Movies and video games have always had a somewhat tumultuous relationship. From the famous failures of video game movie adaptations to the even more famous struggle to make good game adaptations, it's rare for the two mediums to see eye to eye. That's why it's so funny that there are some rare examples of games that try to recreate famous movie scenes while giving players control over the action.
The most recent example of this is the surprisingly good new Indiana Jones game, which recreates a playable version of the beginning of Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Arkbut it's far from the first game to attempt this. Unfortunately, this trend has become less popular in recent years as game developers have realized how difficult it is to pull off. That didn't stop us from putting together a list of some of our favorite examples.
As a noteworthy caveat, we have listed some important features here. Firstly, we only considered recreated scenes that are actually playable; They couldn't just be cutscenes of movie moments. Additionally, we decided to skip entries that were filtered by a style other than that of the original film – this is too specific a way of singling out the Lego games, which feature wonderfully silly recreations and could easily have filled this list.
That being said, here are some of the best (and silliest) attempts at recreating movie moments in games, along with a brief description of how well they work (or don't).
Ethan Hunt infiltrates the CIA
The game: Mission: Impossible (1998)
The film: Mission: Impossible (1996)
How playable is it? Honestly, this one is pretty great. Sure, the descent here seems about 1,000 feet longer than in the film, but it captures the tension well and isn't afraid of the kind of silliness it inspires Mission: Impossible Great. Now I have to admit that this is a curve in two ways. Firstly, it was a game for the N64 and the original PlayStation, so I'll explain the fact that some of it looks downright ridiculous. But secondly, as console technology has improved, we've gotten fewer and fewer games that let you complete heists through laser grids, and frankly that sucks. That's why I'm just happy that this game is really successful. —Austen Goslin
Tony Montana's mansion shootout
The game: Scarface: The world is yours (2006)
The film: Scarface (1983)
How playable is it? Lens, Scarface: The world is yours is one of the strangest games ever released. Aside from the fact that there is only one combat resource called “Balls”, where Tony Montana can go into “blind rage” when his “Balls Meter” is full, the game's oddity is only compounded by the fact that it is is a sequel to the film – which, by the way, ends with Tony Montana dying in a hail of bullets. To remedy this, the game's first level is a recreation of the film's ending, in which Tony is supposed to die in a firefight. However, in the video game version, Tony shoots his way out of his mansion, mowing down dozens of would-be murderers before escaping and continuing his criminal empire under the players' control. To be clear: the game isn't very good, so this level isn't very good either. But as playable recreations of famous movie scenes go, it's a success. —AG
The game: Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire (1996) and many other Star Wars games
The film: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
How playable is it? The Battle of Hoth is iconic. It's one of the greatest movie scenes of all time, a truly epic sci-fi battle that rivaled war films long before CGI made that both easy and less believable. So it's no surprise that it's a perfect target to recreate in almost any Star Wars game it could fit into. Unfortunately, most of these replicas were pretty bad. The best of these come from games like Star Wars: Battlefrontwhich gives players control over the outcome and allows them to use the film's setting for arbitrary battles. However, we think they are real replicas Shadow of the Empire is the closest thing to reality, even if it's still a far cry from Luke's daring in the film. —AG
The game: The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005)
The film: The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix reloaded (2003)
How playable is it? The Matrix: Path of Neo is full of recreations of this kind, and frankly none of them actually work, which is less an insult to the game and more a testament to the Wachowskis' original films. Of all the moments this game digitizes (can you tell when the original version took place in The Matrix?), the “Burly Brawl” is both the most obvious and the most egregious. One of the strangest and most spectacular fights ever The Matrix reloadedPitting Neo against hundreds of Agent Smith clones seems like an obvious carryover to video games. Unfortunately, the original is so damn cool that this version pales in comparison. On the other hand, this game is a recreation of combat The Merovingian mansion isn't all that bad, especially because of the plethora of weapons that Neo can play with at will. —AG
Ellen Ripley initiates the Nostromo's self-destruct sequence
The game: Alien: Isolation (2014)
How playable is it? Alien: Isolation is now widely considered one of the best video games in the universe of Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror franchise. This reputation is only bolstered by the fact that the game not only perfectly captures the terrifying unpredictability of the Xenomorph, but also cleverly recreates two of the most iconic sequences in which it appears in Scott's original film. Alien: Isolation's DLC expansions, Crew unnecessary And Last Survivortake place on USCSS Nostromo and cast players in the role of either Ellen Ripley or one of her crew members.
Crew unnecessary recreates the scene immediately after Brett's death, as the remaining crew on board make a final attempt to expel the creature through the Nostromo's airlock. Last Survivor starts right after the end Crew unnecessarywith Ripley forced to activate the ship's self-destruct sequence and escape before she too becomes prey to the creature. Both DLCs do an excellent job recreating two of them ForeignerThe game's most tense and frightening moments put players squarely in Ripley's shoes and test their cavalier, “Pfft, I could survive that” attitude. –Toussaint Egan
