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Computer Games to Movies - Do they work? We cannot avoid it any longer, whether we like it or not, Doom is due to be released on the big screen in the UK on 2nd December. With the usual varied mix of opinion regarding its merit, Cinemas Online looks at the issue of computer games to movies and not only asks if it works, but also what could be done differently? The Doom game was originally made in 1993. Based on it's similar predecessor Wolfenstein 3d, it used an improved gaming engine. It was a shooting action game developed by ID Software, seen in the 1st person perspective, looking through the eyes of the character you are playing. The object of the game was to play as a Space Marine trapped on a Mars station, defending against hordes of invading demons from hell, of all shapes and sizes, using the various weapons at your disposal. Considered to be a classic game even to this day, it spawned 2 sequels, in the form of Doom 2 and Doom 3. Doom 2 came shortly after the original in 1994, but it wasn't until 2004 that we saw the latest game of the Doom series and Doom 3 pushed the capability of PC's of the time to their limits! Maybe it was always going to be a matter of time before Hollywood decided that it would be a good idea to make a movie out of this classic shooting game and cash in on the franchise. Unfortunately, from seeing the different versions of the trailer that have been released, it looks to me like the movie is just going to be another variant of Resident Evil and various other horror/sci-fi movies that have already been done. Personally, I am an avid computer gamer and hold the opinion that most game to movie conversions so far, have been a complete waste of time and money. In my opinion, Hollywood seem to have the knack of choosing the wrong games to convert and pour millions of dollars in to movies that clearly won't work. Why is it that Hollywood decided it was a good idea to develop a film based on a computer game which is nothing more than walking around different environments shooting anything that moves? Don't get me wrong, it was a great game, but this game was about the skill factor, not the storyline. Perhaps we should start by remembering that Doom is not the first movie to be made from a computer game. In fact, there have been several movies that have been made which are supposed to be based on computer games of the same/similar name. So, let's take a look at some of them:
Streetfighter
	The Game 2d beat 'em up. A straight forward fighting game in which the player would choose a character and use that character to fight different opponents (of varying skills) to submission, the difficulty factor increasing as the game progresses.
	The Movie Starred Jean Claude Van Damme and Kylie Minogue (what a cast). Was developed based on various sub plots throughout the film in an attempt to hold it together. The film can easily be described in one word, and although there are plenty to choose from, I would use - awful!
Mortal Kombat
	The Game(s) Another beat 'em up game, and although you can argue that a fighting game is just a fighting game, the Mortal Kombat games did add an extra style to the genre - not only did it end up going 3d but in later incarnations it allowed players to switch between up to three different fighting styles which increased the skill and replay factors.
	The Movie(s) What happened here?! Because of the fact that the movie was based on a fighting game; right from the very start of the first movie, you could work out who was going to fight whom. Although the concept of the storyline being based around a fighting tournament was acceptable, it was made with a next to unknown cast, was badly scripted, and the special effects were not brilliant in places, so the movie was probably doomed from the start. The only thing I can say in it's favour was that the sets were stylishly designed to create the atmosphere and martial arts sequences were entertaining, although if you thought the Sonya character was a believable in her ability to fight (or act, for that matter), you might want to come out of your closet and watch some decent martial arts movies! - As for the sequel… don't even get me started!
Super Mario Brothers
	The Game Ah the classic, classic computer game, which introduced to the world the genre that was to be known as; "The Platform Game". Sure, it wasn't the first to be made, in fact, Donkey Kong was probably the first, but it can be argued that it was Mario that introduced the Platform genre on a global scale. For those who have been locked away in a cupboard forever; the object of the game was to get the Mario/Luigi character from one end of the level to the other, moving from left to right across the screen. To make things more interesting, there were platforms and lifts that the characters could jump on in order to avoid traps, pits and enemies. It was an extremely simple concept, but very addictive.
	The Movie We'll start this one off with 5 words; "Didn't Bob Hoskins look cute!". It is entirely conceivable that other people will remember this film better than myself as I saw it once and then vowed; never to watch it ever again! However, this was just another example of how Hollywood think that something is a good idea only to find that the paying public does not agree in the slightest. This was Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo) trying to save Princess Daisy (Samantha Mathis) from the evil clutches of King Koopa (Dennis Hopper). Unfortunately, it's just one of those films that leaves you needing therapy!
