10 Movie Franchises That Desperately Need an Awesome Videogame Adaptation

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For quite some time, there weren’t many exceptional video games derived from popular movies. While GoldenEye for the N64 remains a timeless classic, it was more of an exception than the rule. However, in recent years, we’ve seen a string of successes when it comes to games based on established franchises like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Friday the 13th: The Game, Spider-Man, the Batman: Arkham series, and RoboCop: Rogue City. It appears that developers have now mastered the art of balancing film successes with innovative storytelling for a different medium.

It appears that Hollywood has mastered the art of bringing video games to life on the silver screen, as evident by hits like “The Minecraft Film” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”. However, let’s save that topic for another time.

Starship Troopers

To date, a total of four video games based on “Starship Troopers” have been released. These include the real-time tactics PC game “Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy,” which received moderate reviews from critics. Following this was the poorly received 2005 first-person shooter for the PC, also titled “Starship Troopers.” The next release was the real-time strategy game “Starship Troopers: Terran Command” (also for the PC), which garnered mixed reviews. The latest addition to this series is the first-person shooter “Starship Troopers: Extermination.

There was much anticipation for the game Extermination, particularly regarding its multiplayer aspect, which was the main emphasis during development. However, the single-player campaign hasn’t been as well-received. It’d be fantastic to have a game similar to Starship Troopers, where you take on the role of an infantryman battling swarms of aliens. If they could include the base-building element from Extermination, that would make it even better.

Superman

Over time, Superman has appeared in numerous video games, a fact that isn’t surprising considering his presence in titles like Justice League and the two sequels of Lego Batman. He even made an appearance in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. These games often received positive reviews. However, when it comes to Superman’s standalone games, they haven’t been particularly successful. The 1979 Atari game was well-received by critics, but subsequent games like the 2006 game “Superman Returns”, the 2002 Xbox game “Superman: The Man of Steel”, the 2002 PlayStation 2 and GameCube game “Superman: Shadow of Apokolips”, and the 2003 Game Boy Advance game “Superman: Countdown to Apokolips” garnered mixed reviews at best.

Regardless of what they were working on, everyone surpassed the notoriously poor performance of “Superman: The New Superman Adventures” (often known as “Superman 64”). Generally regarded as one of the worst video games ever produced, it discouraged developers from investing in a Superman game for years. With technology having evolved significantly since the release of the Nintendo 64 version, it might be worth revisiting the idea now.

The Terminator

A variety of games were produced to capitalize on the popularity of James Cameron’s The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, with releases such as one for the Sega Genesis, another for the NES, a Game Boy version for the former film, and an arcade game for the latter. This trend persisted with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which was accompanied by games for the PS2, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance around the time of its release in cinemas, a PC game called Terminator 3: War of the Machines, and a pinball game.

As a passionate gamer, I’ve noticed something peculiar about the Terminator franchise. While Terminator Salvation graced PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows platforms with a full-fledged game, Terminator Genisys could only manage mobile games. It’s been a bit disheartening to see the enthusiasm for crafting console-worthy Terminator video games dwindle, even with the release of a new movie (neither the arrival of Terminator: Dark Fate nor its successor changed this trend). The franchise came closest to producing a stellar game with 2019’s Terminator: Resistance. Even an enhanced version in 2023 could barely muster average reviews. Here’s hoping that the upcoming survival game, Terminator: Survivors, sets things right.

Predator

1987’s Predator game generally performed well (except for its NES version), but things took a turn for the worse afterwards. The 1990’s revival of the game, Predator 2, garnered decent reviews, but in terms of contemporary games derived from this IP, it seems there have been one missed opportunity after another.

Game titled Predator: Hunting Grounds successfully places players in the role of the Yautja, although its execution fell short. A different approach for a Predator game could involve putting the player as a soldier facing off against the Yautja, similar to what Predator: Hunting Grounds did.

