Mario Party, but for me it was a bit better than it. Basically the storyline was that a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy movie gets filmed in Bikini Bottom and each of the playable characters want to play a role in it, with the maximum role being the main villain of the movie. The game has minigames that you have to play in each area, and if you get the highest points in the area you get the role. After you beat the campaign you can watch the movie with the roles that your characters won, so it offered a great replay value just to see what different stuff the characters say with each role. Not to mention, the soundtrack is really top-notch too.

 

Listen to this:

 

Glorious.

[Gregzilla]

Well, when talking licensed games, this one immediately jumps to my mind.

 

 

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World stayed true to the spirit of the source material, had good gameplay, and topped it off with some awesome aesthetics.  The graphics are wonderful and the soundtrack is one of the best of any game in recent memory.  The game's not perfect - enemy's block too often and it takes a long time to get up after getting knocked down, plus there's grinding involved - but it's incredibly fun and definitely worth the time of any SP fan or retro gamer.

 

Oh, and here's another great one.

 

DAMN this game is fun.  The world is yours to explore and destroy in increasingly creative ways.  Hulk just feels so acrobatic in this game, making it a blast to discover new ways to smash your enemies (and civilians).  I never beat this game, I just spent most of the time messing around in the free-roaming areas, smashing stuff until they sent the mechs after me, which I also smashed.  Basically, it's fun to smash stuff in this game.  I loves it.

 

Aside from those, there are a lot of fun licensed games from the 16-bit era.  I recall having quite a bit of fun with some Mickey Mouse games on Genesis, particularly Mickey Mania and The Great Circus Mystery.  And Castle of Illusion.  And World of Illusion.  Huh, there were a lot of good Mickey games.

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

Ultimate Spider-Man: The Game

 

What happens when you throw Brian Michael Bendis at a spiritual sequel to Spider-Man 2?

 

 

Amazing things. Spectacular even. That's not even the best the game showcases.

 

If I had any complaints, it would be that the game's hints are a bit too obvious at times, and Bruce Campbell doesn't narrate.

[Tara]

The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey and Minnie (SNES)

This is actually a sequel to something.  I used to have the other game, too, but lost it a long time ago.  I don't remember what it's called.  Anyway, great game.  It's short, but it's really fun!  Plus, great co-op!

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)

I would talk more about this one, but I'm afraid there's no a "no fanboy" policy here.

 

Disney's Alladin (SNES)

I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ALL THINKING.  THE GENESIS VERSION IS BETTER.  Now at the risk of being killed, I disagree.  BUT AKITO, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A SWORD IN THE SNES VERSION!  Yes, but hear me out.  You see, while it was not out of Alladin's character to use a sword in the movie, his key feature was intellect and ability to improvise a strategy on a whim.  That's the feeling you get in the SNES version.  You're improvising, as opposed to using brute force.

 

James Bond franchise

Not a huge fan of FPS games, but I've collected the James Bond games over the years and they're fairly well made.  I wouldn't call them amazing, but they're certainly worth their purchase price.

 

Rugrats: Search For Reptar (PlayStation 1)

Okay, I'm going to be honest here.  This is a "fun" game but not a "good" one.  It's full of glitches and terrible gameplay, but it's kept me entertained.  I would say it's redeemed by playing as Reptar destroying the city, but... well, it's astounding how they make playing as a giant, rampaging lizard boring.

 

Ed. Edd. 'n Eddy: This Mis-Edventures (GameCube)

Again, not a very good game, but I was entertained by it.  I recommend it for fans of the show.

 

Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage (SNES)

Actually, I've never played a bad Spider-Man game.  Granted, I know that some exist, but I haven't played them.  There was a Spider-Man game on the Dreamcast I highly recommend, too.

 

Digimon World 4 (GameCube)

A boring, repetitive game alone, but with friends is hours of fun.

 

Wallace and Grommit/Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People (PC)

I put these two together because of their similar gameplay.  Telltale did an amazing job with these games.  I'm not even into point-and-click games and I love these.

 

Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (NES)

I know a lot of us have probably seen the Angry Video Game Nerd review of the game, but I mean, it's really not as bad as the Nerd exaggerates.  I mean, yes, there's A LOT of things wrong with it, but it's good, button-mashing fun.  Those other games are terrible, though.

[Rinzler]

People have already mentioned War and Fall of Cybertron, but does anyone remember the Revenge of the Fallen one? I've heard that the multiplayer in that game is quite good.

[Crash]

Ben 10: Protector Of Earth

 

I have the DS version and honestly think it's pretty good. I've heard the PS2 version is a 2D Beat 'em Up. I haven't played that version though. I got this when I got a DS because I was a Ben 10 fan at the time. It's worth a go because all the aliens have different moves so there's quite a lot of different ways to play it.

[Old dead account]

I don't always play licenced games but when I do I make sure they're damn good.