Wing Commander
	The Game(s) I feel it necessary to start off by apologising to all the fans of the Wing Commander series by pointing out that I didn't really play these games very much. It was just one of those games that I just couldn't get absorbed in to, as I always thought they were a bit tedious and repetitive. Just my opinion, but this series of games were immensely popular. For those who didn't come across this series, it was basically a space flight game, where you took on the role of the main character Col Blair (played by Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill) and destroy any enemy spaceships you see. That's just the basics of it… it was actually pretty good in terms of it's overall gameplay, graphics and sound effects… I just didn't get in to it.
	The Movie For a reasonably lowish budget movie, this film wasn't actually too bad in my opinion. It didn't go down too well with the fans of the game series, possibly because they thought that Mark Hamill should have been given the lead role, others for the fact that it ended up being loosely based on the game. It was for these reasons however, that I ended up thinking that it wasn't too bad. Granted it's no Star Wars, but I don't think it tried to be! It starred Freddie Prinze Jr, Matthew Lillard (who both went on to star together in the Scooby Doo movies) and Saffron Burrows (Deep Blue Sea).
Final Fantasy
	The Game(s) Ok… not much I can actually say about the Final Fantasy games because I've never played them. We all have our favourites - this is not mine. But because this article is about games to movies and not my choice of gaming habits, it is included. It is an RPG (Role Playing Game) which requires the player to assume the role of any of several characters. The purpose of the game was to explore the world you are in from a 3rd person perspective and battle any of the mythical creatures in a "turn based style", ie. you take it in turns to fight each other. Extremely popular series of games, and considered to be very good!
	The Movie Surprise, surprise. Didn't play the games, so therefore didn't see the movie either, but one of my colleagues has seen the film and to my surprise, has left me now wanting to see it. Similar to Toy Story, it is a movie entirely made from computer animation, but in this case is not "cartoony" in style, but very much "life-like". From what I can gather from my colleague and feedback on the Internet, the movie was considered to be pretty good. That said, the only connection between the movie and the game is the title and 1 small bit character. Maybe the question to come out of this one then is; why call it Final Fantasy if it's not even connected to the games? Also, was it because it wasn't close to the game that it ended up being considered a good movie?
Resident Evil
	The Game(s) The world of computer gaming ventured in to the horror genre with these sets of games. Perhaps, more a movie to game, than a game to movie. Although I'm not a massive fan of horror (once you've seen one, you've probably seen them all) I played the first 2 games and thought that the makers had created an atmosphere of suspense quite well - they certainly made me jump in a couple of places. The object of the game was basically to keep your character alive and escape from zombies. Viewing the game from a 3rd person perspective, you are armed with various weapons (at first just a handgun) and have to not only kill any zombie that stands in your way, but also solve any puzzles that challenge you in your attempts to find an escape route.
	The Movie(s) Hmmm… the games (certainly the first one) were a step in a new direction for computer gaming, but when you decide to convert a zombie game back in to a zombie movie, what you do get? - The same as any other zombie movie. Granted a more modern zombie movie compared to the ones made in the 80's etc but nothing new, and by definition; nothing worth watching. I was hoping when we first saw it that it might have seen a new slant on the genre, but alas it turned out to be more of the same horror stuff we've seen before.
Tomb Raider
	The Game(s) Platform gaming goes 3d. I have to say that I was a massive fan of the first 2 Tomb Raider games, playing them through to completion. Another game seen from a 3rd person perspective. Massively popular, you took on the role of Lara Croft, the large breasted English explorer, who spends her time raiding the various tombs of the world looking for ancient artefacts. Levels were based on your ability to work out where you needed to go in order to be able to get in (or out) of a tomb by climbing walls, jumping pits, swinging from vines and pushing or pulling blocks in order to reveal hidden paths. Of course, no Tomb Raider game would be complete without the occasional wolf or bear to shoot at. One of my favourite parts of the game was the swimming ability and the fact that it made you think about how far you could swim underwater without having to come up for air… if you could!! Similarly with Mario, although it wasn't the first 3d platform game to be made, it was certainly the game that put 3d platform games on the map.
	The Movie(s) 6th July 2001, UK audiences were introduced to probably one of the best pieces of casting ever done for a conversion movie - Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft! Expecting this to be another really bad movie converted from a game, I have to say that I was quite pleasantly surprised by it… in that, I wasn't sitting though it trying to decide if I wanted to disturb the 10 people to the left of me in order to walk out of the movie. At best the first Tomb Raider movie was a strictly popcorn munching affair which didn't require any brain activity to watch it. In my opinion, this was the best game to movie conversion done so far, but when you consider the ones that came before it, it wasn't exactly the hardest of feats! Overall, I would describe the first movie as not bad - A pity some Hollywood producer thought that the screenplay/storyline for the sequel was as good as the first!