Die Hard

For the first time, a video game adaptation of the Die Hard franchise was released only two years following the debut of the initial movie. Initially, it was a top-down perspective game for the Commodore 64 and TurboGrafx-16, with a NES version coming out the next year (1991). The arcade fighting game, Die Hard Arcade, was launched in 1996 before being ported to the Sega Saturn. The Die Hard series has arguably come closest to having an excellent video game in another 1996 Die Hard Trilogy for PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Microsoft Windows.

The latest John McClane video game was essentially a dual blow in 2002, delivered by “Die Hard: Vendetta” (GameCube) and “Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza” (Windows). Moving forward with a first-person shooter approach seems fitting for a modern Die Hard game. However, a third-person survival style akin to “The Last of Us” could also be an intriguing option.

Rambo

Since the release of “Rambo: First Blood Part II” in 1985, there have been numerous “Rambo” video games inspired by its action-packed sequel rather than the original “First Blood”. In the same year, games were released for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. Another one followed in 1986 (Master System), another in 1987 (NES). After the appearance of the “Rambo III” game in 1989 (available on several platforms like the Sega Genesis), the series took a break for quite some time.

It wasn’t until 2008 that the character Rambo made a comeback, this time in the form of an arcade game. Then, in 2014, there was the budget rail shooter game titled “Rambo: The Video Game”. This version was not well-received, with many critics suggesting it seemed incomplete. Given the fame of the Rambo action franchise, it’s surprising that more resources haven’t been invested into creating a genuine, full-fledged John Rambo game. Whether it was based on all five films or an entirely new narrative, such a game would likely thrive as an open-world, stealth and shooter style game similar to “Far Cry”.

Men in Black

Six games based on the “Men in Black” franchise have been produced so far, but none of them fully utilized the potential that the IP offers. One was designed exclusively for Game Boy Color, another was a quick cash grab following the relatively recent release of “Men in Black II”, and, like its counterparts, the reviews were generally poor.

It’s intriguing to note that they have experimented with various gaming genres in an effort to accurately translate the franchise. They’ve created side-scrollers, survival games, and third-person shooters, but none of them seem to truly encapsulate the essence of the franchise. Given the abundance of villainous characters in the movie series, why not develop a game where each stage or segment follows Agents J and K as they track down different alien fugitives on Earth?

Godzilla

Godzilla has rampaged through numerous video games across various platforms. However, a significant number of these games were not released in the U.S., and when they did, they were usually fighting games rather than the exception. Examples include “Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee” for GameCube, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance; “Godzilla: Save the Earth” for PS2 and Xbox; and “Godzilla: Unleashed” for PS2, Nintendo DS, and Wii.

To be honest, playing Godzilla: Monster of Monsters on the NES was enjoyable back then, but it’s been a while since we had a Big-G game that wasn’t just about button mashing. The last time we saw a Godzilla game with more depth was in 2014 for the PS3 and PS4, and those reviews were terrible. What we really need is a game where we can control both Godzilla as he wreaks havoc through Tokyo, and the Japanese military trying to halt his rampage. For example, similar to the Super X from The Return of Godzilla.

The Matrix

Besides the 2021 tech demo titled “The Matrix Awakens,” there have been three games that originated from the Wachowski’s creation. The first one, released in 2003, was named “Enter the Matrix“. This game achieved financial success on platforms like GameCube, PS2, Windows, and Xbox. However, it received a mix of positive and negative reviews from critics.

2005 saw a pair of significant releases: “The Matrix: Path of Neo” (available on PS2, Xbox, and Windows) and “The Matrix Online,” an MMORPG. These games garnered similar critical acclaim to “Enter the Matrix” and, over time, have become somewhat outdated. The imaginative world depicted in “The Matrix” could greatly benefit from a modern revival on a powerful platform like the PlayStation 5.

Transformers

Since the ’80s, video games based on the Transformers intellectual property have been produced, similar to how Godzilla has had its own series of games. When Michael Bay’s films began screening in cinemas during the 2000s, there was a surge in the release of Transformers games.

Similar to many video games inspired by summer blockbusters from that era, they often seemed more like attempts to cash in quickly, which was indeed their purpose. However, it’s intriguing to imagine commanding the Autobots against the Decepticons, possibly engaged in fierce battles on Cybertron.

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2025-05-12 01:56