The appeal of role-playing games banks on our dreams to go to distant lands, experience them, and accomplish something extraordinary ourselves. We are temporarily transported to ancient cities and follow the lives of multi-accomplished individuals. You get to play a character, set the pace of the story, create a version of you that could only be possible in a virtual world.
The movie industry, of course, did not waste the opportunity and adapted many of these games into films. But likewise, the films gave the games more traction. For sure, many had suddenly become interested in how to build a gaming PC after watching them. Here are some popular movies that had been inspired by computer games.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Before Alicia Vikander, the voluptuous heiress was first given life by Angelina Jolie. The enthralled crowd followed her from her luxurious estate to the temples of Cambodia and tombs in Serbia as Croft battles with the all-powerful Illuminati.
Who doesn’t like a good heart-pounding race around the globe, racing against time (the mission had to be completed before a planetary alignment is completed), and their ultimate goal—a tool that can control time?
A sequel, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life came out in 2003, an indication that the first movie had been profitable. Unfortunately, this did not do so well among critiques. Although nothing with Angelina Jolie followed after that, Tomb Raider, which starred Alice Vikander, was released in 2018, indicating that despite the failures of the last film, the franchise still has a lot of potentials.
Silent Hill (2006)
The graphics of the game had been enough to scare even the toughest of horror story aficionados and give nightmares to unsuspecting gamers.
The suggestion of other dimensions existing in the same area is already interesting enough. Add to it the fascinating element of a cult, and the image of murderous nurses (so many movies have been made from this idea of a killer nurse). While the movie had an unexpected ending, it made considerable profit locally, internationally, and earned more from its video releases.
The story in the gameplay is considerably different from the one in the movie, but they have similar elements—a parent searching for an adopted daughter, the car crash causing the main character’s unconsciousness at the start, and the names of some characters, and some other trivialities. The game’s endings, however—four different ways—are nothing like that of the movie.
DOA: Dead or Alive (2006)
From the title itself, you already get a feeling that this is going to be quite bloody. You are introduced to the main characters that you know must be battling against each other in the end; however, their relationships develop at the start.
Many fighting video games rarely have deep storylines. You just choose fighters depending on their strength and skills and proceed to defeat random opponents. Each of the characters in the game, however, comes with background stories. These were what moved the movie forward, the audience rooting for one player over the other because of their circumstances in addition to their skills. While the film made a profit of over seven million dollars, the critical response was low, and it didn’t get a sequel.
The video games fared better. As of 2019, there are a total of six Dead or Alive games, each sequel furthering the plot of the story. Playing it feels like going through a book; only you have to take the role of one of the characters.
Final Fantasy (2001)
This is the only computer-animated movie in the list. Over-all, the movie did not score high with critics, with many commenting that the story is too shallow. The plot generally focuses on a group of humans fighting with aliens who have infested the Earth in the distant future.
However, the animation was praised, the character of Aki Ross appreciated as lifelike, almost as if a real human being played her. She was even voted among the sexiest women in 2001 by Maxim and became the first fictional character on the list.
The movie’s origin also fared better. The Final Fantasy game franchise developed by Square and Square Enix is among the highest-grossing video game franchises of all time, with more than $10B in revenues.
All of us probably have this dream of experiencing a thrilling and gripping adventure. However, not all of us are ready to face real dangers. So we take to the virtual world and allow others to create these spaces we could explore from the safety of our rooms at home.
