When it comes to video game movie adaptations, there have been reams of recognized titles that have been produced over the decades. From the critically acclaimed genre-defyingStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicto the infamous E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a title that nearly destroyed the video games industry, there have been countless movie tie-in games.
For every Mad Max,GoldenEye 007, and Alien: Isolation, dozens of film adaptation games have been launched, only vanishing into the ether just as quickly. Whether they’re titles based on renowned films or the more obscure, these games have long been lost to time.
10R.I.P.D. The Game
Suffice it to say the 2013 science fiction film R.I.P.D. was nothing short of a fiasco. Trying to capitalize on the buddy cop comedy void left behind by theMen in Blacktrilogy, this Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges starring vehicle failed critically and commercially.
Yet in the 2000s and early 2010s, Hollywood saw the video game industry as an easy way to market their films, as such a tie-in game was launched two days before the film’s opening date and received equally middling reviews.
9Krull
Before director Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’sLord of the Ringsnovels, the world of fantasy cinema was a very different time. Few studios saw the potential of the genre. Enter Krull, a 1983 fantasy adventure flick directed by Peter Yates.
A Krull video game was developed and published byAtariin 1983. While the film was only considered okay at best, thanks to solid special effects and a great soundtrack carrying the mediocre narrative, the game was unexpectedly well-received by critics.
8Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes
While modern cinema is no stranger to poorly written movies earning commercial success, before the days of mediocre superhero films dominating the box office, it was the Wild West when it came to what movie would earn big bucks.
Despite being critically panned by critics, 1978’s Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was a massive financial hit, earning three sequels and even a video game tie-in. A 2D platformer based on the films was developed by Imagineering for the Gameboy and N.E.S. in 1991.
7Platoon
Oliver Stone’s critically acclaimed 1986 film Platoon is commonly regarded as one of the best war movies ever made. A haunting and brutal portrayal of the Vietnam War, there’s nothing heroic or uplifting in Stone’s Oscar-winning picture.
As such, it would be strange for there to be a game adaptation; alas, Platoon has received two games based on it. The first adaptation came out one year after the film’s release, and the second was launched in 2002 and is significantly more soundly produced.
6Reign Of Fire
2002’s Reign of Fire was a movie with plenty of potential. Starring Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey, the film revolves around humanity trying to survive in a dragon apocalypse. Despite the awesome premise, the film attained average reviews and was only a moderate box-office success.
Regardless, Reign of Fire also received a video game adaptation the same year. Letting you choose to play as a human or a dragon, the game offered good gameplay variety, but much like the film, earned mostly mixed reviews.
5The Untouchables
Brian De Palma’s The Untouchable remains a classic of the crime film genre. Boasting an all-star cast, sharp direction, and a pinpoint script by David Mamet, The Untouchables earned four Oscar nominations and grossed over one hundred million dollars worldwide.
Given the movie’s premise of a squad of law enforcement agents trying to take down Al Capone, a video game adaptation makes sense. In 1989, developer Ocean Software launched The Untouchables game two years after the film to primarily positive reviews from fans and critics.
4Rango
Director Gore Verbinski is one of Hollywood’s most stylistic directors. Most well-known for the first three Pirates of the Caribbeans films and the 2002 The Ring remake, Verbinski has worked across many genres during his illustrious career. One of his best is the 2011 animated flick Rango.
Winner of Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards and grossing over three hundred million dollars, Rango was a critical and commercial hit. Developer Behavior Interactive released a video game sequel to the film that year.
3Fight Club
David Fincher’s Fight Club is often viewed as the definitive cult classic. A box office bomb and critically panned upon release, the adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name would gain a strong cult following and be remembered as a classic.
Considering the film’s incredibly disturbing subject matter, a video game adaptation seems like a strange idea. Yet in 2004, developer Genuine Games releasedFight Club, a fighting game in the style of Tekken that failed to connect with critics or audiences.
2Independence Day
Filmmaker Ronald Emmerich is hardly what you’d consider a talented director. The king of over-the-top disasters and divorced dad protagonists, Emmerich’s movies are often negatively reviewed but usually linger in the pop culture lexicon for years. 1996’s Independence Day is easily Emmerich’s most iconic film.
TheIndependence Dayvideo game was developed by Radical Entertainment and was launched in 1997. A flight simulator game, Independence Day, was met with a mixed to negative reception among critics who felt the gameplay was too repetitive.
1Wanted: Weapons Of Fate
The 2008 adaptation of Mark Millar and J. G. Jones’s comic mini-series, Wanted, was a generally well-made film with slick and energetic action sequences. While the movie never received a sequel despite decent commercial success, it did get a third-person shooter that same year.
Developed by Grin AB and published byWarner Bros. Interactive, Wanted: Weapons of Fate featured exciting and entertaining gunplay but was criticized for its extremely short length, a problem that plagued many movie tie-in games during the 2000s and 2010s.
