8 More Video Games Better Than The Movie They're Based On
Welcome to Tues Your Own Adventure! Join Jules and James as they take a look at more video games better than the movie they're based on! Avoid the movie, play the game!
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00:00 *gibberish*
00:02 Hello all of you little demons, Jules here for WhatCulture.com, back again with another
00:06 episode of the awesomely named and awfully hosted Choose Your Own Adventure, the weekly
00:11 medieval format where I, the crown jewels of WhatCulture.com, take a list chosen by
00:15 you, yes you, the person who has unfortunately got a rather nasty ingrown hair on the side
00:20 of my head.
00:21 I've said this before, I'm bald.
00:22 God, why?
00:23 You've made me bald, why do you also give me ingrown hairs?
00:26 That's not fair.
00:27 That is not fair.
00:28 Yes, it is as painful as it looks, so apologies, you're just going to have to put up with
00:31 staring at my third eye over here.
00:34 Right, yes you, get to decide what list I dole out to you each and every week.
00:38 And this week we have, ba ba ba ba ba ba, my drum trumpets, as somebody pointed out
00:42 in the previous episode.
00:44 Big Gran.
00:45 And their suggestion of video games better than the movie that they're based on.
00:48 Now here's the thing, Jess actually did a video very recently that covered this exact
00:53 topic.
00:54 It was very confusing to see this suggestion come up and then be told by my boss, we've
00:56 actually already had this one in the works.
00:58 So what I've done, is I've done a sequel to this already.
01:01 We're doing eight more, baby.
01:03 You can't stop this train rolling.
01:05 So let's get on with this lovely list, shall we?
01:07 As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are eight more video games better than
01:11 the movie they're based on.
01:13 And you know the drill by now.
01:15 Say hi to me here over in the live chat and pop your suggestions for next week's episode
01:18 down in the comments section below.
01:20 Now with that in mind, let's get on with this list, shall we?
01:23 Number eight, Ratchet and Clank for the PS4.
01:26 Now I know what you're probably thinking to yourself, James, that you're probably thinking,
01:30 Jules, you absolute pebble-headed idiot, what are you doing, smoking the asbestos again?
01:34 Get down from the roof, mate.
01:36 I'm pretty sure that Ratchet and Clank was a game for the PS2 and not a movie to begin
01:40 with.
01:41 Well, you know what, mate?
01:42 I know that's what you were thinking, but why don't you suck on some of this?
01:45 That's right, it's the evil finger temple.
01:47 It's back, baby, because I've got a scheme.
01:50 That's right, you've fallen into my trap.
01:52 You see, my dear friend, the Ratchet and Clank video game that dropped on the PS4 wasn't
01:57 actually a remake of the beloved first game in the series, it was actually a video game
02:01 based on a movie of the same name, which itself was based on the original game.
02:06 And what an experience it was, offering up beautiful graphics, an astounding dollop of
02:11 nostalgia, and some cutscenes ripped from the movie tying things together.
02:15 It's just a shame, really, that the movie itself felt rather flat, as despite all of
02:19 its flash, never felt like it was really firing on all cylinders.
02:22 Thankfully, the movie's splices were kept to a minimum so the gameplay could speak for
02:26 itself, and reminded the world why this pair of platforming pals are as well regarded as
02:31 they are.
02:32 I always feel like we've got a Ratchet and Clank vibe going on here, James.
02:35 I'm the wisecracking superhero, main star of the show, good looking and all, and you're
02:40 just this backpack that I wear.
02:44 You know?
02:45 You.
02:46 7.
02:47 Alien 3
02:48 It's no secret that the third Alien film had something of a troubled production, with
02:52 massive changes to its directorial team, a desire for the central cast to exit the franchise
02:57 permanently, and of course, the fact that shooting began without an official script
03:01 in place.
03:02 Therefore, it's something of a miracle that Alien 3 was as watchable as it was.
03:07 Don't get me wrong, it's still a pretty awful movie, but you know what, I don't
03:10 think I could do any better without... any script in place.
03:14 Although I do know that my version of Alien 3 would have actually included a lot more
03:18 xenomorph dog, and if you don't know what that is, check it out, I'm sure James has
03:22 put a picture of it up right here right now, look at that, that is adorably deadly.
03:26 Therefore, when it came to the obligatory movie tie-in video game, the bar was set pretty
03:31 low, meaning that this project could have just been squirted out with little care and
03:34 been considered better by the fanbase.
03:37 Yet Alien 3 actually went one step beyond, and delivered two amazing games with completely
03:41 different vibes for the Genesis and the Schneers.
03:45 For those of you looking for a highly polished action game with an utterly banging soundtrack,
03:49 then the Genesis version was for you, yet if you were looking for more suspense and
03:54 scares, then the Schneers version capitalised on minimalistic horror.
03:58 It's actually impossible to compare these two games as they really did strike different
04:02 chords, but when combined, they made that sweet cacophony of screams that I've been
04:06 told in space, nobody can hear.
04:08 6.
04:09 Cars the Video Game Right, okay, so let's face facts here.
04:13 Cars as a movie property is a very, uh, well, greasy one indeed.
