re: What is your opinion on movies inspired from video games?

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The only Zelda game that could work as a movie is Majora's Mask.

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and Link's Awakening.

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And then there are titles like Heavy Rain, LA Noire, and the upcoming Beyond: Two Souls game that in many ways are glorified films with gameplay mechanics. They are driven ENTIRELY by story.

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This is what I have been getting at. The other thing with games vs movies is time invested in experiencing the same story.

A good action adventure or RPG can take 40 hrs plus to beat. Even more if you count side quests. A good movie can be done in 90 minutes.

It would be great to see the characters and basic story packaged together in something that can be enjoyed over and over again quickly without spending so much time trying to rebuild a character.

The gaming industry already cranks out tons of games for various movies. It would be nice to have a perfect paring.

Maybe there are more games nowadays with intensive story lines. I haven't gamed very much in the last 5 years or so, but an intensive story line in a game isn't necessarily the same thing as a story that is worth telling in movie form.

RPG's story lines are frequently built to put your character in position to facilitate character building and development.Trying to push this into a movie creates absurdity as has been pointed out earlier.

FPS games are designed to put you in situations that are fun to fight out of. Putting this into a movie might translate into a decent mindless action flick, but it isn't what I would personally call a good movie.

I have heard the the story to the new bioshock is actually really good, and it is actually better than the game play. Maybe that would make a good movie. I don't know.

You are probably right that the choices have been poor. I would think that a major contributing factor to this would be that popular, good games are made into movies. And what makes a game popular and good isn't the same thing that makes a movie really good.

Think about it coming from the opposite direction. How many of your favorite movies could be made into decent games? I usually but not always disliked movies converted to games. Isn't E.T. known as one of the biggest flops of a video game of all time?

I understand what you're saying. I think that part of the reason we're seeing more developed storylines/settings is because of the lack of innovation in regards to new IPs. Many of the biggest games are sequels or part of an already existing setting which already has lore. To me, this would be the simplest way for a video game movie to be a success. Instead of trying to adopt or recreate the exact storyline of a particular video game, become a part of the lore of an existing franchise and create a new storyline within the familiar setting.

I think the upcoming Mass Effect film will be a pseudo-litmus test for this line of thought, as their decision to have the film follow the plot of the first game is certainly interesting. If executed well, it could be a compelling endorsement for or against console to big screen adaptations depending upon its critical and commercial success. If it sucks, well, I guess you just add it to the pile of "What Were They Thinking" films like Super Mario Bros.

I just thought of something, but Majora's Mask could be a great mini-series. Have each episode concentrate on a cycle of days and each episode ends with the apocalypse as Link goes back in time.

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i'd watch a red dead redemption movie.

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frick yeaaah.

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People were saying this about comic books 20 years ago. Now we have big names Peter Jackson and Gore Verbinski trying to make good video game adaptations but the studios are reluctant to fund them.

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Honestly, I think the superhero bubble is about to burst, and then video games will replace them.

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Honestly, I think the superhero bubble is about to burst, and then video games will replace them.

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If there is a loving god, he will, in some degree, set this into motion.

I'd rather not be told that I should like Thor, Captain America, or Iron Man. And now, the most boring of superheroes in Superman.

Prince of Persia was brought up earlier in the thread; PoP: The Warrior Within had one of the most interesting story lines for an action game to date.

I've gone back and watched some of the superman cartoons from the 1940s where everything didn't seem so easy for him. Sure he was invulnerable, but he actually had to strain to lift heavy objects.

Newer versions of Superman make him seem like everything is way too easy to the point where they have to concoct a totally unrealistic super villain.