20 Licensed PS3 Games You FORGOT Were Awesome
20 Licensed PS3 Games You Forgot Were Awesome
Welcome to MojoPlays and the PS3 was the last golden era for licensed games with so many worth your time, some of the best either got overlooked or have been forgotten to time by all but us. We’ll never leave you behind licensed PS3 games.
“Gotham City Imposters” (2012)
Gotham City Imposters was an idea so bizarre; some might have believed it to be an early April Fool’s Joke. Donning the guises of Batman and Joker “Imposters,” players would proceed to shoot each other with the reckless abandon you’d expect from the crazies of Gotham City. The combination of Team Fortress 2 style visuals and fast paced Call of Duty gunplay with the addition of numerous gadgets like grappling hooks, explosive pies, freeze guns and more kept combat unpredictable and leaned into the zany concept and art style. Matches were designed to be incredibly fast paced, which naturally led to quite a lot of on-screen chaos across the equally ridiculously designed maps that accounted for player experimentation. The simple pick up and play gameplay style made it approachable, but the tonal shift from the brooding Arkham games didn’t find an audience and the game was ultimately shut down.
“Avatar: The Game” (2009)
It cannot be overstated what a cultural impact Avatar had when it released in 2009. And while the video game never received the same widespread recognition or accolades as the film, for the time, it was the closest fans could get to exploring Pandora. Pandora within the game can be downright gorgeous at times and perfectly recaptures the feeling of seeing the world for the first time and the game even supported 3D at release just like the movie. With both human and Navi campaigns, both offered differing playstyles that made each side feel unique. The gameplay itself might not have been revolutionary, just your standard third person shooter, but it was being able to explore the world, ride a Banshee, and experience an entirely original narrative set within the world of Pandora that made it so impressive. Not too bad for a 2009 movie tie-in.
“Marvel Ultimate Alliance” (2006)
As longtime fans of comics, particularly Marvel, the idea of all our favorite heroes teaming up together in one game was something we always hoped for, and the result was even better than we had dreamed. With a shocking roster of 140 heroes and villains, building your ideal squad to tackle missions and lay the beat down on anything in your way was glorious in the best way. Sure, the combat was a bit button mashy, but if you managed to build the perfect team or play with 4 real life friends, it didn’t matter how repetitive the combat got, you were still having a great time watching your favorite heroes unleash their ultimate powers. The story was equally epic in scale, full of iconic locations from the comics and plenty of fan service around every corner. The graphics might not be as good as we remembered, but the fun is as timeless as the heroes themselves.
“Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters” (2011)
One of the rare cases where the video game adaptation is far superior to the movie it’s based on, adapting the Green Lantern’s powers is no enviable task, but to the devs credit, Rise of the Manhunters does an admirable job. The ability to create multiple types of constructs using the Power Ring is the real draw of the gameplay, allowing players to easily chain constructs together or switch between melee, ranged or crowd control on the fly. The beat ‘em up style action is surprisingly satisfying and impactful and unlocking new constructs keeps combat interesting when the game starts feeling a bit too linear. The game’s production values are also surprisingly high, even managing to get Ryan Reynolds to reprise his role as Hal Jordan, and the numerous constructs are quite impressively designed. While the Green Lantern movie might be a joke now, the game showcased the potential the film was lacking.
“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game” (2010)
Scott Pilgrim vs The World was already a love letter to retro arcade games, so it’s only fitting Scott got one of his own. And unlike many other quick cash grab beat ‘em ups, Scott Pilgrim vs The World not only paid homage to its classic roots but modernized many of the mechanics to make it a classic on its own. The art style is downright gorgeous, full of vibrant hand drawn animations and detailed sprite characters that just oozed charm right off the screen, made even better by the chiptune style score that kept you tapping your toes as much as you mashed the buttons. The gameplay itself was equally fun with responsive controls, upgradeable stats, and optional four player co-op for additional chaos. Basically whether you’re a fan of the series, the movie or just the beat ‘em up genre, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a generational classic that is as timeless as its influences.
“G-Force” (2009)
This one might seem odd but stick with us here. While the movie itself is wildly forgettable, the video game tie-in is a remarkably fun time and makes you wonder why the team behind the game didn’t work on the movie to make it better. The environments and characters are surprisingly detailed for what would typically be a cheap cash grab, the variety of platforming and gadgets work in tandem with one another, making navigating the world effortless, and combat encounters don’t feel forced or repetitive and help break up the traditional platforming. The game oozes charm from its little rodents and the inclusion of the film’s voice cast makes the game feel like an extension of the film rather than a bargain bin title. Everything about the game just works and even if you’re not a fan of the film, you can still have a good time taking on these guinea pigs’ missions.
