Movie to game translations have always been strangely fascinating to me – starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark for the Atari. Yes, it’s awful, but who knew better at the time? I mean, holy crap, I was controlling Indiana Jones! I had a single pixel for a whip and I loved it because it was the closest I could get to recreating a movie I wanted so badly to live inside.

And that’s really what this list is about. Not so much adhering to the “best” games based on your favorite movies, but more the ones that opened up those worlds in new ways, and let you be a part of the stories and characters you loved. Some even surpassed the movies they were inspired by.

The only rule was the games had to directly relate to the films they take their name from. So even though I would love to include The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, it gets the shaft because you’re not wandering around punching Judi Dench in the face. So it can suck it, along with Die Hard Arcade for the Saturn – which I bought on Ebay for like $60 because I love Die Hard that much.

Now here are the games:

1. Goldeneye 007 (Nintendo 64; Rare, 1998)

Not just my vote for the best game based on a movie, but for one of the best games ever made. It arguably offers more depth than any other licensed title to hit shelves, recreating the film set for set, and giving you a sense of a living environment that’s yours to explore – all while having some of the most satisfying gameplay of its kind.

The first time I sniped an enemy in Goldeneye was revelatory. For once a game treated me like a real person inside its sandbox, giving me enough breathing room to patiently hone in on my target and fire. It was role-playing taken to the next level. Being a first person title, you actually felt like Bond, sneaking around in air ducts, missile silos, and arctic bases, and wanting to do your damndest to stop the crazy Russians, and that bastard traitor Sean Bean.

Delivering on any one of the elements it handled so effortlessly would be enough for any title, but Goldeneye stands as the most complete gaming experience I’ve ever had. Add in a multiplayer mode that could single-handedly top our list, and this is the game I’ve logged more hours on than any other.

So fuck Halo and Half-Life for thinking they’ve pulled off any new tricks. Ourumov would own the Master Chief with a Golden Gun karate chop in the Facility bathroom.

2. Star Wars (Arcade, Atari; 1983)

There have probably been more shitty Star Wars games than shitty games based on any other movie franchise. And while there are technically better titles derived from the series, like Tie Fighter, Rogue Squadron, and Knights of the Old Republic, this is still the one that feels most like Star Wars to me.

Sitting down in the old arcade cabinet was as virtual reality as you could get in the early 80’s. The controller and dashboard were a mock up of an X-Wing, and your imagination filled in the rest. The physical space combined with the angular vector graphics, fluid controls, and awesome speech samples marked the first time I was actually breathing the air of one of my favorite movies.

Also, blowing up the Death Star made me feel like I had personally conquered evil. Those are still the best quarters I’ve ever spent.

3. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure (PC) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Arcade; Atari, 1985)

These games capture the two things we love about the Indiana Jones films – great action elevated to great art, by surrounding over the top set pieces with the best stories from your high school history classes.

Temple of Doom served for former – letting you whip your way across gaps, pilot a mine car, free slave kids, and yank the Sankara Stones from a giant skull surrounded by lava. It was the first game that recreated physical environments of a movie with an eye for exactly what kids wanted to experience in a game – all while kicking Thuggee ass.

If I could own one arcade machine, it would be Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I’d keep it in my bedroom and play it while drinking the blood of Kali.

Last Crusade for the PC was the complete opposite, but what it lacked in visceral thrills it made up for by kicking in the other side of your brain with its puzzle-based gameplay. The most intellectual entry on the list, you had to explore each area carefully, combining items, and ultimately working through each scene of the film with your brain, not your fingers.

One of the best LucasArts point and click adventure games, it even came with a replica of the Grail Diary, filled with the same notes and sketches from the movie.

So in case you forgot, in the Hebrew alphabet, Jehovah begins with a Y. Bronsonfive just saved your ass, punk.

4. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (GameCube, Playstation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360)

Why the hell is this game so high up? Because it playfully makes fun of the series, while still being one of the best Star Wars games of the past ten years. The most recent entry on the list – it took a mashup of Lego and Lucas to finally build a Star Wars game that fans have been waiting to play since Jedi left theaters.

Lego Star Wars II gives you a highlight-packed trek through some of the most iconic set pieces from the original trilogy, including Mos Eisley, the Death Star detention block, Bespin, and Jabba’s sail barge. This is all without the insane difficulty of the Super Star Wars series on the Super Nintendo – and allows you to immerse yourself in the pleasures of the films at your own pace.

The two player version is even better, and will finally convince your girlfriend that Star Wars can be fun. One of the biggest surprises in recent years.

