For the most part, the world of films and video games have not crossed over all that well. Most film adaptations of popular video games end up relatively unimpressive. The same is true for film-based video games, that usually do not appeal to fans, or to the larger audience. That being said, there have been exceptions.
Video Game Films Can Be Good
The Tomb Raider films, while not great, have their fans. Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, Detective Pikachu, and the Super Mario Bros. movie have all done quite well, and were mostly received positively. The Resident Evil films, while cheesy, corny, and outright ridiculous, are quite entertaining, if you are in the right mood.
All this goes to show that video game adaptations can be good, or at least entertaining. For that reason, there are still a lot of people that wish to see big budget adaptations of their favorite games. But, what games would thrive in film form? In this article, we are looking at video games that would make fine films, if treated with the respect that they deserve.
The Grand Theft Auto Franchise
The Grand Theft Auto franchise (or simply GTA) may just be one of the most popular video game franchises. Each game deals with a different side of the American underworld, from the Italian mafia, to street gangs, and more.
In 2013, Rockstar Games released an online multiplayer version of the game, complete with character customization, and even an in-game casino. However, unlike most in-game casinos, players could actually wager real money, and win real prizes.
To be fair, the in-game casino in GTA V does not work like classic online casino websites. If you want to see roulette and slot games, you’d have to play at Casino Days Canada, or similar sites. Instead, players could wager real money, and win in game prizes.
If you’ve never played the game, we hope we’ve given you a good understanding of how it works. And we certainly hope you can see why it would make a great film. Mafia and street gang films are already a popular genre. Since the GTA games are already, largely, story-driven, the job is already half-done.
All a studio would have to do is get the rights for an adaptation of the games, and then translate the video game’s story to a two-and-a-half-hour film. If done right, it would be one of the most successful adaptations in video game history.
Mass Effect
The recent success of the Dune franchise has certain spurred a lot of people to attempt and craft the next science fiction epic. There are two main franchises in the world of video games right now, that we could see rising to the level of Dune.
The first is Halo. A military science-fiction/space opera FPS franchise, starring one of the most iconic characters in video games, Master Chief. However, the Halo TV show is already adapting the story of the popular franchise. Love it or hate it, Halo does have an adaptation.
Which leaves us with BioWare’s action RPG game, Mass Effect. Released first in 2007, the original Mass Effect follows Shepherd, a customizable character who is tasked with exploring a planet ravaged by war. Him and his squad descend, and are immediately thrown in a battle for their lives.
Without spoiling too much, we can say that Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3, tell a very compelling story that could easily be translated to a multi-installment film series. But, the real draw of Mass Effect is the fascinating world that Casey Hudson and his team created.
Alien species, psychic humans, and fascinating weaponry are all part of the game’s charm. That, and the complex moral choices that the player is forced to make. We understand the difficulty of translating a game with moral choices to the big screen. But, if done right, we truly think it would be something special.
BioShock
As we said, the science fiction genre is making waves in modern pop culture. But, a subgenre that has fascinated movie goers since the 1980s is retro-futurism. Most are familiar with cyberpunk, but the truth is that there are so many variants on the so-called “-punk” genres, that they’d make your head spin.
Examples of this would be decopunk and biopunk, both of which feature heavily in the BioShock franchise. Though the games are quite old by this point, we wouldn’t dare spoil the main story, which is one of the most interesting aspects of the game.
Instead, we will simply talk about the gorgeous design, creative world building, and the fact that the game employs a horror trope which has yet to go out of style; zombies. Shows like The Last of Us, have re-ignited the audience’s love of zombie horror. A BioShock movie could capitalize on that, while also telling a truly creative and unique story.
The problem here is that all three BioShock games, while somewhat related, are also anthological in nature. The filmmakers would have to settle for either the story of the first game, or that of BioShock: Infinite. Regardless, both are fantastic and unique in their own right. But, fans might be disappointed if their favorite is not chosen.
There is also the same problem that we saw with a Mass Effect adaptation. Like Mass Effect, players in BioShock can make moral choices. These choices lead to alternate endings, which means that there will inevitably be players who did not make the choice that a potential film protagonist might make. Undoubtedly, these players would leave the theaters unsatisfied.
Honorable Mentions
The three games we’ve discussed in this article are certainly ones we believe deserve a film adaptation. However, they are far from the only ones that would benefit from one. We talked about GTA, but what about Rockstar Studios’ other massive success; Red Dead Redemption. A gritty western, re-telling the story of RDR would certainly attract a lot of fans.
For a less action-oriented science fiction film, Portal would certainly be worth adapting. The game is one of the most critically-acclaimed products in the video game world, and a film adaptation might just introduce it to a new whole new audience.
