10 Video Games That Had No Right Being This Good

As long-time gamers will know, the phrase “the official game of the movie” isn’t one that tends to be very promising. Adaptations of movies are, far too often, low-effort cash-ins on a popular name, not doing the subject matter justice.

This isn’t always the case, and licensed titles can be wonderful things when treated with due care and respect. The hilarity of Minority Report, the quality of Marvel's Spider-Man titles or even the Arkham games are testament to that.

Perhaps unbelievably, King Kong is a title worthy of mention in the same breath.

The most crucial thing licensed video games should deliver, and the thing they tend not to, more often than not, is the feeling of being that character.

Superman 64 was a notorious failure because ‘being’ the Man of Steel should have been at least 85,000 times more satisfying than it was in-game. You want to feel powerful, you want to take part in cinematic battles, and this is one area where King Kong shined. Kong felt like the mighty, brutish-yet-intelligent creature he is, and every blow struck felt as powerful as it should.

Thankfully, there was more to the game, featuring sections where one Jack Driscoll takes over, providing FPS variety without slowing down the action too much. The world Ubisoft created was authentic and faithful, and while licensed titles don't often get any of these things right, all aspect blended into a very special, now nostalgic experience that still holds up.