The 10 best video games based on movies
The world of video games is a seriously big business, although it’s often made more lucrative by the current state of micro-transactions and other such derided features. Many of us play video games, not merely for gameplay, though, but rather to experience narratives that we usually get through mediums like TV shows and movies.
Movies have always been a good source of video game adaptations. However, quite often, they don’t live up to the brilliance of the films they’re based on. Sometimes, the narrative does not quite match the source material, or simply, the actual gameplay – the bread and butter of any game – is just not engaging nor interesting enough.
However, when a video game based on a movie gets it right, it’s a true sight to behold. We can learn more about the world of a given movie and, even better, actually control some of our favourite fictional characters, performing actions we’d previously only dreamed of.
So today, we’re going to name the best-ever video games to have been based on movies. We’ve got survival horror in the mix, first-person shooters, third-person fighters and everything in between. So wipe off those sweaty palms and grab your controllers. Let’s begin.
The 10 best video games based on movies:
10. Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005)
Everyone’s favourite fictional giant gorilla has been knocking around for almost a century now, beginning with the 1933 movie King Kong. After battling against Godzilla in another movie, the big ape arrived in the 21st Century with Peter Jackson‘s 2005 adaptation.
Bringing any sort of film character to a video is always a task, but the 2005 Ubisoft effort, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, makes an admirable effort through a first-person shooter medium. We control New York scriptwriter Jack Driscoll as he battles his way through Skull Island to save Ann Darrow, who’s been sacrificed by natives to Kong.
9. The Thing (2002)
John Carpenter‘s 1982 movie The Thing, starring Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady, is a science fiction-horror examination of paranoia. It details a research team’s battle for survival against a mysterious extra-terrestrial life form that imitates the members of the crew.
Some 20 years after the film’s initial release, Vivendi released a video game sequel version. It’s a third-person horror shooter which references several of the most iconic moments of Carpenter’s movie. The game also does an excellent job of toying with the level of trust from the film and even got a personal nod from Carpenter himself.
8. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014)
The films of Peter Jackson always look good to get a video game adaptation. While several Lord of the Rings fans adore the 2003 hack-and-slash action game The Return of the King, we think that the best Middle Earth-based effort is actually 2014’s Shadow of Mordor.
We get an original story based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings set between the events of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Shadow of Mordor is a seriously good action game, clearly taking influence from the combat and stealth of the Assassin’s Creed games. This one is not to be missed by any lovers of all things Tolkien.
7. The Godfather (2006)
Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Godfather and its sequel are two of the most widely-beloved movies of all time, universally considered some of the best films ever made – close looks at the familial workings of Italian-American criminal organisations starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando.
A few eyebrows were raised when an EA video game adaptation arrived in 2006, based on the first movie, but doubters were quickly silenced when they finally played it. Players control a new character, Aldo Trapani, who is recruited by the Corleone family, and it’s a true joy to relive some of the film’s most iconic scenes through an open-world action experience.
6. Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
Superhero movies and comic books are considered something of an easy adaptation for a video game, but they don’t always get it right. However, 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum is certainly one of the best efforts, with heavy inspiration from the entire Batman comic book mythology.
We take control of Batman as he comes up against his classic rival, the Joker, who has devised a plan to trap the Caped Crusader in the titular psychiatric hospital with some of Gotham City’s most feared villains. The combat in Arkham Asylum is a thing to behold, and while the later games are equally as good, this is where it all began.
5. The Warriors (2005)
Walter Hill’s 1979 action flick, The Warriors, is a true cinematic gem. It tells of several fictional New York City street gangs coming up against one another, particularly the titular sect, who must make it back to their Coney Island home from The Bronx while being hunted down by rival groups after being framed for killing a gang leader.
Rockstar have always been the best at delivering sandbox action games, such as Grand Theft Auto, and by bringing The Warriors to consoles, they struck gold. Chase sequences are particularly memorable, as is the fighting itself, but the real draw of the game is just being able to live in this ultra-cool yet totally-violent world.
4. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
While Tom Holland (and, to a lesser extent Andrew Garfield) have been praised for their portrayals of everyone’s favourite web-slinger, for many of us, there’s only one man for the job, good old Tobey Maguire. That original trilogy of Spider-Man films from the 2000s will long serve in the memory, as will the games based on them.
While the more recent Spider-Man games have drawn acclaim, it all really began with those earlier PS2 versions, particularly the second in the franchise. Finally, we were able to realise our dreams of being able to swing through New York City and fight off bad guys. There’s simply nothing like actually becoming Spider-Man and being able to go anywhere and do anything.
3. GoldenEye 007 (1997)
The 1990s is considered by some to be the golden age of gaming. Before the internet, multiplayer games had to be played with four people crowded around a TV and nowhere was this experience more joyful than the James Bond game GoldenEye 007 on the N64. This was simply childhood in sum for so many of us and will always be remembered as a formative moment.
Based on the 1995 film of the same name (Pierce Brosnan’s first as Bond), GoldenEye boasted an impressive single-player mode. But it was the multiplayer mode that we all knew and loved and adored, from iconic modes such as “Rockets Only” and “Golden Gun”, and many a late, pizza-infused night was spent crowded around that beautiful little console called the N64.
2. Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic (2003)
Most of the games on this list have been taken from big movie franchises, and few franchises are more prominent than Star Wars. There have been several games made in George Lucas’ science fiction world to varying degrees, but few are as impressive nor memorable as Knights of the Old Republic.
Developed by BioWare with a staggering amount of customisation and narrative-altering choices, KOTOR (and its sequel, The Sith Lords) is a masterclass in RPG creation. We play as a Jedi 4,000 years before the birth of the Galactic Empire and must take on Darth Malak, an evil Sith Lord. The beauty of KOTOR came in its awesome story and the fact that our choice made in the game turned us to either the Light or Dark side. Simply, a masterpiece.
1. Alien: Isolation (2014)
Bringing a video game based on Ridley Scott‘s 1979 science fiction horror Alien and its several sequels always seemed to be beyond the reach of designers. They were simply too far deviated from the source material, or the gameplay just downright sucked. But in 2014, Creative Assembly absolutely nailed it.
Focusing on the tension of Scott’s original film, Alien: Isolation takes place 15 years after its events. We play Ellen Ripley’s daughter Amanda, who looks into her mother’s disappearance. All the while, we are hunted down by the iconic fearsome xenomorph and have to use stealth and a variety of weapons to evade it, even if just for a moment.
The gameplay of Isolation is unbelievable, a masterclass in survival horror. But the real beauty of the game also lies within its accuracy, not only with the narrative but in the art design, too; the lo-fi 1970s feel is truly breathtaking. For those wanting the sweat to drip down the controller, this is an absolute must-play.
