games that copy movies that copy games

My favorite example of a game that copies another game that was obviously inspired by a movie is Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. In 1996 Tomb Raider gave the adventuring archaeologist oversized breasts and dual pistols instead of a whip and genuine charm, and created an extremely successful franchise in its own right. After essentially ignoring the Indiana Jones brand for seven years (I don't consider Desktop Adventures a recognizable sequel) Lucasarts clearly designed Infernal Machine with the success of Tomb Raider in mind. Though the intentions were good and the spirit of Indiana Jones was intact, the controls and derivative gameplay made it an inferior game compared against its inspiration; a game that basically brought 3D platforming to the PC.

I think Vivendi Universal's Scarface: The World is Yours is next in line for this strange trend. De Palma's over the top, violent epic was the inspiration for many games, most notably the GTA series. In GTA III one of the radio stations is the entire Scarface soundtrack, not to mention your ultimate goal of ascending the ranks of Liberty City's underworld. The mansion you eventually get in GTA: Vice City was modelled after Tony Montana's stronghold at the end of the film. So why do we need a Scarface game?

"Having the chance to now bring gamers the authentic experience is an opportunity and challenge we are looking forward to," is the reason we get from VUG in a press release, though their reference to "cutting edge technology" is debatable. I might be missing something, but the screens look absolutely horrid even for a console port (yes, this will be on PC).

EA's The Godfather is another movie-game to tap into the free form gameplay of GTA, and will also feature some of the voice talent of the original film's actors despite being disowned by Francis Ford Coppola himself.

I know that GTA III+ is the latest trend in "mainstream" gaming - both Fear and Respect and 50 Cent's Bulletproof are hoping to grab audiences that want to live the thug life without fear of bloodshed or jail time sharing a cell with guy named Big Earl. I could easily compare this landslide of unoriginality to the copious number of WW2 shooters we've seen in recent years. GTA III was critically lauded because of its lack of linear gameplay. I remember spending many sessions simply stealing cars and performing stunts; the missions I found boring and repetitive. Casual gamers liked it for the unabashed violence and freedom to perform criminal acts without consequence. It's been the thorn in the side of lawyers eager to cash in on the video game industry's seeming complacency towards creating and selling "murder simulators" to our youth. Publishers are taking notice of this controversy and want to exploit it. Pretty soon the only complacency we'll be seeing is on the part of the consumer, who are more than happy to forego innovation and shell out money for a dated design concept.

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