04:18 In fact, I'm pretty sure that somebody just slapped down a volume of "How to Market
04:22 to Dummies for Dummies, ya dummy" and then just slapped a picture of Lightning McQueen
04:27 on top saying "Ka-chow!"
04:29 Whatever it is he says.
04:30 Ka-pow!
04:31 Ka-bing!
04:32 Ka-zinga-bing!
04:33 Big bang, ba-zinga-bings!
04:34 I don't know, it's a piece of sh*t film.
04:37 Because boy howdy, this film is just the worst.
04:40 It doesn't matter if you thought that the story about a pompous car learning some humility
04:44 was a good one, the fact of the matter is that this was the most blatant Disney has
04:48 ever been when it came to their desire to unload toys, and lest we not forget, they
04:52 made an entire franchise based around toys themselves.
04:55 I think it was called, like, a capitalist story or something like that?
04:59 I forget.
05:00 Everything from the ground up was designed around an item or a playset to be portioned
05:04 off and sold to the public, and when coupled with a three act tale so thin on material,
05:08 a ghost looked more substantial, made for one of the weakest Pixar films in years.
05:13 And yet, the game released alongside this film was actually really decent.
05:18 This was down to the fact that with such a generic film to go off and such an easy adaptation
05:22 to work with - because let me just run the numbers on that one, James, let's go to
05:26 the lab for a second, shall we?
05:27 Okay, so we've got cars, plus game, carry the one, equals...
05:34 Cargo Broom Broom Game!
05:35 So yeah, the devs were basically handed a home run.
05:38 The fact that they went above and beyond to make the drifting feel responsive and the
05:42 AI challenging enough to demand your attention really was the icing on a rather oily cake.
05:47 5.
05:48 The Mummy Demastered
05:49 Okay, so let's face facts, the 2017 Tom Cruise starring The Mummy was a bit of a bomb.
05:58 In fact, to call it a bomb would actually imply that it had any sort of impact whatsoever,
06:02 as this was kind of like a drab sprinkling of confetti, wet confetti at that, in the
06:06 back alley of a Tesco's, and on each part of the confetti it just had a smad cro- smad?
06:11 A smad?
06:12 I'm smad!
06:13 I've gone smad, James!
06:15 On each part of the confetti it just had a sad emoji face on it.
06:20 It was a piece of trash.
06:22 Things started off poorly, with a trailer being released online with a missing audio
06:26 track, meaning that all we could hear was Cruise's grunts and groans, something that
06:29 would indeed be echoed by the audiences upon watching the final product, as this was utterly
06:35 woeful.
06:36 It was clear that, much like DC had found out prior, that rushing towards an ensemble
06:40 movie in order to launch a cinematic universe was only ever going to end in disaster.
06:45 Yet, unlike DC, who had the strength of their characters to pull things back into place,
06:49 this horror cinematic universe had, uh…
06:52 But, uh, Tom Cruise chewing scenery and running away from badly animated ghosts?
06:57 Yay!
06:58 Oh, the two-thumb seal's back!
07:00 Yay!
07:01 Oof!
07:02 However, while things were looking pretty dire on the film front, the Mummy Demastered,
07:06 which was released alongside the film, was truly excellent.
07:09 A Metroidvania experience through and through, this game looked as beautiful as it was brutal.
07:14 But the best feature by far was that when you died, your body would become possessed,
07:18 meaning that you'd need to dispatch this shambling corpse in order to get back your
07:22 loot.
07:23 This, coupled with some exceptional level design, meant that while the film equivalent
07:26 was drowning, the Mummy Demastered was riding a huge wave of critical and commercial acclaim.
07:32 4.
07:33 The Warriors
07:34 Oh, I absolutely love the Warriors film, I absolutely love it, my friends.
07:39 It is a cult classic that most definitely lives up to the second part of that label,
07:44 offering up vibrant and over-the-top gangs, a ruthlessly simple plot of 'get home without
07:49 being battered', something that people who live in Gateshead can feel very seen by, and
07:53 yes I can say that because I live there, and of course the endlessly quotable lines of
07:57 dialogue.
07:58 It is ridiculous, and I love it.
08:00 Therefore I, alongside so many others, were sent into an absolute spin when it was announced
08:04 that Rockstar of all people was going to be making a video game adaptation of the Warriors
08:09 decades after the film's release.
08:11 And you know what?
08:12 It was absolutely stunning.
08:14 It captured the magic of the film immediately, presenting a rough and gritty aesthetic that
08:19 was backed up with hard-hitting and tooth-rattling combat.
08:22 Yet its most surprising touch of brilliance was that the game actually gave us a prequel
08:26 tale informing players on how the Warriors got started as they split from, and then defeated,
08:31 the Destroyers.
08:33 It could have been a throwaway prologue, but the devs went above and beyond here, elevating
08:37 the entire IP and expanding upon the characters we knew and loved.
08:42 And when you add in all of the hard-hitting combat and a fantastic two-player offering,
08:47 this game absolutely smacks.
08:51 Smacks mate.
08:52 3.
08:53 Toy Story 2 Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue
08:55 Right, okay, I have got something very, very special for you today.
