Video game crossovers are nothing new, whether they’re absolutely mindblowing like the first time we saw Sonic in Smash Brothers, or promotional events like when we saw Thanos appear in Fortnite. Sometimes though, these crossovers can be pretty weird and out there and these are the crossovers I’d like to explore, so strap in, grab a friend from another franchise, and let’s take a look at some of the more bizarre crossovers in video game history.
Isaac Clarke (Dead Space) in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
Listen. I don’t know anything about golf other than what I played in Golf Story and I don’t think that’s an entirely accurate representation (though I wish it was). So as far as I’m aware, golf doesn’t have a lot of horror elements and monsters to kill. But then, everyone needs a vacation now and then and Isaac Clarke is clearly no exception.
Isaac appears as an unlockable costume in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 3, complete with corresponding achievement titled “No Known Survivors”. Which in itself is kind of concerning and as far as I’m aware killing people isn’t in the spirit of golf, but again, I don’t play it so I wouldn’t know.
Still, I can’t imagine a suit like that is practical to play in but hey, live and let golf.
Raiden and Shinnok (Mortal Kombat) in NFL Blitz
I don’t know what it is about sports games that lends itself to weird crossovers so well, but this one is up there with some of the stranger ones. While not unexpected, given both Mortal Kombat and NFL Blitz are both developed by Midway, seeing Raiden playing some American football instead of ripping dudes apart with his bare hands can be a little weird at first.
NFL Blitz was a yearly series, with a new game each year up until 2012 that altered the rules of American football slightly for faster and more aggressive gameplay to make it more fun and interesting. I don’t know the rules of NFL so I can’t really comment further than that, because I tried to watch it on TV once, got frustrated they stopped for whatever reason every five minutes and changed the channel to watch some Nigella Lawson like the cultured individual I am.
Of course, this being Midway, the game was also a little more violent than traditional football because as far as I’m aware the rules don’t allow wrestling moves. But you never know, I never finished watching the game.
Mega Man(?) in Street Fighter x Tekken
One of the stranger things about video game history is the box art of classic games. It was a common trend in America to try and make cuter games seem a little more ‘hardcore’ and Mega Man was one of those games. A lot of you are aware that Mega Man is a cute little fella. Very blue, looks like a kid, you’d give him a hug if you saw him in the street.
Box art Mega Man appeared on the box for the first Mega Man title in America on the NES. He was a grown-ass man that looked absolutely nothing like Mega Man and was more akin to something you’d see in an FPS game, presumably because the cuter one wouldn’t appeal to American audiences, or something.
Instead of resigning him to being a horror of years past, Capcom embraced this strange man for his comedic value and used him in the PS3/Vita version of Street Fighter x Tekken. His moveset is very similar to his appearance in Marvel vs. Capcom but his appearance is… Like that.
Doomguy (Doom) in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
Slaying demons is hard work. Sometimes you need a break, and skateboarding can deliver a kind of release. We all need hobbies, and when not looking after his pet rabbit, Doomguy likes doing some sick flips and stuff, apparently.
He’s exclusive to the PC version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, which Gearbox ported to PC and the publisher, Activision, wanted to do a cross promotion as Doom 3 was being released around the same time.
Doomguy is full of fun little references, like his hometown being listed as Mesquite, Texas, which is also the location of the id Software headquarters. His unlock code is even ‘idkfa’, the classic unlock all weapons cheat from the original game.
I know I wouldn’t stand in the way of this demon slaying space marine having a nice time doing some sick stunts.
