We’ve all lamented the fact that movies and TV shows based on games kind of suck. Right from the disconnected madness of Super Mario Bros in the 90s to the below-average The Last of Us show on HBO, the medium has not been very well represented on the big screen. So, in a bid to see if the other show fits, we’re taking a look at some of the best video games that are based on movies. Ever since the medium exploded in the 80s, we’ve had movie-tie-in games for the Atari 2600 right up to the PS3 era. While a lot of them have been absolute garbage (here’s looking at you Catwoman on the PS2), there have been some that have been excellent games in their own right.
Here are 5 of the best games that are based on movies:
Although the movie was a real dud, Wolverine: Origins the game was anything but. Crafted by the talented folks over at Raven Software, Origins was bloody, and violent and really captured the brutality of the Canuck in a way that we have never seen in the films. It also features an interesting take on his healing factor with players able to “see through” Logan as he heals from massive damage. This is one of the best superhero games out there if we’re being honest.
When this game came out, a lot of ‘game journalists’ dogged it for not being the best thing since sliced bread. But, Mad Max is actually a pretty deep, well-realized game that has a ton of heart. The game follows the first two films a little closer than what we got in Fury Road but that does not deter from the fact that it’s an innovative and exciting action game.
We’ve never really had a good Alien game in a long time. The last time we had a hit on our hands was the Alien vs Predator series back in the early 2000s. Since then, it’s been dud after dud until Alien: Isolation. The game feels like the movie and even goes as far as to throw players into a tense scene that recreates the events of the first Alien film. The game is a tense survival horror title that ranks among the best games based on a movie.
When the sequel to one of the most beloved superhero films hit theatres, gamers were also treated to an excellent game based on the wall-crawler. The swinging mechanics were tightened up, the combat was taken up a notch and everything that makes Spidey who he is is presented front and centre on Spider-Man 2 for the PS2. Sure, the 2018 game is great and all but this was the title that really started it all.
John Carpenter’s The thing is still one of the best horror movies ever made. The film was a masterpiece of paranoia, dread and straight-up body horror. It took developers almost 15 years to release a game worthy of the film. The Thing captures the spirit of the film and throws even more monsters at you. The action is tense and a mechanic where a member of your squad can get infected really adds another layer of fear to an already creepy game.
Last but not least, we have one of the best side-scrollers in Aladdin. The game is rather old at this point but it is one of the best representations of the Disney animated film out there. The gameplay is tight, the graphics look amazing and the level design is also excellent. If you can get a copy of the game on a ROM or something like that, you really should check out Aladdin, the game.