What's the best video game adaptation? | Team Talk

---

With The Last of Us blowing up the internet and bringing grown men to tears before even the end of the first episode, we’ve been thinking about the best examples of video game adaptations.

Of course, it’s a phenomenon that goes both ways, with films based on games, games based on films and even a game inside another shame based on a film that’s based on a theme park ride – that be Pirates of the Caribbean in Sea of Thieves for those of you keeping up with this tortured explanation.

So, what’s the translation, transmutation or transfiguration which hits the spot for you in the video game world? Perhaps Pedro Pascal’s Joel has blocked all other examples from your mind, or you’re dead set on convincing us all that Bob Hoskins’ Mario is, in fact, the ultimate version of the character. Sound off in the Discord with your ideas.​

​by Team PTC

---

​@pass_controller

---

Pokémon: Indigo League | James Parry

When I say to you “I wanna be the very best…” assuming you’re even vaguely my age, or have even a slight knowledge of Pokémon, you’ll know what comes next is “The best there ever was.”

From the moment that theme song starts, you are pulled into the world created by Pokémon Red and Blue from 1998, which was released in the UK around the same time, with an earworm that outlines not only the point of the show, but the game as well.

It helps that, for many, Pokémon was also an initial introduction to the anime artstyle, an exciting new way to think about ‘cartoons’. While other shows had made it to the UK from Japan, Sailor Moon and Neon Genesis Evangelion were certainly familiar, Pokémon was the show that not only you knew about, your parents knew about.

Ash and his childish stories, which managed to be equal parts ridiculous and heartfelt, were the cornerstone of not just a franchise but a phenomenon which endures to this day. It re-enforces everything you imagined as you played the game, and it too is still going.​

Detective Pikachu | Liam Andrews

I loved the original series of the Pokémon anime. As a huge fan of the original games, it was cool seeing characters I’d battled with turning up as fully formed characters in another medium, and Pokémon had proper personalities instead of merely being members of your squad.

However, I’m going to spurn Ash and co. and instead opt for Detective Pikachu for my pick this week. Game adaptations have conditioned me to have very low expectations when it comes to silver screen productions, but I was pleasantly surprised by Detective Pikachu.

I thought Ryan Reynolds did a good job in his role as what is essentially a giant mouse, and the 3D models themselves were very impressive and easily the best part of the film. I also enjoyed seeing classic Pokémon city locations being referenced on tickets and posters. The plot was a bit bonkers, but you’re not really turning up to these sorts of films for a coherent story.

As far as video game adaptations go, I think this is one of the best, which isn’t saying a lot given what’s come before it. It might not be a classic or even well remembered years from now, but I enjoyed watching it and didn’t leave the theatre feeling disappointed, which counts as a win in my book.

Die Hard Trilogy | Chris Brand

Way back before the likes of Batman and Spider-Man changed the world for the better, licensed game adaptations were often seen as a cheap, easy, cash grab – because they were. 

Die Hard Trilogy, was loosely based on the film series which chronicles the early life of Bruce Willis, bucked that trend by offering up three action-packed, and very different, games in one. Though each could have felt a little light in isolation, together they were great value for money and (surprisingly, for the time) rather fun.

Die Hard was a third-person shooter in which the player ascends Nakatomi Plaza, slaying terrorists and rescuing hostages. Die Hard 2: Die Harder changed things up, giving us an on-rails shooter, similar to light gun games that were (are?) a highlight of arcades. Die Hard with a Vengeance swapped guns for vehicles, as we raced around an over-crowded New York City defusing explosives.

Some of my fondest memories of the trilogy come from Die Hard 2, specifically the cheat code which unlocks the map editor. With it, you could modify the path the player takes, the various paths of the enemies and NPCs and the locations of weapon pickups. It was cumbersome and unintuitive but with a little tinkering you could dramatically alter the flow of the game, even reducing or increasing the difficulty as a result.

Die Hard Trilogy really did feel like three separate titles, not just three chapters of the same game. In the modern gaming world of today, it wouldn't have the appeal, as Grand Theft Auto, and many games of that ilk, seamlessly merge third-person shooting with driving, in a much more attractive package. However, it's possibly a forerunner of the open-world crime sim and one of the first decent licensed games.