As someone who has had to review dozens of bad movie-licensed games over the years, I think it's safe to say that I'm generally terrified of them. For me, having an open mind about a game based on a movie is less "Let's see what this game has to offer" and more "I hope this game doesn't make me want to quit my job."
Given my jaded position on the genre, it's kind of freaking me out that I'm interested in playing not one, but two movie-licensed games: Transformers and Ghostbusters. I don't think that I'm quite ready to roll the dice on both games at once, so I'm going to list my personal pros and cons for each to determine a winner. Once I make my decision I'll rent the game, play it to completion, and share my experience with you next week.
This is my version of game-reviewer therapy and you're invited along for the ride. Let's take a look at the two candidates:
Candidate #1: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
GameRankings review average: 73.6%
Pros:
I loved the Transformers toys growing up.
I was somehow able to look past the last movie's many shortcomings and enjoy it.
I get the sense that a lot of people are genuinely enjoying the game and not just tolerating it.
The Transformers look really cool in the game.
Original episodes of the cartoon are unlockable.
Cons:
Everyone says the most recent movie is a turd. Unfortunately, this game is mostly based on said turd.
The reviews agree that the controls are cumbersome at best. I'm not always patient with lousy controls.
Multiplayer seems to be the game's best feature, but this isn't a big selling point for me because I don't have friends to play against and I hate playing with strangers.
"Mindless and repetitive, but fun" is a phrase I hate, but I'm hearing it a lot about this game. I need one aspect of the game to actually be fun. Perhaps even awesome.
Candidate #2: Ghostbusters: The Video Game
GameRankings review average: 80.1%
Pros:
New script and dialog from the original movies' actors.
Trapping ghosts seems to be similar to Luigi's Mansion and I liked that game quite a bit.
Doesn't sound particularly frustrating.
Includes Ray Parker Jr.'s awesome song.
Cons:
I never really "loved" the Ghostbusters movies. I saw them on video and thought they were decent. This game seems to have lots of fan service, which will be lost on me.
Like Transformers, this game's best feature is multiplayer, and that doesn't do much for me.
Once again, the reviews all agree that the game gets repetitive.
My Choice: Ghostbusters
I was leaning toward Transformers when I started writing this column, but I changed my mind after skimming a few reviews and evaluating what's most important to me. Transformers reminds me too much of Mercenaries 2. I absolutely loathed that game, but some people enjoyed blowing stuff up and were able to ignore the bugs, repetitive gameplay, and awful story. Ghostbusters seems more likely to entertain me. I feel as though I'll enjoy wrangling ghosts and I'm interested in the story, even though it doesn't seem to be spectacular.
Could it be that this little exercise was actually useful? I won't know until I've played the game, but I do feel better about my decision now. Check back next week to find out how I fared with Ghostbusters.