I think Toy Story has had it pretty good, as well as spongebob, Spiderman is fun and I don't think Batman needs to be mentioned. The only bad licenced games I've played are the Fantastic 4 for PS2, this Jimmy Neutron game for GBA and Monsters Inc for PS1. But other than that not too bad. I think I should try more out...

[Da Blu Hedgie]

Ben 10: Protector Of Earth

 

I have the DS version and honestly think it's pretty good. I've heard the PS2 version is a 2D Beat 'em Up. I haven't played that version though. I got this when I got a DS because I was a Ben 10 fan at the time. It's worth a go because all the aliens have different moves so there's quite a lot of different ways to play it.

No the ps2 one was a 3d beat em up

 

Back on topic: Dang it you all mentioned everyone I would have mentioned, I'd say spongebob  super sponge on the ps1, but nobody liked it but me, also it was very easy and somewhat glitchy. Battle for bikini bottom was fantastic, the movie game was good too (on the ps2 not the gba). 

Star Wars: battlefront 2 was awsome w/multiplayer, I tried playing it again, but I was soooo bad and clueless, lol.

Ghost rider was friggin awsome, sadly i never played it past the 1st level.

Oh snap I forgot Marvel: Ultimate Alliance on the ps2 and xbox 360 man that game was one of the only action rpg's I liked.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Sonana

[Brad]

 

This game was the shit when I was younger. It's like raising your own pet Digimon but it required so much time and dedication and even skill. Essentially you get a pet Digimon that you have to care for (food, toilet, medicine etc.) while making it fight and recruiting important Digimon into File City. The battle system is the funkiest because you can't control your Digimon for the most part, you simply shout out what techniques it should use. This is where it all comes into training.

 

Digimon get hungry too, y'know.

 

Essentially, the foundation is making your Digimon stronger by raising it's stats and keeping it at the correct "status" for proper Digivolutions. These are all separated into HP, MP, Offence, Defence, Speed and Brains. Not only do these have to reach certain critiques within a certain time frame to properly Digivolve, factors such as Care Mistakes, Discipline, Happiness and Weight need to be taken into effect. It's actually a fairly deep system that can be considered even more fun when you don't know the exact way to get the Digivolution you want and you have to experiment. As I had no internet this happened to me a fair lot.

 

Agumon's Bank. Your one stop shop to... store meat and mushrooms. Maybe not so useful.

 

Your Digimon needs to become stronger to take on the many opponents on File Island. Other Digimon have started going haywire and lost their memories of working at the City, so you need to go out and help them come to their senses. These Digimon help advance your city with banks, restaurants, items, hospitals and more. Not only is your Digimon and you becoming stronger, you're also gaining new resources to help you out along the way. File Island is quite large with plenty of places to visit - enough to keep you interested while not becoming repetitive. Maybe I'm just bias of my fond memories with it.

 

Pheonixmon was my first ever Ultimate Digimon. You can imagine the squee on my face when I saw that happen.

 

Like I said, this might just be all biased because I grew up with this on my Playstation, but I feel it's a really enjoyable game. Maybe it just reminds me a bit too much of Pokemon. Either way as a licensed video game for the brand I felt it deserved a lot more positivity. Also, nothing will ever compare to seeing that Digivolution bubble above your Digimon's head, and it slowly transforming in a bright light and you're on the edge of your seat to find out what your hard work has accomplished.

 

Except when you got this asshole.

[Shrek]

Gremlins 2 (NES)

 

The NES's library was absolutely filled to the brim with bad licensed games based on big movies, so finding one that was pretty good is nothing short of rare. It's a solid isometric platforming game that stays fairly accurate to the film, and it was praised by critics when it was first released. The soundtrack is easily one of the best parts of the game, just listen for yourself.

 

 

Lego Adaption Games

 

The Lego games are nothing short of great, they're fairly simple and easy to jump into and have tons of replay value. They have a charming sense of humor and they're surprisingly well designed, encouraging exploration and giving players a reason to replay the stages in order to find all of the secrets.

[Chaos Warp]

People have already mentioned War and Fall of Cybertron, but does anyone remember the Revenge of the Fallen one? I've heard that the multiplayer in that game is quite good.

The multiplayer was decent, but Fall and War are better in that regard, and the single player kinda sucks.

 

Anyway, people have already brought up Spider-Man 2, Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man, which leaves me to bring up another great Spiderman game. 

 

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

 

A great Spideman brawler with FOUR playable Spiderman across four continuities, each with their own unique twists on the playstyle and unique abilities. Amazing Spider-Man is the most agile and uses the most web attacks in combat, Ultimate Spider-Man (pre-Miles Morales USM) gets the black, or venom suit (in which a certain plot-important character holds back it's body-take-over powers so he can use it safely), and a rage metre, Spider-Man 2099 is the fastest, has a time-slow move and has special skydiving sections and Spider-Man Noire has to rely on stealth and sneakily taking down enemies as he doesn't have as much raw power as the other Spidermen. Each Spider-Man gets 3 levels each, and there's a fourth level in which

 

You play as all four Spidermen against the final boss

.

