Top 10 Video Games that Should Be Made into Movies

Wow this would make a cool movie’, a thought that, at somepoint in time must have flitted across many a gamers’ mind. The worldsand characters of our beloved video games are an assortment of thecrazy, mysterious, fantastical, obscure and unforgettable. They havebeen rendered with such adulation and conscientiousness by theircreators that they sometimes transcend interactive entertainment andevolve into pieces of art.
A movie like a video game is a form of art. Wanting a movie based onone’s favourite video game is just the inherent desire to see thatpiece of art in a different form, from a different perspective. A videogame with a good concept is always ripe for cinematic treatment. Whythen has that great videogame movie eluded us so many years? We maynever know the answer to that, but we can hope and imagine that some ofour gems are some day given the directorial treatment they deserve.

1. Mafia
There has been a real draught of good mafia movies of late. AmericanGangster is the only decent mafia movie I remember having seenrecently. A movie based on the Mafia game would really help fill thisvoid. Mafia is one of those action games’ that is quite popular among alot of Indian gamers. Besides its superlative game play, one of thethings that really stood out about the game was its sharp script andincredibly well presented story element.
In fact I would go as far to say that the depth in itscharacterization was better than most movies of our time. The game alsohad some truly memorable action pieces set including one unforgettablesequence set in a church and one set in a pizza parlour. Seeing thesesequences translated to the big screen would truly be a Mafia fan’sgreatest desire except of course a second Mafia game. This one ideallywould 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-timetravelling and laser guns. All the games in the Half-Life series havesomething of a spiritual side to them. Also we have some trulymemorable characters in Alyx, Eli, Barney and naturally the main manGordan Freeman himself.
Of course the movie rendition might pose some serious problems butwith a lead protagonist who has thus far failed to utter a single wordin the series. Any attempts to give Gordon a voice in order to satisfythe traditional movie audience would severely rile Half-Life purists.Whichever way the movie turns out, any director who manages to pull offa voiceless Gordon will win my veneration.

3. Crysis
Crysis while not a game with the most innovative story still has agreat setting and the nanosuit would lend itself to a pretty coolaction movie. At its heart is the conflict between man and alien setamidst lush tropical forests. In a sense a movie based in the world ofCrysis would be a spiritual successor to the first Predator movie.
Most importantly perhaps, gamers with humbler PC’s might finally getto see what Crysis’ infamous supposedly photorealistic graphics wouldlook like in all its high definition glory without the painful memoriesof 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 theDevil May Cry series of video games. Fighting waves after waves ofenemies with some adrenaline pumping rock music in the background nevergets old. Dante, Nero, Vergil and some of the other characters in theseries also on the occasion get to mouth some pretty entertaining,witty and sarcastic dialogs.
In addition some of the fight choreography in its numerous cutscenes 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 themovie Shoot Em Up, nonstop pistol wielding, sword swinging action withlittle pretence of an emotional thread governing the charactersactions. 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 lovemost is to give each other high fives, maybe let out some whoops whenwe get to see the big screen Dante reign hell on his enemies with hisusual brutalistic style and customary battle end remarks.

5. Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed for all the ambivalent views of the criticsundeniably features an incredible world and a great concept. Altair -the main character’s name means “The Flying One” in Arabic and in asense you truly are. While the main objectives were the assassinationsthemselves, what the game truly excelled at was giving you the freedomto literally fly across the rooftops.
Think the initial sequence of the movie Casino Royale or the entirecentral theme of the movie District B13 except here you’re doing allthat and more in the medieval lands of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre.While we’ve seen plenty of attempts at movies about assassins, inmodern times a movie about a medieval cult of assassins who rely not onguns but their physical agility and a blade or two to execute theirtargets would be a refreshing change.
Plus there are the sci-fi and historical ideas involved around whythe assassins cult do what they do, what is the agenda of the Templarsand the whole concept of being able to unlock the memories of one’sancestors 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 allpresent in copious amounts in Grand Theft Auto. We generally tended toperform these tasks in the world of Grand Theft Auto with littlethought to any of your deeds having moral implications.
Though the series always did have a decent storyline to back up youractions, Grand Theft Auto has always been about the freedom to go dowhat you wanted to do whenever you wanted to do it. Sandbox gamesrarely got better than Grand Theft Auto. Bringing such a sense offreedom to the screen is never going to be easy and the game might notseem 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 interestingpersonalities and some really witty dialogs to go with thosepersonalities. There is a lot that Hollywood can learn from Rockstarabout presenting characters.