“Injustice: Gods Among Us” (2013)
Injustice finally answered the playground question we all had growing up: “Who would win in a fight between Superman and Batman?” Not only did NetherRealm craft one of their most balanced and impressive fighting games, but the roster was absolutely stacked with 24 playable characters at launch, with more added through DLC, each with their own unique powers and abilities fans were familiar with. Stages were impressively interactive, featuring multiple levels adding another layer of strategic depth to encounters and made battles more over-the-top and filled with spectacle. The “What If” narrative of Superman turning against all his former allies spawned an entire new series of comics and stories building off the foundation the game built full of unexpected twists and moments with emotional weight. The brutality of NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat series might have been significantly toned down but was still a vast improvement over Mortal Kombat vs DC.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (2007)
Years before Edward Kenway would set sail, players had the chance to set out on the high seas with arguably the best fictional pirate of all time, Jack Sparrow. At World’s End might have been overlooked as simply another tie-in game at launch, but that’s doing Jack and the Black Pearl a disservice. The game is downright gorgeous, even today, with incredibly detailed character models and environments, and simply exploring the world feels alive. The game offers players a sprawling and dangerous world, full of puzzles to solve, intense naval combat, and epic boss fights on the scale of the blockbuster films. Even basic combat is fun and engaging, with fast paced and dynamic sword fights that make incredible use of the environment to keep each encounter feeling fresh. It might not be the greatest pirate game you have ever heard of, but you have heard of it mate and should set a course for that horizon.
“Goldeneye 007: Reloaded” (2010)
Goldeneye on the N64 will forever remain a classic for many gamers. However, for anyone who’s tried to replay it recently, it might not hold up as well as you remember. However, the updated 007: Reloaded not only looks and plays like you remember, but in a lot of ways, improves on what we already considered the gold standard back in the day. Updated graphics and controls make navigating the familiar hallways and corridors a breeze and the improved and updated character models and environments breathes new life into the N64’s blocky models and textures. And what would Goldeneye be without its multiplayer? The best part of Goldeneye has also been vastly improved with countless modifiers and customization options and plenty of maps. The only real caveat is Reloaded replacing Pierce Brosnan with Daniel Craig, but this is negligible when the rest of the game is so good.
“The Incredible Hulk” (2008)
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction remains one of the best solo Hulk games of all time, but for some reason, the tie-in to the Edward Norton Incredible Hulk movie isn’t mentioned in the same breath, DESPITE replicating much of what made the PS2 game so iconic. Thanks to the upgraded power of the PS3, the destruction the Hulk can leave in his wake is far more devastating and the impact of the Hulk on the environment feels much more weighted than ever before. With hundreds of collectibles to upgrade The Hulk’s stats, The Incredible Hulk is the ultimate power fantasy, allowing players to get stronger as the game progresses to further destroy the world to their heart’s content. The addition of mini-games and countless side quests can easily distract you for hours and the massive Manhattan map is a blast to explore and destroy. Ignore the haters and give into your inner anger. Hulk Smash!
“Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga” (2007)
Lego getting the Star Wars license was the best thing that happened to them and adapting the original six films into Lego was the perfect blend of fun and nostalgia for both longtime fans and newcomers to Star Wars. With all six films, the good ones, fully playable along with over 160 unlockable and playable characters, The Complete Saga was a treasure trove of callbacks, references and nods for Star Wars aficionados while also being incredibly approachable for younger players. The Force powers worked wonderfully in the Lego-verse allowing players to solve puzzles with their myriad of abilities or just causing as much chaos as possible. Especially with the drop in, drop out co-op which remains some of the best in the Lego games. The latest Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga is still great fun, but there’s something more classically fun about The Complete Saga that can’t be beat.
“Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension” (2011)
(All in Doofenshmirtz voice) What is this? A Phineas and Ferb game with a platypus? What’s so special about that? A Phineas and Ferb game with Perry the Platypus?! You got these two little kids running and jumping around, creating all kinds of weird and wacky inventions? That’s my schtick! I mean just look at them, solving puzzles, teaming up together to craft stronger weapons and even wackier inventions like the carbonator. I mean what even is that? It shoots soda? What could possibly be the purpose of that and oh my that’s really quite effective isn’t it? And look at that he’s using special gloves to climb the walls, why didn’t I think of that? And hey look at that, the world looks just like Danville and oh look at the variety of those worlds, so impressive. Goodness, I know if I grew up watching Phineas and Ferb, this is exactly the kind of game I’d want to play.
“Lord of the Rings: Conquest” (2009)
Remember how awesome it was playing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Return of the King back on the PS2? Somehow Lord of the Rings Conquest didn’t receive the same amount of attention from fans despite doing an admirable job of recreating the formula that made those games so memorable and fun. Combat was deeper with the addition of classes and each class has its own unique skills and abilities in battle. Players can even temporarily become one of the main heroes from the Lord of the Rings as you battle your way through the biggest and most iconic conflicts in the series. An additional campaign that lets players play a “What if Sauron Won” style scenario lets players see the conflict from the other side and have access to classes traditionally unavailable in these types of games. Shame it never reached the heights of Mount Doom like the other titles.
