Movies & TV Shows That Should Be Games

Video games that are based off of movie or television licenses have a reputation for either being not nearly as good, or faithfully as disappointing as their source material. There are exceptions to this rule, though they are few and far between. But then there are cases where Hollywood completely drops the ball and neglects a premise that—while it may be hit or miss cinematically—begs to be given a video game treatment.

KILL BILL

When I first saw this film and reached the scene where The Bride faces the Crazy 88s, followed by the dual with O-Ren Ishii, my first thought was, “Wow, it’s Bushido Blade: The Movie!” The story easily lends itself to the action game genre. With the five members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad serving as level bosses, their subordinates (such as Gogo and Sofie) available as sub-bosses, plenty of Crazy 88s and ninja assassins to fill in for generic bad guys, you already have the foundation for a level-based Quest Mode for the single player.

Or, for multiplayer, you can choose a Battle Mode, where you cut out all the plot bullcrap and get to the good stuff: one-on-one dual matches. Secret characters? Why not mix in Hattori Hanzo and Pai Mei as unlockables to keep you coming back for more blood-geyser, eye-poking antics?

BIG-O

This anime series always appeared to be two shows at once: A thought-provoking noir mystery solver and an action-packed giant robot brawler. The duality of this show could easily be adapted into a game similar to the Ace Attorney series. The first half of each case could be similar in the sense that you’d go around as Roger Smith and his assistant Dorothy, investigating strange goings-on in Paradigm City and using his skills of negotiation to acquire clues. But once it’s all but solved in the second half of the case, rather than piecing it all together in a courtroom drama, you duke it out in giant robots.

It would almost be like at the end of a Scooby-Doo episode where they reveal that the scary monster is actually just some jerk in a suit, but instead of hauling the guy to jail, he runs off proclaiming that he’ll never be taken alive and jumps into his giant robot, hell-bent on crushing you. Responding, “Oh no you di-n’t!” you summon your own titanic Mega Deuce to piston-punch him into submission. Case closed. We have come to terms.

HIGHLANDER

Yes, I know. There’s a Highlander game due out in early 2009 by Eidos, but from everything that I’ve seen and heard of it, I believe it will be horrible. I’m a die-hard Highlander fan and I can think of no other genre suited for Highlander than a simple fighting game. But not without its own unique twist, of course…

Think of Soul Calibur mixed with Mega Man! Choose from a variety of immortal heavy-hitters, including Conner MacLoed, Duncan MacLoed, Methos, Ramirez…even the Kurgan! After defeating each warrior in battle, you gain their Quickening and along with it, their own special moves or skills. The whole game would be scored with music by Queen, the way God intended. Whether you’re playing the single player Story Mode or in a (heh) head-to-head tournament with your buddies, in the end, there can be only one!

SHAUN OF THE DEAD

This movie set out to poke fun at the ever-popular zombie horror film genre. Why not develop a correlative video game designed to spoof survival horror games? As with any other survival horror title, our hero must make his way through zombie-ridden environments in order to save the lives of himself and his loved ones. All the while, armed with hilariously unorthodox weaponry, including a cricket bat and lame ’80s pop music records.

What gives this the most potential is that it needn’t work so hard to be relevant to the original film. In a video game setting, the title can take a life of its own, but still stay true to the comedic spirit of Shaun Of The Dead. Just as the film made several nods to classic zombie movies, the game should be appropriately sprinkled with references for Resident Evil and Silent Hill fans to pick up on. I’m sure that plenty of creative liberties can be taken for goofy weaponry, items, or puzzles. Mix in some off-beat British humor and you’ve got a winning combination!