Top Video Games That Should Be Movies

As a followup to my list of Top Books That Should Be Movies, I'm posting a list of the best video games that I think could make great movies.

Video games today are more sophisticated than they were two decades ago. It would be difficult and pointless to make a movie of Pac-Man or Pong (though, Dodgeball - open this weekend - looks promising). And we've already seen that some video games, as great as they are as video games, just aren't meant to be movies (Mario Brothers, Resident Evil). But there are some awesome video games out there with strong stories and characters, ripe for Hollywood harvesting. My list below does not include games that have already been made into movies (the aforementioned Mario and Resident Evil series), games based on other material (Rainbow Six, Goldeneye 007), or games that would result in something too similar to many existing movies (Prince of Persia = Aladdin, Grand Theft Auto = any mobster movie).

Here are my top picks for video games that could make great movies:

Half-Life Half-Life is not only one of the best video games ever made, it is also one of the most ready candidates for film adaptation. Indeed, the best thing about Half-Life is its deep characters, story, and plot twists. Playing the game the first time almost felt like watching a movie. Half-Life could make an excellent alien movie without feeling like a clone of Alien or Independence Day or any existing alien invasion movies. The somewhat-similar Doom III has already been considered for film adaptation, so the chances that Half-Life will be a movie in 20 years is 35%.

Legend of Zelda Now that fantasy movies are all the rage, it's high time Hollywood adapted the most consistently excellent video game series ever: The Legend of Zelda. The game's world and characters are so well developed at this point, and its fan base so large, that making a movie of the Zelda legend makes sense. As with Half-Life, the biggest hurdle to overcome would be its budget - giant monsters and fantasy worlds are not cheap to create for film. But Zelda is, in many ways, the ultimate 'hero' story. Can you image a Zelda movie directed by Peter Jackson? Wow. Many Zelda fan scripts have already been written, and another is being developed by a rabid Zelda fan and film school student: read about it here. Unfortunately, there seems to be very little Zelda interest in Hollywood at the moment, so chances are slim this will be a movie within 20 years: 10%.

Monkey Island A movie of the Monkey Island series might actually end up feeling like the wildly successful Pirates of the Caribbean. For those unfamiliar with the games, here's the lowdown: clumsy, aspiring Pirate Guybrush Threepwood develops his respect among the inhabitants of several islands, and his dueling skills. Dueling is done with creative insults, not swords. These games rank among the funniest games ever created, and a movie of them could be just as funny with the right talent involved. Besides, everybody likes a good pirate movie. But, I don't really see Hollywood execs looking at this mostly dead video game series as potential profit, so it's chances of being a movie in 20 years are terrible: 1%.

Starcraft or Warcraft Blizzard's fantasy war series has millions of fans across the world and already movie-like production values. While neither series currently has a singular identifiable character to lead the story, the universe of either is ripe for filmic adaptation. Who wouldn't want to watch a dozen Terran Battlecruisers lay waste to a Zerg Hive as a Protoss Dark Archon infiltrates the Terran base to destroy its Refinery? Or, to see hundreds of human Riflemen and orc Wind Riders charge an undead legion of Frost Wyrms while a Night Elf brings the forest to life as Treants, which lay waste to an undead Necropolis? Like the Zelda series, these Blizzard gems have potential to be the next big fantasy series, and have the epic scope to host a battle scene that rivals the as-yet unbeaten Battle of Gondor in Return of the King. But, either one would cost at least $200 million to make properly, so the chance that either series will be seen on a screen near you in the next 20 years are: 10%.

Metroid Samus of the Metroid series is one of the most recognizable video game characters ever. Her adventures on the claustrophobic structures of foreign planets would make a compelling movie, full of suspense, cool technology, and aliens. And, because of its confined environment, the budget would be manageable. The biggest hurdle here is that Samus typically acts alone, and movies quickly become boring with only one character on the screen. I doubt that comrades chatting with her over radio for the entire movie would suffice. This dream's (as with all my dreams) chances of coming true are slim: 15%.

Homeworld I actually cried at the ending of this game. I don't recall any other game ever doing that to me. The deep-space adventure had me so emotionally tied to my fleet and characters that I couldn't hold back the tears when my time with them was over. The game has a compelling story (and back story), emotional resonance, and great space battles. The emotional investment in a race of people without a home, searching for their utopian home of millennia past can't be beat. But once again, the chances this movie will be a movie in 20 years are still slim: 10%.

Metal Gear Solid This game is pretty much a movie already. More than half of its play time is spent watching cinematic story developments in full-motion video. While it can be a bit melodramatic and unrealistic, the story, characters, and plot twists are undeniably "Hollywood." It's actually quite surprising to me that there hasn't been a whisper about these games in Hollywood. It's chances of being made into a movie are pretty good compared to the other candidates here: 20%

As you can see, unless the next big Hollywood craze after Superheros is Video Game Movies, it's unlikely any of these games will ever become films. Still, the video game business is now bigger than film industry in dollars per year, even if its audience is slightly smaller. Still, I'm betting the video game industry will be the next cultural staple of entertainment, art and business (eventually surpassing the music and film industries in all respects), so its creations may eventually be mined by the creatively-bankrupt Hollywood execs en masse.