One that I'm not even going to go in to would be, House of the Dead. Oh dear!! Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Considering that all the previous examples of movies based on games have been so mediocre (I'm being nice there), it makes you wonder why Hollywood persist in making them. I'm willing to bet that the Hollywood producers who decide that making a movie based on a game are not actually gaming people themselves (probably because they don't have time to be) and as such, decide to make these movies based on the fact that they like playing the game on their laptop when sat in a hotel room or trailer somewhere. Looking at other movies that are "in the pipeline" which are based on computer games, the future is not looking much brighter.
	Alone in the Dark The movie's already been released in the US in January 2005, and it's obviously so bad that the UK cinema industry didn't want it, as it has gone straight to DVD release. (Released 24th October 2005)
	Dungeon Siege Currently filming, the movie is based on the fantasy RPG. Plenty of known names in the cast list, but non of them are major "A stream" actors. Might work, might not. - Depends on whether people want a Jason and the Argonauts remake.
	Silent Hill I thought that this game was very eerie and warped, so I'm expecting the movie version to be just as twisted. - It's due for release next year as filming finished in July 2005.
	The Suffering Not official yet, but the rumour mill suggests that screenplays are being written for a movie version of the 2004 computer game. Another horror game, another horror movie.
	Halo It's been announced that Microsoft have signed a deal with Universal and 20th Century Fox to make the movie conversion of the FPS (First Person Shooter) made for Xbox and PC. Due to the fact that the game wasn't overly brilliant, I'm not expecting much from a movie conversion.
	Far Cry A brilliant FPS game developed for the PC and now for Xbox, but the question remains as to whether it would convert well to a movie… after all, you'd just end up with another bog standard action movie wouldn't you?
Where from here then? So, with all the movies already made, and all the movies that are in the pipeline, why is it that we still don't have a candidate that can be deemed as proof that these conversions are worthy of the money that is thrown at them? Perhaps it would be wiser to consider the opinions of the gaming community who live and breath computer games. After all, it's fair to say that these people have a good idea of what games have the potential to be good movies. Although there are several very good games available on several different platforms, it doesn't necessarily mean that they will convert well to film. Having said this, I have attempted to come up with a few titles that I think would fit the criteria:
	XIII With the recent success of Sin City and it's refreshing style of filming, it reminded me a lot of XIII. It is a FPS game, but the reason it was different is because it was animated in the style of a comic book story. In addition to this, it was a game that relied heavily on the storyline and not as much on the on screen action. The only down side to this would be the fact that the story of the game is based around the main character loosing his memory and trying to piece things back together… is it too similar to The Bourne Identity movies?
	Prince of Persia: Sands of Time I openly admit from the start that I have only played the first Sands of Time game in the Playstation series but I can't think of a movie that is similar to this game. It is basically a 3d platform game, set in the ancient Middle East. It is similar to Tomb Raider in terms of the movement of the character, but the main character also battles enemies with swords, dodges traps and has the ability to rewind time in order to correct a mistake or mistimed jump, or even slow down time whilst fighting an enemy (a lot like "bullet time" in the Matrix). With these abilities, surely it would give enough scope to be able to make a movie that's a bit more interesting then what's been done before.
	God of War This would be a dark movie, but considering the excellent reviews the game has received from around the world, it would seem that this is a franchise that is here to stay. If made in to a movie, this would turn out to be a dark Clash of the Titans style movie and will likely be an 18 certificate, but at least it would be a fresher variant on all the other horror/zombie films that seem to be coming out every other week.
	Splinter Cell When you talk about Tom Clancy, surely you're looking at a very good movie. Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Sum of All Fears… all successful movies centred around Tom Clancy's character Jack Ryan. How many times have we seen movies where it's nothing but action for the sake of action. In the Splinter Cell games, the character of Sam Fisher has to complete his missions by stealth and use his ability to hide in the darkness to get to where he needs to be. We've all seen and enjoyed Mission Impossible where the Tom Cruise's character had to break in to the CIA headquarters. Or even Oceans' 11… how about a movie about the world's best Stealth operative having to find a way to break in to somewhere just as impregnable?
With an absolutely massive games industry on several different platforms, you would have thought that there is plenty of material for Hollywood to get its teeth in to. Perhaps the release of Doom and subsequent inevitable bad reviews, might serve to be a wake up call for movie producers everywhere to sit up and take notice that certain parts of the gaming community are not happy with their choices of game conversions. I doubt it… but you never know! Doom is on general cinema release in the UK on 2nd December 2005.