It’s easy to come up with a list of crappy game-to-movie conversions, since almost every big budget Hollywood flick and its grandmother was followed by a substandard piece of gaming garbage developed by Neanderthals. I’m sure most of them sold well riding on the movies fame alone, but that’s a whole other story. When it comes down to great games based on movies though, it’s a whole new ball game and you’ve got to respect the developers that don’t budge under studio pressure, and deliver a great game that’s an awesome experience independent of the movie fame. Here are a few such games based on movies that have earned our respect:
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Platforms: Xbox, PC
Released: 2004
If you’ve not played Escape from Butcher Bay, you’ve not tasted melee combat in all its glory! There’s nothing like pummeling the face of a prison inmate with your bare-fist (or one of the gazillion melee weapons you find in the game) as you hear Vin Diesel’s cocky one-liners in his gruff voice, that the lot of us gamers have learnt to associate with all things awesome. If you liked the dark universe of the movie, the game took the gritty setting to the next level through the highly fortified prison complex of Butcher Bay.
You’d traverse multiple layers of the prison, you’d sneak past guards, stab them in the back, and ambush the unsuspecting prisoner with a screwdriver in the face. If you’re a fan of the movie and love great melee combat and stealth, you owe it to yourself to play this one.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Platforms: Xbox360, PS3, PC
Released: 2009
If you like blood and gore, the Uncaged Edition of X-Men Origins: Wolverine lets you impale, maim, eviscerate, mutilate, decapitate, dismember and down-right mince-ify any and everything you came across! The game didn’t follow the movie’s story entirely, and the developers added their own bits and pieces to the mix, which is inspiring since developers of movie-offshoot games rarely get that much freedom; this game should be a testament to why they should be given such freedom!
Think of this one as the God of War of the X-Men universe, and Wolverine’s Adamantium Claws as the Blades of Chaos; this caged beast chews through almost everything through some of the most visceral, gory and stylish moves that are sure to quench your thirst for blood.
Spiderman 2
Platforms: Xbox, PS2, PC, GameCube
Released: 2004
For once a Spiderman game managed to capture an experience that did the franchise justice! While the game based on Spiderman 2 meandered around the story of the movie, there were many villains included from the comic book series, quite a bit of sidestory added to the mix, and a whole lot of freeroaming included. You could freeroam through the crime ridden streets of New York City, scale the highest buildings, bust robberies and swing through the air at lightening fast speeds, making you feel as epic as Peter Parker did when he donned that suit.
If you’re a Spiderman fan, you owe yourself the pleasure of playing this one - it’s the best game to come out of the franchise, and perhaps any comic book series!
Aladdin
Platforms: PC, Sega Genesis, SNES
Released: 1993
Based on the super-successful Disney Animated movie ‘Aladdin’ that released way back in 1992, this game bedazzled the lot of us with some of the best cel-shaded visuals ever.


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