 

Each Spiderman also has their own art style. With a cool in-game challenge system, lots of unlockable combos and level-ups for each Spiderman, and great banter from the heroes in question, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is without question a great Spidey game. Just don't go in expecting something like Spider-Man 2, as it is a level-based brawler.

 

If you're curious, here's the first level of the game: 

 

Look farther into the playthrough to see the other Spidermen's levels and unique twists on the playstyle. 

[Da Blu Hedgie]

The multiplayer was decent, but Fall and War are better in that regard, and the single player kinda sucks.

 

Anyway, people have already brought up Spider-Man 2, Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man, which leaves me to bring up another great Spiderman game. 

 

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

 

A great Spideman brawler with FOUR playable Spiderman across four continuities, each with their own unique twists on the playstyle and unique abilities. Amazing Spider-Man is the most agile and uses the most web attacks in combat, Ultimate Spider-Man (pre-Miles Morales USM) gets the black, or venom suit (in which a certain plot-important character holds back it's body-take-over powers so he can use it safely), and a rage metre, Spider-Man 2099 is the fastest, has a time-slow move and has special skydiving sections and Spider-Man Noire has to rely on stealth and sneakily taking down enemies as he doesn't have as much raw power as the other Spidermen. Each Spider-Man gets 3 levels each, and there's a fourth level in which

 

You play as all four Spidermen against the final boss

.

 

Each Spiderman also has their own art style. With a cool in-game challenge system, lots of unlockable combos and level-ups for each Spiderman, and great banter from the heroes in question, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is without question a great Spidey game. Just don't go in expecting something like Spider-Man 2, as it is a level-based brawler.

 

If you're curious, here's the first level of the game: 

 

Look farther into the playthrough to see the other Spidermen's levels and unique twists on the playstyle. 

Dang it I was gonna mention that one earlier in my post too, oh well.

[Conando]

 

That is all.

 

 

 

Ok, fine. I'll talk about it a bit. Goof Troop is a surprisingly awesome licensed game (as most Capcom Disney games are). The closest thing I can compare it to is a Zelda game of sorts but, that is more in the puzzle solving elements revolving around item use and block puzzles. It's a top down puzzle adventure where even enemy and boss encounters have their own puzzle elements,with things such as luring enemies into a tight corridor to for a kicked block. Also, it's quite challenging, without any hearts Goofy and Max die in one hit, and can only survive one attack WITH hearts. The game is co-op to boot, so you can goof it up with a friend.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Wreck-It Ralph

[Speederino]

 

This game was the shit when I was growing up, everything about it was so amazing. I always used to play on this with my brother.

The PS2 version even had online, apparently

It currently stands at 85 on MetaCritic, this means it's higher than Black Ops, Trine 2 (Wii U), New Super Mario Bros. U and It's Lego counterpart

 

I really miss this one. We had it for the Xbox, but that thing junked out a long time ago and the game itself has vanished into space or something. I still have Two Towers for the Gamecube, but I don't like that one quite as much. It feels rather dated these days, which makes me wonder what I might think of RotK if I ever get the chance to play it again. I hope it still holds up.

 

But I do still have the GBA version of this game, and you know what, this is the perfect opportunity to talk about it as I think that has passed into near-obscurity. Where the console version is a straight-up hack and slash, the handheld version takes more inspiration from something like Diablo. There's plenty of stat building and skill-point allocating in this game, not to mention tons and tons of loot to sell off. You got to play as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Frodo, and Eyown, each with their own storylines that follow the movie much more closely than the console version (albeit the first three all share the exact same story with the only differences being the playstyles).

 

If there was one problem I had with it, it's that the game was FUCKING HARD!!! Now maybe that's just because my 13 year-old self had no clue what he was doing in this sort of game, it's perfectly possible that I mismanaged my stats. Still, whenever I go back and play it, I do get the feeling that there's a lot of luck involved in the combat system. Even with decently balanced stats, a boss might block and dodge all of my attacks, but then die in three seconds upon a reload. The good thing is that there's a New Game+ mode that let's you start over with your leveled-up characters, so if you stick with it you can potentially turn even Frodo into a complete powerhouse.

 

I'm sure I'll be returning to this topic periodically. I could go on about some of the more well-known licensed games, but there are some other obscurities out there I'd like to drag into the spotlight.

Edited January 22, 2013 by Speederino

[Supaidaman]

Gotta agree with everyone who mentioned Spider-Man 2. That game was amazing. Now, one licensed game that I really like is...:

Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3.

 

 

I actually like the entire Tenkaichi series but 3 comes out on top because it has the most characters ever in a DBZ game. It's a 3d fighting game, totally unbalanced. But it's so fun to send people flying around the stage. Tenkaichi is everything I ever wanted from a DBZ game: True over the top fun.

Edited January 22, 2013 by ViniciusLC