5 Good Reasons Why Movie Video Games Still Suck
I don’t know what it is about movies and video games, but when people try to adapt them for each other, they just don’t seem to work very well. Zoomin.TV Games created a fun little video that focuses on movie to game adaptation. It’s called “5 Good Reasons Why - We Still Don’t Like Video Games,” and that’s exactly what the video explains. I also included a transcript of the video for those of you who are in a place that can’t watch it. They make some very valid points here.
Who doesn't love watching a good movie while eating microwave popcorn? But even though there's so much love for awesome movies, there's still a negative vibe surrounding the so called movie games. Here are five reasons why!
In case you missed it, you can also check out my list of 15 classic movies with crappy NES video game adaptations here. The only movie video game that I've ever really enjoyed playing was the one made for The Matrix. What are your thoughts on games based on movies?
1. Bad reputation
Movie games have a bad reputation. There was a time, not so long ago, that every big Hollywood movie got a game with the same title. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Iron Man and Avatar were all great movies but we cannot say the same about the games. They are all steaming piles of garbage.
2. Short development time
Usually it takes about three or four years to develop a good game. But with movie games the development time is cut short. Expensive license agreements, limited resources and a release date set in stone lead to a rushed development cycle. It's almost impossible to make a good game under those circumstances. That's one of the reasons many movie games are now smartphone apps instead.
3. Limited creative freedom
When developers make their own game, they can do whatever they want. But when they make a game based on a movie, they are limited by the things the movie company allows them to do. Things like story, level design and character development have to be approved by many different people. In many cases game developers can only work with the limited tools they are given by the movie studio.
4. Marketing tool
In the end a game based on a Hollywood blockbuster is only being made as a marketing tool. Which basically means the game will hardly get any support after its release. There's a very small chance for DLC and even patching a game to fix bugs can be difficult due to financial constrains. It's riding on the back of the movie and obviously that's not in our benefit.
5. The same story
When a game is based on a movie, it usually retells the plot from the movie. So watching or playing one, will spoil the other experience. And if the game does have an alternative storyline within the same universe, you can bet that it's not even half as good as the movie plot. In general movie games are just something gamers should be very weary of.
Is there no hope left for movie games? Yes there is, as long as developers make games based on an entire movie franchises. Shadow of Mordor and Alien Isolation are recent examples of movie games done right. So there IS hope for the movie game, as long as its release is not supposed to coincide with the theatrical release of a blockbuster.