The Player

Summer will see the release of numerous game/film tie-ins, writes JOE GRIFFIN

One of the first pages of The Ticket'sgaming section had side-by-side reviews of tie-in games. Both were Disney Interactive products and both were for the Nintendo DS, but the difference in quality was startling: Alice in Wonderlandwas described as "charming and elegant," the Jonas Brothers game as "staggeringly half-assed".

Another Disney game, the forthcoming Toy Story 3, is generating a lot of positive buzz. Judging by the game trailer, it certainly lookssnazzy and fun, like a more sophisticated version of Ratchet and Crank.

A major factor in the quality of a tie-in is the film-makers themselves.

For example, Vin Diesel's name above a movie poster doesn't bode well, but his image on a videogame pack is always welcome. An avid gamer, Diesel was among the founders of Tigon studios, which, in 2004, developed The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay,a prequel to Diesel films Pitch Blackand The Chronicles of Riddick. The acclaimed game was followed last year by The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.

Last year Diesel told Gamespot.com that "some of the games that were adapted to movies . . . were licensed off to game companies and there was never any kind of relationship between the game company and the company making the movie. In my estimation it made for poor games."

Going the other way, the Lego games are made independently of film-makers and serve as affectionate spoofs of the movies. The Lego figures are cute, the gameplay imaginative and

the cut-scenes often more entertaining than the originals. Indeed, it might be argued that some of the Lego Star Warsgames are more respectful of fans than the recent films have been.

Goldeneyealso merits a mention as a genuinely classic first-person shooter. Neither a pastiche nor collaboration, it's a glorious exception to the anomaly.

Sadly, for every Lego Star Warsor Indiana Jones, there are dozens of cheap, bug- filled, hastily assembled cash-ins: Maxim.com recently published a Top 10 Greatest Movie Video Game Adaptations list. Tellingly, the list couldn't be completed without stuffing it with mediocre titles such as King Kongand The Matrix: Path of Neo.

Of course, the lesson one should take is to try before you buy, or at least read a review or two. Failing that, keep an eye out for Vin Diesel or a Lego character. We wait in vain for the ultimate tie-in: Lego Chronicles of Riddick.