Three Movies That Spawned Great Video Games

“IMG_6942 bw” (Public Domain) by gameZancarZ
Not all movies make great video games and not all video game make great movies, but sometimes developers or movie producers rise to challenge to assemble a product that does justice to the source material. In this piece, we take a look at some of the best video games based on hit movies.

Goldeneye

Goldeneye was the 17th and arguably most important James Bond movie ever made. The franchise was on its knees following a six-year absence from the big screen following legal wrangling. Timothy Dalton was due to star in his third Bond film, but his original contract expired and he decided not to return to the role. Instead, Pierce Brosnan was cast and Bond burst back onto the screen with Goldeneye.

As well as reviving the Bond movie franchise, Goldeneye also provided gamers with one of the all-time classic First-person Shooter titles. The game was launched on the Nintendo N64 console to rave reviews and remains a cult classic to this day. In particular, it was the multiplayer mode that really propelled it to another level. While the film remains one of the highest-ranked Bond movies, the game was even better and stands out as one of the great examples of modern entertainment.

Alien: Isolation

The Alien movie franchise began with two undeniable hits in the form of Alien and Aliens. From there, things started to go downhill. So much so that even Ridley Scott, the director of the original could not turn things around with his later prequels.

There have also been many video games based on the franchise and, following the trend of developers creating official slots for film franchises, you might even catch a video slot version online. For instance, Casumo features an official slot game for The Mask comedy franchise, as well as Spinal Tap, among other themed titles. However, of all Alien video games, Alien: Isolation is the pick of the bunch. This game provides an atmospheric homage to the first film, capturing the claustrophobia and sense of horror that made it a cult classic. Published by Sega, this game is all about survival and features an Alien that cannot be defeated. And it is this twist that gives the game its special appeal.

“Alien” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by twm1340

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

This 2003 Xbox release was a role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe. It also appeared on Microsoft Windows a few months later. The game was set thousands of years before the much-maligned LucasArts prequels, giving developers a virtual blank canvas to work with. The result was a critically acclaimed masterpiece that is still talked about and played today.

Players take the role of a Jedi and attempt to defeat Darth Malak, a Jedi-turned-Sith Dark Lord. The action takes place on many different planets scattered across a vast galaxy. Depending on decisions made during the game, the player’s character may align with the light or dark side of the force. The characterization, plot, visuals and sound effects all combined to make one of the greatest games of all time. If you only ever play one Star Wars licenced game, it should be this one.

Honourable mentions

Other movie-based titles worth playing are the Lord of the Rings-inspired Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Tron 2.0 and The Thing, while slots fans could do worse than check out the Gladiator, The Dark Knight and Big Lebowski-themed slots.