7. Metal Gear Solid
Well what is Metal Gear if not a movie itself with it’s incrediblylong cut scenes taking up a sizable period of time in every game thusfar? The soon to be released Metal Gear Solid 4 is in fact rumoured tofeature 90 minutes worth of cut scenes. That’s as much as your regularfeature length film. Cut scenes here though have never been the regularpassable fare. The ones in Metal Gear Solid have always had incredibleproduction values.
It is incredibly choreographed and acted with a stirring backgroundscore by Harry Gregson Williams. The title sequences in Metal Gear 1and 2 have been done by Kyle Cooper a title designer with almost 150films to his credit. So in a sense there is a lot of Hollywood talentthat is already part of Metal Gear Solid. The games also cover a lot ofterritory running the gamut from cold war, to spies to military tacticsand the negative effects of warfare.
A movie based on Metal Gear Solid would benefit from having suchwide range of themes to dip into, a compelling and much adoredcharacter in Solid Snake and someone unfamiliar with the storylines ofMetal Gear might enjoy its convoluted and constantly twisting storyline.

8. Syberia
Adventure games are in this day and age a forgotten genre. Syberiais one of adventure gaming’s finest gems. Released in the year 2002, aproduct of the imagination of Frenchman Benoit Sokal Syberia told thestory of a young woman lawyer named Kate Walker and her journey thatbegins when she visits a small village in France to negotiate thetakeover of a toy factory.
The game featured some charmingly surreal locales along with a hostof great personalities with quirky yet entertaining mannerisms. Thestrongest character of course was Kate Walker herself. Over the courseof the game Kate metamorphosed from a young woman leading aconventional life to a woman with a strong sense of individualism.
The decision that she makes towards the end of the game is one thatchanges the course of her life. The game had a slowly developing butultimately richly rewarding story with a sense of mystery presentthroughout. Seeing the world and much loved characters of Syberiabrought to life on screen would be a dream come true for any adventuregame lover.

9. Beyond Good and Evil
Beyond Good and Evil is without doubt one the greatest videogames Ihave ever played. It was a game that slipped off most people’s radar atthe time of its release. Still those who did play it know howunforgettable a game, designer Michel Ancel created in Beyond Good& Evil.
Jade, the game’s main protagonist is one of gaming’s strongestfemale characters. She wasn’t the usual big bosomed sexed up heroine,the likes of which we have seen in countless videogames. She plays anintrepid photographer who also happens to take care of the children inan orphanage and has an uncle who is a pig. Well it had a crazy yetbeautiful world full of colorful and multifarious species which seem tocoexist in harmony.
Jade’s journey took us through a world of alien and governmentconspiracies, and most importantly a journey of self discovery. Theplanet of Hillys was a bizarre yet gorgeous blend of the futuristic andoutlandish. The supporting cast of characters was also brilliant andunforgettable. A movie based on this game set against its gorgeousmusic would perhaps let a lot of gamers know what they were missingwhen they ignored poor Jade the first time around.

10. Indigo Prophecy
Indigo Prophecy was a very unique game both in its setting and itscontrols. It was a psychological thriller in which you played severaldifferent characters. It was also the closest a game came to aninteractive movie. Your character was endowed with great physicalagility and some nifty psychic powers too.
All the complex animations of the characters were motion capturedand every action sequence looked incredible. Every major action thatyour character performed in the game was via rhythmic button tappingguitar hero style with visual cues provided onscreen. Only here yourcoordination determines if you will be able to make it through thevarious action sequences. It had a dark disturbing, disturbing yetcaptivating story and characters you felt deeply attached to by the endof the game.
What Indigo Prophecy succeeded at brilliantly was its atmosphere andthe ability to ratchet up the tension and establish a feeling of dreadat regular intervals. In a sense Indigo Prophecy is already ninetypercent movie. A little cinematic polish and we’ll have our next greatpsychological thriller movie.