The film industry is a billion dollar business, and because of all of the money that movies make they sometimes try to capitalize on their success with a video game adaptation. Once in a blue moon the video game adaptation is good and true to the source film, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. The majority of video games based on films are horrific, and today we look at a few of those. This is not a complete list, there are too many to include, so enjoy these eight games that you should avoid at all costs.
Battleship was originally a game of strategy and boat sinking, and for some reason Universal Pictures decided that it would make for a great movie about aliens. That sounds like a horrible idea, but do you know what is even a more horrible idea? Making a video game based on the movie, which spawned the 2012 game Battleship. Unfortunately for everyone involved the game was horrible, it didn’t help that the movie that the game was based on was just terrible. What they should have done was make a video game based on the original game.
The Golden Compass was a very fun and entertaining movie. It was based on a relatively successful book called Northern Lights. The film was good enough and successful enough that New Line Cinema decided that they should make a game based on the movie, so they made The Golden Compass. The game was full of disappointment, it met with harsh criticism from critics and fans alike. What they should have done is not make a game based on the movie, but that’s going to be true for most games on this list.
Fight Club was made to capitalize on the cult following of the film and book of the same name. Basically they just reskinned a fighting game to look like the popular movie. If you’re going to make a game adaptation of a movie you need to stay true to the source material, but also add something new to the experience. If you’re into fighting games then you really should avoid this game, and the next entry.
Street Fighter: The Movie was one of the worst ideas for a video game ever. Because why make a movie based on a video game, then make a video game based on the subpar movie. This is just absurd and pointless. If you like exercises in futility check this waste of time and money.
In 2000 the film version of the poplular 70’s television show Charlie’s Angels. The film did relatively well, so therefore they must make a video game based on the franchise. That flawed line of reasoning resulted in Charlie’s Angels, one of the worst video games ever produced by man or beast. The game consisted of a series of fights where you could unlock trailers and photographs from the movie, which makes you wonder why you just don’t watch the movie again if those are the benefits.
2004 saw a resurgence in torture porn with Saw. The film has spawned a series of films, each one worse than the last. And in 2009 a game was produced to capitalize on all of that sweet sweet Saw money. Unfortunately Saw the game turned out to be more torture than the films, not in a good way, but in a terrible Guantanamo bay type torture. Maybe that was there plan to put their fans through the same horrible experiences as the protagonists of their films.
Starship Troopers, the 2005 game from Strangelite, was a way for the video game industry to get some money from the movie Starship Troopers. This could have been an amazing game, but unfortunately for us all it was not, it was horrible. What they should have done is make a game based on the Robert A. Heinlein book of the same name, oh wait they did with almost any new futuristic shooter.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was a game produced in 1983. The game sold surprisingly well considering the fact that it was rushed for the holiday season. The game went on to not sell any more copies after the initial holiday rush that capitalized on the popularity of the movie. Thanks to the unearthing of the lost copies of the game you can now buy a copy and find out for yourself just how bad it really is.
