Wolverine for iPhone: How to botch a movie tie-in
Pair the iPhone accelerometer with Wolverine's slashing claws and you could have a pretty fun fighting game. This isn't it. Not even close. Not even a game, in fact.
Even if "Terminator: Salvation" turns out to be a forgettable movie, you're likely to remember the eponymous iPhone game--by all accounts a fantastic third-person shooter.
The tie-in app for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine?" Not so much.
For any other movie studios planning their own iPhone-oriented marketing efforts, here's a list of what not to do:
- Release the app a week after the movie opens.
- Give it a ridiculously lengthy title, like X-Men Origins: Wolverine The Game - Feral Sense. So, please, no "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian: Ben Stiller Versus the Mummy's Curse."
- Bill it as a game when it's clearly not.
- Tie into the video game version of the movie rather than the movie itself.
To recap, then, X-Men Origins: Wolverine The Game - Feral Sense (whew--got tired typing that a second time) just hit the App Store--right in time to capitalize on the movie's generally poor reviews.
Although it says "game" right in the title, it's not a game at all. Rather, it's a full-on marketing tool; you're supposed to "go out into the world and discover the icons we've hidden in stores, packaging, trailers, and other hard-to-find places." Uh, really?
When you find one of these icons, you photograph it from within the app to unlock trailers and wallpaper--for the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Uncaged Edition" game for PCs and consoles. Woo! Are we having fun yet?
In all fairness, I haven't seen the movie or played the video game. But after this, I'm slightly less interested in either one. Note to marketing department: fail.