“The Darkness II” (2012)
The Darkness 2 is what happens when you don’t shut down a studio after the first game only sells a million copies. Improving on nearly everything from the original, the graphics which ditched the gritty realism of the first game for a cel shaded noir style closer to the comics were only the start of the changes made between entries. The Darkness 2 tells a much tighter supernatural mob story than the first and skews closer to the source material with a dark sense of humor and over-the-top violence. The Darkness powers continue to be some of the most fun additions to the traditional first-person shooter with attacks that feel brutal and satisfying. Plus watching the two heads fight over human hearts is always entertaining. With near perfect playtime, the game keeps the content rolling with new powers, enemies and environments that allow you to unleash the full strength of The Darkness to your heart’s content.
“Deadpool” (2013)
Deadpool is a difficult character to nail down in video games. His ability to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience or interact with the world has every potential to be game breaking, yet his 2013 solo outing brought to life by the brilliant Nolan North managed to nail the character years before Ryan Reynolds became the de facto Deadpool. Gameplay mostly consists of hack and slash melee and gunplay, but Deadpool also has access to increasingly ridiculous weaponry which perfectly aligns with his character. The Deadpool game fully understands how ridiculous the character is and fully embraces it, routinely speaking directly to the player about the game’s script, upgrades, and even through Deadpool’s interactions with the many other familiar heroes roped into cameos in the game. The Deadpool game is everything fans of the anti-hero could have wanted, and he wrapped it all up in a nice big package for them.
“Batman: Arkham Origins” (2013)
The black sheep of the Arkham-verse, Arkham Origins gets a lot of shade simply for not being developed by Rocksteady, even being completely overlooked from the Arkham Collection. Origins tells well, the origins of Bruce in only his second year as Batman and how his inexperience as the masked crime fighter leads to some obvious growing pains. Really the only thing the game lacks compared to the other Arkham titles is Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, but Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker still deliver great performances respectively. The combat is as solid as you’d expect as the third game utilizing the formula the Arkham series pioneered, and Origins leans harder into the investigative side of the Dark Knight than any other Arkham game. Overall, Batman Arkham Origins deserved a lot more recognition than it received at release and since, but thankfully the game has become more retrospectively appreciated by longtime fans.
“South Park: The Stick of Truth” (2014)
South Park has a pretty storied history with video games with most being just downright terrible. Somehow, it took almost two decades for the beloved series to get a worthy video game adaptation and damn did they nail it. Not only was the world and characters lifted right off the screen, but the game’s story felt like a lost season with hilarious side quests, cameos and collectible callbacks for longtime fans. It wasn’t just the aesthetic that The Stick of Truth nailed either. Combat was surprisingly deep and engaging and simply exploring South Park as an open world for the first time was a joy, uncovering hidden easter eggs or secrets for fans to find. The Stick of Truth would be nothing without its controversial humor and thankfully the devs and creators didn’t hold back. Even if you’re not a fan of South Park, The Stick of Truth is a worthy RPG all on its own.
“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” (2008)
We’ve had countless Star Wars games over the many decades since the franchise began, but only one game made us truly feel the power of the Force. The Force Unleashed’s Starkiller allowed millions of Star Wars fans to live out their fantasies of wielding some of the most powerful Force abilities along with some of the most acrobatic lightsaber combat this side of the prequels. The story wasn’t anything revolutionary, although the angle of playing as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice was at least an interesting angle, but it was the game’s use of Force abilities and lightsaber combat that kept players hooked. The game was remarkably interactive, allowing you to use your Force powers on nearly anything that wasn’t nailed down, and The Force Unleashed made you feel like an all-powerful Force wielder in a way no game in the Star Wars universe had before or since.
“Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” (2008)
Between the original stories and the deluge of movie tie-ins, we had an overabundance of Spidey adventures, and we took them all for granted, complaining there were too many Spider-Man games. And now look. One every half a decade. It’s likely because of this oversaturation that Web of Shadows didn’t get the appreciation it deserved upon release. Almost everything about Web of Shadows was as solid as you’d expect from a mid-2000s Spider-Man game, the webswinging was peak, the combat was impactful and snappy, and a New York overrun by the Venom symbiote offered not only unique gameplay opportunities but also player agency with branching paths. Web of Shadows even included Symbiote versions of multiple heroes and villains, giving longtime fans fresh takes on each character. Web of Shadows deserved far more love than we gave it credit for and in retrospect might be one of the best Spider-Man games many have ever played.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)
As unquestionably the most popular member of the X-Men, you would think we’d have as many Wolverine video games as we do Spider-Man, but with only a couple tie-in games, the pickings are pretty slim. However, the tie-in game for X-Men Origins: Wolverine showed other devs not only how it should be done, but fans why it’s so difficult to nail down the feeling of being Wolverine. Particularly the brutality of Wolverine’s combat. In Origins, players get to unleash the full rage of Wolverine, slicing and dicing enemies and really anything unfortunate enough to cross his path, carving a bloody trail all the way to the credits. Although the game still mostly follows the disappointing film, it's the gameplay that fans are here for. And the gratuitous amounts of blood. Simply watching Wolverine’s wounds heal in real time is enough to bring a smile to any comic fan’s face.
What was your favorite licensed game back on the PS3? Share your picks in the comments.
