There was once a time whenlicensed gameswere a dime a dozen. It seems in more recent years, most likely due to poor reviews and reception from critics and gamers alike, the licensed game has become more of a rarity within the current gaming generation.
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Granted, a lot of the licensed video games from yesteryear were deeply flawed, to put it lightly. But there were several titles which transcended the curse of the licensed game. Here are several, sometimes forgotten,titles for the original PlayStation.
7Die Hard Trilogy
No doubt any gamer who owned a PlayStation One had a copy ofDie Hard Trilogynestled in their collection, most likely due to overly excitable fathers. The real beauty ofDie Hard Trilogyis its absolute gull to create three different types of gameplay for the player and manage to keep each of these modes fresh. For the firstDie Hard, the gameplay is kept to an asymmetrical shooter that allows the player to step into the shoeless soles of John McClane. With a maximum of 3 lives, it’s probably the most punishing section of the whole trilogy.
Die Hard 2: Die Harderprovides the player with a Time Crisis-esquelight-gun arcade shooterand remains the highlight of the whole collection. The final mode opts for a prolonged version of the taxi-cab chase sequence fromDie Hard with a Vengeancebut manages to crank up the adrenaline-fueled madness. Essentially,Die Hard Trilogyis a 3-in-1 compilation game, and while that carries with it a certain fallibility from a gameplay perspective, it does contain more hits than misses. The less said aboutDie Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas, the better.
6Spider-Man
Between 2000 and 2001, Activision would publish some truly great Marvel games, withSpider-Manfrom 2000 being one of the best adaptations of the web-slinger. Although it would be eclipsed four years later with theSpider-Man 2game,Spider-Manwould do some great things even with the console limitations of the PlayStation One. What a rush this original title was for Spidey fans.Spider-Manmakes the most of these limitations and allows the player to stealth around office ceilings, swing across roof-tops and take out goons, all with satisfying ease.
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It crafts a great story of Spider-Man going up against a cadre of villains from his diverse rogue’s gallery, including Venom and a symbiote-infused Doc-Ock. If that wasn’t enough, Spidey also gets to interact and team up with severallegendary Marvel characterssuch as Daredevil, The Punisher, Human Torch and Captain America. It also had a slew of unlockable costumes ripped directly from the comics. Graphics have improved exponentially since 2000, butSpider-Manremains a god-tier license title.
5Blade
Although the wonderfully violent and action-packed film would come out in 1998, a video game on the character wouldn’t be released until 2000 when gamers experienced the Daywalker’s unique vampire-slaying ways. Despite the use of the movie artwork, Blade wouldn’t be an adaptation of the film. Instead, it would use elements from the film, the character and weapon designs for instance, and craft its own film universe-set story. While the reviews for Blade would be less than kind, it did some rather interesting things.
The signature techno soundtrack pulsates through each of the levels, punctuating the vampire-slaying action with aplomb. Players got to use Blade’s legendary sword, could use special rounds in each of the weapons, and were able to perform a selection of limited butimpressive martial arts moves. The level design isn’t perfect and some of the sound effects can get repetitive, along with its gameplay, but it’s still one of the better-licensed titles on the system, flaws, and all.
4X-Men Mutant Academy / X-Men Mutant Academy 2
Fair to say that the PlayStation One wasn’t shy of quality fighting games. It’s also a testament to their cultural impact that most are still held in high regard now. But in between fighters such asTekken 2,Tekken 3, Soul Edge/Soul Blade, andBloody Roar, there would be the occasional-licensed fighting game such asStar Wars: Masters of Teräs KäsiorThe Simpsons Wrestlingwhich left a sour taste in the mouths of gamers.X-Men Mutant Academy&X-Men Mutant Academy 2thankfully do not fall into the latter camp and instead are some of the best-licensed fighters from this generation.
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While there are few differences betweenX-Men Mutant Academy&X-Men Mutant Academy 2aside from a few different characters, each game is a solid experience and remains one of the best 2.5D Marvel-themed fighting games. Whether the player wants to recreate the legendary grudge matches between Wolverine and Sabretooth, have Beast square up against Nightcrawler or Gambit, or even unlock Spider-Man to throw into the mutant mix, both games are a veritable geek feast for X-Men fans.
3Alien Trilogy
Several months beforeDie Hard Trilogyhit the PlayStation One, another 20th Century Fox film series was given the trilogy game treatment withAlien Trilogy. Instead of the three separate game types which its successor opted for,Alien Trilogystuck to being a first-person shooter lifting elements from the first three films at the time. It’s a very loose representation of the film series and opts to make Ripley a marine, instead of a warrant officer who can survive against the odds.
Interestingly, being a rough re-telling of the first three films allows for a little creative license. At the time, FPS games weren’t known for their story-rich narratives, and this is whereAlien Trilogybucks the trend slightly, at least by 1996 standards. Most of the story is told through mission briefings before each level,with the odd cutscene thrown infor good measure. Despite its loose connection to the source material,Alien Trilogyremains a great corridor shooter that nails the atmosphere and tension of the films.
2Sheep Dog N' Wolf
During the Playstation One’s lifespan,licensed cartoon gameswere a dime-a-dozen, particularly those from Looney Tunes. But late in the Playstation One’s life cycle, almost a year after the PlayStation 2’s release, Infogrames released this stealth-puzzle gem based on two of the lesser-knownLooney Tunes characters, Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog. Decades onSheep Dog N’ Wolfremains one of the best final PlayStation One releases.
The concept is pretty straightforward, with the player taking control of Ralph Wolf to devise and execute sneaky ways of separating Sam Sheepdog from the herd, just so he can get a bite to eat. Even with the simple premise, its gameplay loop is ultimately quite addictive. Despite the cell-shaded graphics,Sheep Dog N’ Wolfis as intense as fellow stealth titleMetal Gear Solid. A few decades on, Sheep Dog N’ Wolf is still an occasionally forgotten gem which deserves a larger fanbase.
1Jackie Chan Stuntmaster
There is something about Hong Kong action stars and their cinematic shenanigans that translates incredibly well to video games. Whether it’s Jet Li in the uniqueRise to Honoror Chow Yun Fat inJohn Woo Presents Stranglehold, being able to control these film icons was a dream come true for action film fans and gamers. Despite the simplistic graphics of this Midway title,Jackie Chan Stuntmasterstill manages to grasp the film persona of the martial artist.
InJackie Chan Stuntmasterplayers can harness the action superstar’s acrobatic skills and improvisational fighting techniques, albeit in a more simplistic sense. Various objects such as fishes, chairs, tables and the like, can be used as Jackie lays thebeatdown on countless thugs, which creates an entertaining 3D brawler. Although looked at unfavorably by critics at the time,Jackie Chan Stuntmasterhas garnered something of a cult following and has become one of the PlayStation One’s most collectible titles in recent years.