08:59 I am bringing back the Wumper List.
09:03 Alright, I'm letting you know in advance.
09:05 Okay?
09:06 All I'm saying is, Toy Story, Andy's Mum's Bedside Drawer, these two are on a collision
09:14 course.
09:15 But they are being intercepted by the true Wumper List, which is me giving an entire
09:19 entry to James Dowse.
09:21 Oh yeah baby, hit it.
09:23 What?
09:24 3.
09:25 Toy Story 2 Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue
09:26 Right, so this game is absolutely fantastic.
09:29 I played so much of it as a kid, and when you've got the film, which is a 10/10 film
09:33 in itself, from beginning to end, you cry, you laugh, you cry again because Jesse gets,
09:37 you know, abandoned in that box.
09:40 That's not the point.
09:41 The game is just even that little tiny bit better because you play as Buzz and you go
09:46 around all of the locations that were in the film, you fight the old prospector, you race
09:51 against RC, you do everything that you always wanted to do in a Toy Story game, and then
09:57 some, it's just absolutely outstanding.
10:00 And that's all I've got to say.
10:02 Brilliant game.
10:03 Well done.
10:04 Well done James, well done.
10:05 Fantastic performance.
10:06 2.
10:07 Dragon Ball Evolution
10:10 So IGN once called Dragon Ball Evolution for the PSP "a piece of trash, a disaster burned
10:18 to UMD" and that is some pretty serious accolades, let me tell you.
10:23 And yet, and yet, it is still a better, a better project than the goddamn silver screen
10:32 version.
10:33 Because I say this with ultimate peace and love, despite this game not being fit to blow
10:37 my arse on, it is still better than the abomination that was the DBZ-E film.
10:42 Seriously, if you have never seen it, do yourself a favour and continue to live with the serenity
10:46 such a choice has befitted you with.
10:48 It is genuinely stunning that a project with this amount of content to draw on, and with
10:52 this amount of goodwill, failed so spectacularly, butchering beloved characters, botching what
10:58 should have been climactic fights, and setting up for a sequel that thankfully never came.
11:03 And so, when your fighting game barely works, looks like it was made using assets from the
11:07 PS2 game A Dog's Life, and is about as deep as a shallow grave, it is still better than
11:14 Dragon Ball Evolution that came out in cinemas.
11:19 Goddamnit.
11:20 1.
11:21 World War Z
11:23 To say that some were hyped for the release of the World War Z movie was a bit of an understatement,
11:28 what with the fanbase themselves forming a towering mass of bodies that were clambering
11:32 over one another to see how Max Brooks' phenomenally granular survival guide would
11:36 be adapted for the big screen.
11:38 However, those groans and cries dulled significantly when it turned out that Brad Pitt would helm
11:42 the project as its lead, thus confirming that it would be yet another by-the-numbers zombie
11:47 flick for the popcorn-munching masses.
11:49 And lo and behold, upon hitting cinemas, it was clear as day that all the edges had been
11:53 smoothed off this film, and an upbeat Deus Ex Machina moment was included so as not to
11:58 ever challenge the audience in the slightest.
12:00 Therefore, it was a bit strange to see this lukewarm pool of piss be used to baptise a
12:05 game of the same name in 2019, six years after the film's release.
12:09 And even more shocking was the fact that this game was bloody excellent.
12:12 To be fair, the game did struggle a bit, Out of the Gate being compared a lot to Left 4
12:17 Point 5, but then again that is not exactly what I'd call a criticism, and thanks to
12:21 the continued support from the devs and the modding community at large, they basically
12:25 kept the game alive and then elevated it again and again and again, to the point now where
12:29 if you go back and play it today, there's still players online and they're having a
12:32 great time.
12:33 It's so varied, there's so much to do, there's so many relentless enemies to kill and survive,
12:38 it's just, it's a very fun game.
12:40 And seeing as Back 4 Blood kind of pulled its own kegs down a little bit, still waiting
12:45 for that to be rebalanced to be good enough to play, and recommend at least, I'm actually
12:50 finding myself tempted to go back.
12:51 So yeah, it's a good game, based on a pretty, hoo hoo hoo, not so good movie.
12:56 And there we go my friends, those were 8 more video games better than the movie they were
12:59 based on.
13:00 I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
13:03 the comments section below, as well as your suggestions for next week's episode.
13:07 As always, if you want to chat to me further, you can do so over on Twitter @RetroJWithA0,
13:10 or you can swing by Liv and Let's Dice, where I do all of my streaming outside of work,
13:15 and it'd be great to see you over there.
13:16 At the moment I'm going through WWE 2K22, and we've built a character who is a Jacobean
13:21 ghost called Spooky Ghost, and he is haunting his way to the top in style.
13:27 Oh yes.
13:28 Yes, but before I go, I do just want to say one more thing.
13:31 Hope you're treating yourself with love and respect my friend, because you deserve all
13:34 of the best things in life, and do not let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise,
13:38 alright?
13:39 You're a massive ledge, now go out there and utterly smash it.
13:42 Big love to ya.
13:43 See you next time.