Imagine the sheer fear if this thing showed up on a television screen. Yeah, now you know what I mean.
We’ve gotten all of the downsides of adapting video games out of the way, so it’s time to take a look at the potential of bringing interactive storytelling to the big screen. In spite of the fact that Hollywood has brought us some clunkers, there are some properties that could be brilliantly done as a movie. Without further ado, here are my five picks that would make the most sense for Hollywood to adapt to the screen.
1. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
Vegas veered away from the traditional style of the series, but it’s arguably closer to a modern day threat than the others.
Although it also became one of Clancy’s finest novels, the Rainbow Six series defined itself as an absolutely merciless counter-terrorism simulator in the late 1990s. Drawing together “one shot, one kill” gameplay, urban tactical planning, and interesting conspiracies, the team over at Red Storm Entertainment delivered a series that never really had a terrible title in the bunch. So how would an adaptation work?
As long as a production team avoids any links to The Bear and the Dragon, they should be okay. Other than that, they should give us John Clark, Ding Chavez, and a rotating cast of the greatest badasses ever to be on the silver screen. But most importantly, a Rainbow Six film should begin with a sense of mystery, especially since it’s one of the things that defined the original stories.
Who are these terrorists? What are their primary objectives? Who, if anyone, might be backing them? These questions can then be answered as we begin to get attached to the team, even though some of them will inevitably die in combat. There’s even room for a shared cinematic universe with the Ghosts and Splinter Cells, if such a thing could be executed properly.
Next!
2. Halo
An oldie, but a classic.
Halo: Combat Evolved was a transformational gaming experience for me that established console gaming as a force to be reckoned with in entertainment. Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo: Reach upped the ante with each passing installment, building upon the story of the first game to create a rich, albeit kind of cheesy, universe. While these stories could be easily adapted to the screen, the great thing about this particular franchise is that one could tell more stories with it than just those of the six main games that are currently released.
Halo 3: ODST was a good example of such thinking. However, one could also look to the novels for more inspiration. How did the Covenant form? What’s the deal with Doctor Halsey? What about the first contact event on Harvest? Each of these could be used to draw fans, new and old, into a sci-fi drama for the ages.
If you can get past the whining Grunts, that is…
3. Fallout
At most, you’ll get to saving the region like with New Vegas.
Like the others on this list, Fallout has the distinct advantage of enough time and lore that would allow a story to go anywhere. Sure, it has strange creatures, satirical moments, and some odd science fiction tropes here and there, but the series is very interesting because it explores an alternate Earth after a nuclear disaster. After the end of the world, players could become a savior or a conqueror, but what separates it out from the pack a little bit is that it is usually not about saving the world.
No, it’s typically about saving the community.
Fallout 3 is the best example of this kind of storytelling. It wasn’t about restoring the government or defeating some grand, all-powerful foe. It was just about going through hell to make sure that the people of the region could have some drinking water… unless you developed some ulterior motives along the way. That kind of a story would be interesting to see on screen, even if it takes away from the fact that we are supposed to be the stars of the show.
4. Starcraft
Better than the first by a long shot. You owe it to yourself to play this series.
Despite the disappointing returns on Warcraft earlier this year, I believe that Blizzard Entertainment will have a better chance on the smaller screen with their critically acclaimed science fiction series, Starcraft. Why do I think this way? Well, it’s not just that the conflict is exciting and that there is interesting technology in that universe.
It’s also due to the fact that the characters are truly interesting, albeit with one exception that we’ll deal with later on.
A television series structured around the Terrans (with some Protoss cameos) would be a straight-up war thriller and an interesting mystery for the first season or so. It’d be fun to see Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan on screen not just because they’re two badasses fighting aliens. It would also give the writers a chance to smooth out the relationship issues between them, especially since it’s a little iffy when one considers Brood War and Starcraft II.
Where it starts to get really interesting is when we get to the Zerg. It’s a little odd because I initially didn’t find them to be all that interesting, but that all changed with Starcraft II. The characters that would come to make up the Swarm are interesting because they’re not just a hive mind. Abathur has an interest in chasing perfection. Zagara is a headstrong servant that is eager to do the dirty work of the Swarm. It’s a bizarre, but oddly satisfying take on aliens that would make for compelling television.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Protoss. While they are a bunch of badass aliens, I don’t think that Blizzard did enough to expand upon their culture or make me care about them. They’re not as funny as the Terrans or as mysterious as the Zerg. They just seem to be a warrior caste that screams: “My life for Aiur!”
Even with that in mind, Starcraft would be a blast to watch and, like the others, it can go anywhere.
5. XCOM (The 2012 Reboot Series)
Enemy Unknown was great. It’s sequel perfected the formula. Play them both!
Although I was a PC gaming fanatic in my early childhood, I never ran across the XCOM titles when they were initially released in the middle of the 1990s. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to see the glorious resurrection of the franchise with 2012’s XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The remake brought the 1994 original to modern gaming audiences in a compelling way, introducing players to a basic, but well-told, science fiction thriller.
The goal? Stop Earth from collapsing long enough to repel a collective of hostile aliens.
Both games in the rebooted series do a great job of establishing a sense of atmosphere, whether it is through the news ticker or the messages in game. Viewers could get a good sense of dread and terror with news pouring in about the economy crumbling to pieces, mind control and utter hopelessness in lost nations, people dying left and right, and pleas for mercy even as XCOM fights on against all odds.
What would it mean for the team? How far would they go to be victorious? What would happen if they failed?
Even with all these intriguing questions, there is one issue that must be addressed.
Unlike the others on this list, an XCOM television show would be boxed in by one of two choices. It could mix the style of the original series with the new one and introduce a new alien threat every year or so. That being said, it could also follow the more tragic nature of XCOM 2 by having the protagonists lose the first war.
I’m not sure which would be better. The former option would allow for more creative freedom, but might get stale because the ayys will always wish to conquer Earth. The latter option would restrict the story, but would be a bit truer to the idea that this series is about loss and long odds.
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