Film Based Games Vs Book Based Games (Round 1)

First off lets start with a currently playing list:

At the moment I am currently playing:

- Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance (Gamecube)
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)
- Red Dead Redemption (360)
- Project Zero/Fatal Frame (PS2)

Anyway today's post is inspired by Christian's comments (the main commentor on my blog) about games being based on books turning out better than games based upon films. Now obviously there are exceptions to this rule but I agree. Games that are based on books are usually far better than than games based upon films.

Christian asked me a simple but important question. Why?

Well just from my own knowledge I think there are a few different reasons for this. You'll soon see that these issues overlap and relate quite closely to each other.

Making a quick buck

Most games that are based off of movies are usually released at the same time as the film in question is. It is made purely to sell. No more, no less. Publishers know that a game based on a popular license or movie series will sell so they get a rubbish developer or hire people who really don't care about what they're doing to make the game. Basically just to rip us off. For example they would know that a game based on James Cameron's Avatar or the animated show Avatar will sell like hotcakes but no matter how much you like the game it'll still be pretty bad. This is legalised extortion at it's worst.

It's the final countdown! Duh duh duh duh. duh duh duh duh duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...excuse me
Studios are often given ridiculous deadlines to finish the game. This is to coincide with the film it's based on to gain the highest sales possible. A studio or a team is hired to make the game and given very little direction as to what to do (sometimes teams are assembled just for that game specifically) so they really have no idea where to go or what aspect to base the game on. The most notorious example of this is the game made of E.T. for the Atari 2600. It is said to be one of the worst games ever made. The main designer was given 6 weeks to come up with a game. (God I've hardly managed much on my blog so far - let alone a fucking video game!)

Sometimes this overlaps and combines with making a quick buck. When this combination happens then you get the worst results possible!

I can't do it captain! I don't have the power!

This kind of links in with the first point but sometimes a game is to be made and the movie it's supposed to be based on, simply isn't game material due to narrative structure, lack of action or that the actions carried out in the film just don't qualify as game material. Again E.T. like so many others falls prey to this. I can't imagine how you would make a game base on ET, make it fun, creative or even making it last.

For example I can't imagine a game based on Eraserhead can you?

Which brings me onto my next point. Time frame. A film has a finite time of running. So there is only a certain amount of material from which a game can take from. It's very hard to pad out what is already there. Your average film lasts about 90-120 mins and a game usually has a much longer playtime than that. With a book it depends on what kind of reader you are. You may re-read sections or you may spend longer on certain sections to get a better idea in your mind's eye of what's going or to further examine a plotpoint.

Also everything is shown to you on screen in a film. Thus everyone has similar expectations of how a game based on a film will look due to the visual style already being dictated in film format. This doesn't happen with a book. Although a description of a location in words never changes, people partly create the location in their mind for themselves. Little details maybe different and people will come up with their own interpretations of how it looks and there can be more possibilities.

Or sometimes the movie the game is based on is a pile of shit and the game is doomed from day one. I can't imagine Shigeru Miyamoto being able to make a good game out of say Epic Movie. Actually...lets not give anyone any ideas! Don't blame me if it happens!


We can find a better place in this twilight

So after all of these portents of doom you would think that all games based on movies should be avoided right? No actually for there are a few which break the mold and show that if you go about it the right way you can get a great game for both fans of the films and for gamers in general.

Here are some of the best in my opinion:

- The Super Star Wars Trilogy (SNES)


Now there have been many games based off of the Star Wars universe, many of which are great games. But out of the ones that take their story directly from the films, this trilogy of games is brilliant. But beware the difficulty can get a bit tough in these games. I would include the lego star wars games too but I'm sticking to just one franchise at a time!

- Goldeneye 007 (N64)


Not just one of the best video games based on a movie ever made. But one of the best video games ever made. I know people who don't care about the movie or James Bond but they love this game. It was the game that every FPS afterwards tried to emulate.

- Spiderman 2 (Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, PC)


This game let you do what makes spiderman awesome, swinging through a big city with web powers exploring the sights with nothing to stop you. And you got to play out the story from the film which is hailed as a great comic book movie. Need I say more?

- The Warriors (PS2, Xbox)


Based off of the late 70's film. This game is essentially a beat em up which features so much of the Warrior's universe (I use that term loosely as there was one film to my knowledge) in terms of character. There are plenty of missions to play through and also the story of the film is covered too. Add in co-op and you have a fun beat em up game which is definately worth playing

Other Recommendations (I haven't played them but they have a good reputation)

- Toy Story 2 (N64, Playstation, Dreamcast)
- Batman (NES)
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Xbox, PC)

If there are any you like then share it in the comments section. There may be some I haven't played or missed out altogether!

Well that's the first round in the fight between film based games vs book based games. Stay tuned when I shall return with an examination of book based games and also bring another twist to the discussion. Thanks again to Christian who inspired this!

See you soon!

Oh and upon doing research into some of these games. I found out a video game of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas really exists only in Europe. I think I may have to track it down to see how bad it is!