‘Wow this would make a cool movie’, a thought that, at some point in time must have flitted across many a gamers’ mind. The worlds and characters of our beloved video games are an assortment of the crazy, mysterious, fantastical, obscure and unforgettable. They have been rendered with such adulation and conscientiousness by their creators that they sometimes transcend interactive entertainment and evolve into pieces of art.
A movie like a video game is a form of art. Wanting a movie based on one’s favourite video game is just the inherent desire to see that piece of art in a different form, from a different perspective. A video game with a good concept is always ripe for cinematic treatment. Why then has that great videogame movie eluded us so many years? We may never know the answer to that, but we can hope and imagine that some of our gems are some day given the directorial treatment they deserve.
1. Mafia
There has been a real draught of good mafia movies of late. American Gangster is the only decent mafia movie I remember having seen recently. A movie based on the Mafia game would really help fill this void. Mafia is one of those action games’ that is quite popular among a lot of Indian gamers. Besides its superlative game play, one of the things that really stood out about the game was its sharp script and incredibly well presented story element.
In fact I would go as far to say that the depth in its characterization was better than most movies of our time. The game also had some truly memorable action pieces set including one unforgettable sequence set in a church and one set in a pizza parlour. Seeing these sequences translated to the big screen would truly be a Mafia fan’s greatest desire except of course a second Mafia game. This one ideally would be helmed by someone like Martin Scorsese.
2. Half-Life
The creators at Valve have over the span of the original Half Life, its sequel and the recent episodes created a rich sci-fi universe. What’s unique about this sci-fi world is that it’s not all-time travelling and laser guns. All the games in the Half-Life series have something of a spiritual side to them. Also we have some truly memorable characters in Alyx, Eli, Barney and naturally the main man Gordan Freeman himself.
Of course the movie rendition might pose some serious problems but with a lead protagonist who has thus far failed to utter a single word in the series. Any attempts to give Gordon a voice in order to satisfy the traditional movie audience would severely rile Half-Life purists. Whichever way the movie turns out, any director who manages to pull off a voiceless Gordon will win my veneration.
3. Crysis
Crysis while not a game with the most innovative story still has a great setting and the nanosuit would lend itself to a pretty cool action movie. At its heart is the conflict between man and alien set amidst lush tropical forests. In a sense a movie based in the world of Crysis would be a spiritual successor to the first Predator movie.
Most importantly perhaps, gamers with humbler PC’s might finally get to see what Crysis’ infamous supposedly photorealistic graphics would look like in all its high definition glory without the painful memories of Crysis bringing their once high and mighty computers down to a crawl.
4. Devil May Cry
Extremely stylish, over the top action is what best describes the Devil May Cry series of video games. Fighting waves after waves of enemies with some adrenaline pumping rock music in the background never gets old. Dante, Nero, Vergil and some of the other characters in the series also on the occasion get to mouth some pretty entertaining, witty and sarcastic dialogs.
In addition some of the fight choreography in its numerous cut scenes is some of the best I have come across in both movies and games. The ideal Devil May Cry movie would be something in the vein of the movie Shoot Em Up, nonstop pistol wielding, sword swinging action with little pretence of an emotional thread governing the characters actions. I’m not saying Dante is someone you should feel nothing for.
It’s just that Dante is the perfect anti- hero. What we would love most is to give each other high fives, maybe let out some whoops when we get to see the big screen Dante reign hell on his enemies with his usual brutalistic style and customary battle end remarks.
5. Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed for all the ambivalent views of the critics undeniably features an incredible world and a great concept. Altair – the main character’s name means “The Flying One” in Arabic and in a sense you truly are. While the main objectives were the assassinations themselves, what the game truly excelled at was giving you the freedom to literally fly across the rooftops.
Think the initial sequence of the movie Casino Royale or the entire central theme of the movie District B13 except here you’re doing all that and more in the medieval lands of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre. While we’ve seen plenty of attempts at movies about assassins, in modern times a movie about a medieval cult of assassins who rely not on guns but their physical agility and a blade or two to execute their targets would be a refreshing change.
Plus there are the sci-fi and historical ideas involved around why the assassins cult do what they do, what is the agenda of the Templars and the whole concept of being able to unlock the memories of one’s ancestors through DNA.
6. Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto, well, it’s all about living out your dream. Murder, revenge, cops and robbers, the staple fare of films it’s all present in copious amounts in Grand Theft Auto. We generally tended to perform these tasks in the world of Grand Theft Auto with little thought to any of your deeds having moral implications.
Though the series always did have a decent storyline to back up your actions, Grand Theft Auto has always been about the freedom to go do what you wanted to do whenever you wanted to do it. Sandbox games rarely got better than Grand Theft Auto. Bringing such a sense of freedom to the screen is never going to be easy and the game might not seem to be the best candidate for cinematic treatment.
What the series has always had though are great leading characters, physically and vocally perfectly acted and with very interesting personalities and some really witty dialogs to go with those personalities. There is a lot that Hollywood can learn from Rockstar about presenting characters.
7. Metal Gear Solid
Well what is Metal Gear if not a movie itself with it’s incredibly long cut scenes taking up a sizable period of time in every game thus far? The soon to be released Metal Gear Solid 4 is in fact rumoured to feature 90 minutes worth of cut scenes. That’s as much as your regular feature length film. Cut scenes here though have never been the regular passable fare. The ones in Metal Gear Solid have always had incredible production values.
It is incredibly choreographed and acted with a stirring background score by Harry Gregson Williams. The title sequences in Metal Gear 1 and 2 have been done by Kyle Cooper a title designer with almost 150 films to his credit. So in a sense there is a lot of Hollywood talent that is already part of Metal Gear Solid. The games also cover a lot of territory running the gamut from cold war, to spies to military tactics and the negative effects of warfare.
A movie based on Metal Gear Solid would benefit from having such wide range of themes to dip into, a compelling and much adored character in Solid Snake and someone unfamiliar with the storylines of Metal Gear might enjoy its convoluted and constantly twisting storyline.
8. Syberia
Adventure games are in this day and age a forgotten genre. Syberia is one of adventure gaming’s finest gems. Released in the year 2002, a product of the imagination of Frenchman Benoit Sokal Syberia told the story of a young woman lawyer named Kate Walker and her journey that begins when she visits a small village in France to negotiate the takeover of a toy factory.
The game featured some charmingly surreal locales along with a host of great personalities with quirky yet entertaining mannerisms. The strongest character of course was Kate Walker herself. Over the course of the game Kate metamorphosed from a young woman leading a conventional life to a woman with a strong sense of individualism.
The decision that she makes towards the end of the game is one that changes the course of her life. The game had a slowly developing but ultimately richly rewarding story with a sense of mystery present throughout. Seeing the world and much loved characters of Syberia brought to life on screen would be a dream come true for any adventure game lover.
9. Beyond Good and Evil
Beyond Good and Evil is without doubt one the greatest videogames I have ever played. It was a game that slipped off most people’s radar at the time of its release. Still those who did play it know how unforgettable a game, designer Michel Ancel created in Beyond Good & Evil.
Jade, the game’s main protagonist is one of gaming’s strongest female characters. She wasn’t the usual big bosomed sexed up heroine, the likes of which we have seen in countless videogames. She plays an intrepid photographer who also happens to take care of the children in an orphanage and has an uncle who is a pig. Well it had a crazy yet beautiful world full of colorful and multifarious species which seem to coexist in harmony.
Jade’s journey took us through a world of alien and government conspiracies, and most importantly a journey of self discovery. The planet of Hillys was a bizarre yet gorgeous blend of the futuristic and outlandish. The supporting cast of characters was also brilliant and unforgettable. A movie based on this game set against its gorgeous music would perhaps let a lot of gamers know what they were missing when they ignored poor Jade the first time around.
10. Indigo Prophecy
Indigo Prophecy was a very unique game both in its setting and its controls. It was a psychological thriller in which you played several different characters. It was also the closest a game came to an interactive movie. Your character was endowed with great physical agility and some nifty psychic powers too.
All the complex animations of the characters were motion captured and every action sequence looked incredible. Every major action that your character performed in the game was via rhythmic button tapping guitar hero style with visual cues provided onscreen. Only here your coordination determines if you will be able to make it through the various action sequences. It had a dark disturbing, disturbing yet captivating story and characters you felt deeply attached to by the end of the game.
What Indigo Prophecy succeeded at brilliantly was its atmosphere and the ability to ratchet up the tension and establish a feeling of dread at regular intervals. In a sense Indigo Prophecy is already ninety percent movie. A little cinematic polish and we’ll have our next great psychological thriller movie.
- By Shantesh Patil