X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The movie may have left alot of fans dissapointed but the game of the movie suprised most. The main story points are the same, the character likenesses and voices are the same but that’s where the similarities end. Here we have a hack and slash game where Wolverine really does feel as powerful as would expect. It’s brutal, violent and has clearly had alot of thought put into it. For example, we all know Wolverine is practically immortal but rather than just shrugging off bullets like in most games that don’t feature an immortal mutant, Logans clothes and even skin will get ripped to show the injuries sustained and furthermore his flesh will then physically heal in real-time. Though not as extreme it feels very much like Devil May Cry or God of War in terms of the blood, gore and brutal dismemberment of the enemies.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
The plot of The Phantom Menace very closely represents that of the movie. It also expands on the movie by showing events from a different perspective and expanding on some of the minor events in George Lucas’ movie. The game itself is played in third-person with the majority of the game being played as Obi-Wan Kenobi though players will meet and take control of other characters such as Qui-Gon Jinn, Captain Panaka and Queen Amidala. During the game players will be faced with various decisions on how to progress and whether to take on side-quests but ultimately the destination of the story is the same. Jedis, as you may expect, use lightsabers, blasters and the force push to attack enemies while jedi mind tricks can be used to access secret areas and get discounts on shop items.
Spider-Man 2
What made the Spider-Man 2 game so popular and fun was the freedom and the thrill of swinging at a fast pace through the streets of Manhattan, Roosevelt, Ellis and Liberty Island. The game was also revolutionary because of the new physics engine it used which simulated web swinging in three dimensions adding to the realism of the thrill. Treyarch did a fantastic job here of making the player feel like Spider-Man with the way he moves and the range of abilities at the players disposal. You can choose to follow the story based on the movie or simply swing around the city doing side-missions, finding collectables or helping the citizens of the city who’ll ask for your help as you zip by. In 2010 the game was included in the book “1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die”.
Die Hard Trilogy
The Die Hard Trilogy game, as the title suggests, is based on the first three movies of the series. The genre and playing style changes respective to the movie, for example “Die Hard” is a third person shooter, “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” is an on rails-shooter and “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” is portrayed through the player joyriding through New York looking to defuse serval hidden explosives. The game was very well received, though several glitches were noted, it was like three unique games in one but all of them were brutally violent. The most infamous moment in the Die Hard game was driving first person and running people over with blood spilling on the windscreen, it was for this moment that the game was banned in Germany for its violence. The success of the now Playstaton Platinum game spawned a sequel which was similarly three different games in one and featured spin-off stories to the movies.
Home Alone
Similarly to the movie, Home Alone revolves around Kevins battle with the Wet Bandits but in the video game the player defends serveral houses rather than just his own. There’s a time limit of twenty minutes until the police arrive (forty on higher difficulties) where Kevin must keep the houses safe by planting traps and using items from the environment to build weapons to slow the thieves down. When the pain meter is full the bandits retreat and the house is safe, but if the loot bar reaches full then they’ve successfully robbed that particular house and it becomes “flooded”. It’s game over if all the houses get flooded (Marv leaves the water running as a calling card in the movie). The tactics changes per house depending on whats inside (a robot or holes in the floor for example) and the player must be clever in what items and traps they use in each house as too many will mean there aren’t enough for left for later on. Makeshift weapons include ammunition such as glue, sound waves, coals, pepper, snow etc. which have varying effects on the bandits.
Wanted: Weapons of Fate
Unlike other games on this list, Wanted is set five years after the events of the movie, not recreating the events. Wesley Gibson is still learning to become a full fledged assassin and discover the truth about his family’s history. Weapons of Fate is a third-person cover shooter with a difference, the difference being the ability to use adrenaline to slow down time and curve bullets around corners and over obstacles not unlike the movie. The game received mixed reviews but fans of the movie should really enjoy it, where else can you bend your bullets to hit an enemy in the head while he’s behind cover? It looks great and works well, while watching the movie it feels like it should be made into a video game and Weapons of Fate does it justice.
Aladdin
Going further back than the other games here, Aladdin is considered by many as one of the greatest platform games on the Sega Genesis and therefore deserves a mention as it’s based on the Disney movie. Level locations are based on those from the movie, from the streets of Agrabah to Jafar’s palace, and players will solely take control of Aladdin as he fights guards and animals with a scimitar sword. Aladdin was awarded “Best Genesis Game of 1993” as well as “Best Animation”. It came at a time when Disney were leading the way in both great platformers and great games based off their movies which were being released thick and fast. It sold over four million copies on the Mega Drive making it the best-selling game (that wasn’t packed in with the console). Animations for the game were done by Disney animators while Virgin Interactive made the game, giving the game an authentic and true to the movie feel.
Continued
Due to the amount of games we wanted to add to this list, we’ve extended it! Please proceed to part 2.