Top 10 Games That Should’ve Been Movies

Every now and then a video game comes along that feels like it really would've fared better as a film. When a game has an incredible story and an amazing cast of characters, but it's dull or the levels are poorly designed or the combat is rough, it can be difficult to shake the feeling that it should've been a film. Here are the ten games I think would've had much greater success on the silver screen.

Yes, I know, the talentless black hole of the film industry, otherwise known as Uwe Boll, adapted this series already. The only problem is it was awful, so we're going to go ahead and pretend like it never existed. The remake was Atari's last hope of creating a blockbuster franchise similar to what Capcom has done with Resident Evil, but unfortunately, despite a lot of promise, the game fell flat on its face. The gameplay, and specifically the combat, was what really held it back, because no one wants to swing the control sticks to fight, or go through the same poorly designed driving section a half dozen times, or burn a hundred devil trees scattered about Central Park. As a film, Alone in the Dark could drop a majority of the things that hurt it so badly, and instead focus on the gorgeous environments, hauntingly beautiful music, and its cheesy B movie plot.

Clive Barker's films have had moderate success at the box office. His most notable creation is the fantastically twisted Hellraiser series, which like every horror franchise that's endured more than three sequels, really hasn't gotten any better with age. Barker's first foray into the world of bytes and sprites was Undying, an underrated horror game that has a pretty hardcore cult following. Jericho was supposed to show us all what he could do with a real budget, but the thing that came out of it was a dull squad shooter. That aside, Jericho did have some of the creepiest creatures and environments this side of Silent Hill, and the idea of possessing your squad mates to fight as them is a novel one.

The one thing I hated about the otherwise fairly solid Manhunt series was having to kill people in some intensely violent ways. That was where much of the controversy originated from, with various parent/family/religious groups saying the game will breed serial killers. Obviously, that's not true, but I still wouldn't mind seeing what a Manhunt film would be like. It would be a worthy addition to the decaying torture porn genre, since it has Saw and Hostel written all over it.

System Shock 2 was one of my favorite horror games of all time. I remember the beginning, where you wake up aboard a monster-infested spaceship, and the part where you reach the source of the voice that's been directing you to safety only to realize it was the rogue A.I. SHODAN the whole time. Unless System Shock 2 gets remastered sometime soon—which I fully support—there's a whole generation of gamers who will never experience this amazing game. As a film, it could reach a much larger audience that would've otherwise skipped it.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Heavy Rain and Twin Peaks collided in a glorious explosion of creepy cinematic creativity? Neither have I, but if I had, I'd say the result would be something along the lines of Deadly Premonition. This was a highly underrated title that polarized critics. It's a game you either love or you hate, and I found myself blissfully frolicking into the former group. The characters are quirky and hilarious, and the story is surprisingly great. Unfortunately, the world is far too large and empty, it's not a very visually impressive game, and the combat is awful.

I don't usually watch people play video games, but I could easily dedicate an evening to watching someone play Dark Souls. I've played it and its predecessor, Demon's Souls, but I've never finished either. I think it's because I have a limit on the amount of abuse I can take from a game, and when it passes that threshold I have to put the controller down and walk away. As a film, Dark Souls could wow everyone with its gorgeous environments, monsters, and characters without asking them to climb that steep wall of difficulty the series is known for.

I didn't hate Armageddon, but I'll always have a sour opinion of it since it essentially killed one of my favorite new franchises. Red Faction was far too young to die off because of a single failed game. There's no denying how awful the idea was to take the series underground into the realm of action horror pioneered by series like Dead Space, and not just because horror only limits the game's appeal. The worst part of going underground is that it ruined the big open world Guerilla tossed us into, then patted us on the butt and told us to go crazy. What other games let you attach satchel charges to the base structure of a massive building, then climb it, explode the charges, and surf down the building as it collapses into a pile of rubble under you? Armageddon should've been a horror film spin-off, to give us a taste of what a Red Faction horror game would look and feel like so we could see if we wanted more.

The Room wasn't a horrible game, and it would've been easily forgotten had it not marked the beginning of the slow death the Silent Hill series has been struggling with since it released. It wasn't even supposed to be a Silent Hill game until Konami decided to tweak it a bit and slap on the Silent Hill label. With that said, it was a marvelously unsettling experience backed by the unpredictability of the series and Akira Yamaoka's excellent scoring. The idea of waking up in an apartment with no memory of how you got there and no way out is an intriguing one, and I feel it could've been better explored as a film. The combat was never that great, and those ghosts were frustrating to a controller-breaking degree, but the atmosphere was all top-notch.

Metro 2033 was daunting in its bleakness and there was a sense of omnipresent dread that always seemed to hang thick in the air. It's a very atmospheric game that packed a few surprise punches, like the ghosts who despite being nothing but shadows on the wall manage to instill a deep sense of fear. As a shooter, Metro 2033 really needed to excel in that department, and unfortunately, it didn't. However, as a film, all you would need is the horror-infested post-apocalyptic wasteland. Thanks to Dmitry Glukhovsky, who wrote the novel the game is based off of, the story, characters, and world have already been brilliantly crafted.

From the beginning, Shadows of the Damned was doomed to become a cult hit. Even having three of the most creative minds of the Japanese gaming industry couldn't save it. As a film, Shadows of the Damned's quirky cast of characters, hilariously raunchy dialogue, and stunningly colorful interpretation of Hell would've been a feast for the senses.

What 10 do you think should've been movies, post your answers