A few decades on, there remains a significant number of licensed games from thePlayStation 2that continue to hold a special place in the hearts of many gamers. After the overabundance of PlayStation 1 licensed games, the quality started to even out a bit more, leading to gamers being blessed with several great titles from television, film, or comic books.
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While there were more than a handful of poor titles, most of these have thankfully faded into gaming obscurity. Bad games aside, here are seven licensed titles that are still the gold standard in licensed games over 20 years later.
7Godzilla: Save The Earth
During the PlayStation 2 life cycle, Godzilla would be a prevalent fixture with a total of three titles, two of which ended up on the PlayStation 2, withGodzilla: Save the Earthbeing acknowledged as the best of the three games.Godzilla: Save the Earthis an absolute dream come true, not just for Toho fans but for character-fighting players as well. All the usual suspects are present, Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan, but it also has some deeper cuts with appearances by Maugeri from Ishiro Honda’sThe Mysterians, Jet Jaguar, and Megalon.
WhereGodzilla: Save the Earthexcelled was in its couch co-op gameplay, where players could create their Toho monster dream team. Outside of the ludicrous fun of the standard gameplay modes,Godzilla: Save the Earthalso came with additional activities such as Battleships mode, which allowed the player to roam around asone of the monster’sdestroying battleships, and a bizarre basketball mode called Vorillium Basketball, which leans into Toho’s sillier Showa-eraGodzillaentries. It’s easy to see why fans areclamoring for a remake or re-release.
6Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds
As any player can attest, licensed games can be rather hit or miss, particularly with titles adapted from a television series. During the PlayStation 2’s life cycle players would encounter several poor television-to-game translations with the likes ofKnight Rider,Miami Vice,24: The Game, andThe Shield. One title did manage to avoid the poor licensed game curse,Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds.
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Following the Xbox-onlyBuffy the Vampire Slayertitle two years prior, developers Eurocom Entertainment Software would createBuffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleedsfor multiple platforms and allowed the player to slay demons and the undead not just as Buffy, but as a number of the Scooby Gang as well. It remains a fun little off-shoot from the fifth series involving alternative dimensions. It would even have a tie-in comic and novel for those wanting even more of aBuffy the Vampire Slayerfix.
5James Bond: Everything or Nothing
The PlayStation 2, like its predecessor the PlayStation 1, was no slouch when it came toJames Bond-centric titles. There could be an argument to say both consoles suffered from an oversaturation of titles featuring the world-renowned spy and womanizer, but any gamer willing to rummage through the copious titles would be greeted with more than a handful of quality gaming experiences. One such title would beJames Bond: Everything or Nothing, the thirdBondtitle to release in little over three years.
It would be developer EA Redwood Shores’ second attempt at the secret agent and the one to have a lasting impression on both players and critics. With some great action set pieces, such as abseiling down a mineshaft as it collapses, and the inclusion of Pierce Bronson’s likeness and vocals, it was a great final send-off for his iteration of the spy after the dire cinematic offering ofDie Another Day. Throw in Willem Defoe as KGB agent Nikolai Diavolo and an appearance by classicBondhenchman Jaws, andJames Bond: Everything or Nothingis a near-perfect licensed game.
4The Simpsons: Hit & Run
The Simpsons: Hit & Runis a game that a certain generation of players are salivating at the prospect of it having either a re-release or remaster, due in large part to the wonderful memories attached to it. And rightly so, asThe Simpsons: Hit & Runmanages to take everything from its prior title,The Simpsons: Road Rage,and expand it into a beloved classic full ofopen-world mischief.
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IfThe Simpsons: Road Ragewas a riff on SEGA’sCrazy Taxi, thenThe Simpsons: Hit & Runis a family-friendlyGrand Theft Autoclone, and that’s no bad thing. Being able to switch between countless characters from the show, all voiced by their respective actors, and drive various cars or karts from iconic episodes while causing wanton destruction & mayhem in a 3D Springfield. It was a dream come true for fans of the show. Outside of some frustrating missions,The Simpsons: Hit & Runis that rare beast, a blast of nostalgia with fundamentally great gameplay.
3Batman: Vengeance
Before Rocksteady’sBatman: Arkham Asylumcreated a critically acclaimed legacy and long-running game series, Ubisoft would, in one of their many licenced titles, release the bestBatmangame of the early 2000s withBatman: Vengeance. Although it wasn’t the first game set within Bruce Timm’s art-deco-stylised Gotham, it would be the first entry to do the unique setting justice.
Returning fromBatman: The Animated Serieswould be legendary voice-over artists like the late Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong, and Arleen Sorkin, all of whom would reprise their roles from the seminal show. While the combat and moment would not be as fluid asin the laterArkhamgames, nevertheless controlling Batman inBatman: Vengeancewas still a joy, as was getting to use a plethora of his wonderful toys and gadgets.
2Ghost Rider
Despite the feature film’s critical mauling at the hands of fans and critics alike, the reaction to 2007’sGhost Riderfilm has softened over the years, sometimes falling into the so-bad-its-good camp. Although it would get a soft-reboot-cum-semi-sequel in 2012 withGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which would also be critically savaged, the original film did get an in-universe sequel of sorts shortly after its theatrical release. A mixture ofDevil May Cry,God of War, andRoad Rashwould create the highly entertaining and aptly titled tie-inGhost Rider.
Granted, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel and falls very much into the clone-title territory, but those who sit down with the game in 2023 will find a fun, adrenaline-fuelled, demonic smack-down and possibly the bestGhost Rider-themed game outside ofMarvel’s Midnight Suns. A bonus for theGhost Ridergame is the ability to unlock Blade as a playable character with his unique move-set, individual cut-scenes, and bike sections.Ghost Rideris still one of the great unsung tie-in games more than a decade on.
1Def Jam: Fight for NY
With its original title,Def Jam: Vendetta, developers AKI Corporation & EA Canada created one of the best EA Sports Big titles by mashing up rap stars with pro-wrestling mechanics to impressive effect. A year and a half later the same developers would releaseDef Jam: Fight for NY,which took the best elements of the previous title and expanded everything to ridiculous heights. Better music, a roster of 67 fighters to choose from, great finishing moves, a ludicrously entertaining story mode, and interactable stages to fight in all accumulates into the perfect fighting concoction, whether the player was a fan of the Def Jam label or not.
Along withThe Simpsons: Hit & Run, it remains one of the most iconic licensed video games. Want to play as Ice-T facing off against Flavor Flav, engage in a smack-down between Henry Rollins and Snoop Dog, or see Ludacris drop-kick Sean Paul? ThenDef Jam: Fight for NYis the perfect game. The hope for a remaster is strong among the gaming community, and if the music licensing could be worked out, a whole new generation would discover this classic fighter.
