Let’s be honest—the PlayStation 2 was a beast. With a catalog so big, you could spend decades excavating it and still find buried treasures (or abominations). For each legendary release like Metal Gear Solid 2 or GTA III, there’s a tomb of film and TV tie-ins gathering dust and shame. Some were lazy cash-ins, others were just broken messes—but all of them made us wish we’d rented something else from Blockbuster. Here’s a countdown of the worst of the worst: the PS2’s most infamous licensed flops, ranked from bad to borderline unplayable.
10. Disney Move
Before the Wii made motion gaming hip, the PS2 took a stab at it with the EyeToy. Say hello to Disney Move, a collection of mini-games so rough, the EyeToy seemed possessed. Main Street Electrical Arcade deemed it “basically broken,” and they’re correct. The controls didn’t work, turning what should have been awesome party games into agony-filled flailing sessions. Early motion controls promised much—this wasn’t it.
9. Disney’s PK: Out of the Shadows
Donald Duck takes on a superhero alter ego in this awkward 3D action game that’s more clunky than courageous. The levels are filled with annoying timers, and the camera seems designed to sabotage you. As Main Street Electrical Arcade put it, you’re not just fighting enemies—you’re fighting the game itself. Donald deserved a heroic moment, not this quacking disaster.
8. Fight Club
If ever there was a game that utterly failed to capture the essence of the film it’s taken from, this one is it. In place of satire, you have a dull fighting game with lackluster graphics and a strangely random cast (Fred Durst and Abraham Lincoln, anyone?). Den of Geek got it just right: the characters all have the same feel, the fighting is dull, and the entire experience is like a bad dream—one you can battle your way through, but not have fun with.
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
This one appeared fine on paper initially, but once you got in, it made sweet dreams into stale play. The slow controls, cumbersome platforming, and Oompa Loompa micromanaging drained the magic from Wonka’s universe. WatchMojo called it “lifeless” and “boring,” with slideshow cutscenes to top it off. The chocolate river may have run, but this game didn’t.
6. The Sopranos: Road to Respect
You’d expect a game based on The Sopranos to deliver drama, tension, and solid writing. What you get is a clunky brawler without any of the show’s soul. It looks terrible, plays atrociously, and plays like bargain bin fan fiction. Den of Geek got it right: “an absolute chore.” If Tony Soprano played this, he’d most likely snap the disc in two and call it a day.
5. Catwoman
Halle Berry’s Catwoman film already had a bad reputation, but the game carried it further. Terrible graphics, weightless controls, and comedy voice acting all coalesce into one giant digital pratfall. Den of Geek summed it up succinctly: the game is as terrible as the film—possibly worse. The one thing it gets right is how not to create a superhero game.
4. Bad Boys: Miami Takedown
The Bad Boys movies are over-the-top fun. This game? Not really. It’s a generic shooter in which every level is the same thing: walk into a room, shoot everyone, repeat. The voice acting hurts, the dialogue is cringeworthy, and the story is. Barely present. As WatchMojo succinctly put it, it’s the definition of “by the numbers.” Even action fans who love mindless action would not be able to sit through this.
3. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
How do you screw up playing as the Terminator? This game managed to. The gunplay is flat, the visuals are sad, and the random bouts of fighting-game action look like some other title was inserted in there wholesale. WatchMojo trashed it based on its color scheme alone—post-apocalyptic but somehow less exciting. Skynet had no chance, but neither did your patience.
2. Charlie’s Angels
Campy films, terrible game. Charlie’s Angels on PS2 feels like an incomplete beat ’em up in which the animations don’t even look like they’re supposed to represent human motion. It looks and feels hastily put together and re-packaged at the last second. WatchMojo speculated it was supposed to be another game altogether—and really, that would make a lot of sense. None of this feels like an actual tie-in.
1. Beverly Hills Cop
And here it is: the very bottom of the barrel. Released solely in Europe (for obvious reasons), Beverly Hills Cop is an FPS by name only. It bears no resemblance to Eddie Murphy’s movies beyond the title and features a bald man who may or may not be called Axel Foley. Den of Geek wasn’t shy, declaring it “one of the worst, laziest” games ever torched onto a disc. It’s ugly, it’s broken, and it’s somehow both offensive to gamers and film enthusiasts.
There you have it—the PS2 tie-in games you should steer clear of unless you’re hunting down gaming disasters. Rushed to market, half-arsed, or just outright terrible, these games serve as a reminder that not everything licensed is worth its weight in gold. Sometimes, it’s just shovelware masquerading as something legitimate. Got one of these on your shelf? It’s okay. We’ve all made bad rental decisions.