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (GameCube, Playstation 2, Xbox; Electronic Arts)

Yes, these are basically one long ass-kicking contest. But that’s the exactly the kind of gaming experience I want to enter when dealing with the LOTR trilogy with a controller. Screw the dialog, let’s fight!

So imagine Final Fight in Mordor, and you pretty much have these Lord of the Rings games. Which is fucking awesome, right? The only way it would have scored higher on the list is if you could play as Cody or Haggar. Not Guy though, because he’s for pussies.

Anyway, the games also manage to deliver the most technically impressive feat on the list, by recreating all of the major battles from each film in the trilogy – including the D-Day for nerds, Helm’s Deep. This means levels where you take on waves and waves of animated Orcs at any given time, making the 3 or 4 enemies per screen of Double Dragon and Streets of Rage look as hard as drop-kicking a Hobbit.

Also noteworthy is that Return of the King was released before the movie hit theaters, thus ruining the ending for game geeks everywhere. Ha.

6. Discs of Tron (Arcade)

Tron begged to be a videogame more than any other movie before or since, and while the original arcade game is a cornerstone of my childhood, Discs of Tron is the real gem. Back when arcades were pitch black, this strangely glowing cabinet tucked away in the corner always made me feel a little uneasy. The board was outfitted with a rotary dial, a joystick with a trigger, and a thumb button – all illuminated by a weird blue fluorescent bulb.

You felt like you had just walked into the game grid. Hello, my name is Sark’s bitch!

Firing up Discs of Tron on Xbox Live, it still comes across as one of the most cutthroat games I’ve played – going head to head against your opponents in game that tested your dexterity like few other titles. Standing on circular platforms in mid-air, you throw glowing Frisbees trying to knock each other off - with the right blow making you vaporize like a digital wood chipper.

Thanks Tron, first-person deathmatches are once again for pussies.

7. Aliens (Arcade, Konami)

Of all the late 80’s movie-based arcade games, you couldn’t do any better than Aliens. Yeah, Robocop had better graphics and your character spouting cool lines from the movie, but it was hard as balls. Nobody should have to fight the ED-209 at the end of the first level. Peter Weller didn’t even have to kick its ass until the end of the movie.

Regardless, Ripley would kick Robocop and ED’s ass in this game – she’s a fucking killing machine. You walk her through air ducts and elevators with a giant gun blowing masses of aliens away with an arsenal of firearms. The image of alien carcasses being lit on fire with a flamethrower is still one of the most satisfying kills I’ve ever had in a game.

And unlike most side-scrollers of the day, there’s also a decent amount of variety in the levels and enemies. You even get to pilot the giant fork lift thing and smack those bitches in the face. It’s not as hard as it looks in the movie, by the way. Lying Hollywood bastards.

8. Batman (Genesis; Sunsoft, 1990)

I remember reading about Batman when it was a Japan-only title, wishing that it would someday come to the States so I could get my hands on it. I had rented the NES version and didn’t get what the big deal was. But this game actually looked like the ’89 Batman movie, and I wanted it. So months later when it finally came out here, I woke up at 9am during summer vacation to go to Toys R’ Us with my dad and get it.

Yeah, the NES version is probably better overall, but when I want to play a Batman game this is the one I always go back to. It’s like Castlevania, but with a cape and Batarangs. Which to me sounds like the best Castlevania game ever made.

Great graphics, cool weapons (any game with a grappling hook is automatically 20% better), and vehicle levels that don’t suck. Most importantly, it follows the film to a tee, and gives you an active role in hitting all the major plot points during gameplay, Yeah you get to knock Jack Nicholson’s ass into the toxic waste, shit.

9. Willow (NES; Capcom, 1989)

Willow is a rare example of a game being better than the movie it’s based on. Not to say the Ron Howard fantasy flick is all that terrible, but it’s no Parenthood.

This game was a completely unexpected blend of action and RPG, offering an updated take on the first Zelda game, but with the addition of hit points, magic points, and various weapons and items. Also of note, the story was about 10 times more engaging on the NES. Ouch.

Capcom was definitely on a roll at the end of the 80’s, with Willow being the peak of their license translations – right behind Duck Tales. Great graphics for an 8-bit game, and major bonus points for being the only game on the planet to let you play as Warwick Davis. Or any midget, period.

10. From Russia with Love (GameCube, Playstation 2, Xbox, PSP; Electronic Arts, 2005)

Why does this game exist? Seriously, you take the second James Bond film made in 1963 – which is one of the most action-starved films in the series – and try to sell it to kids in 2005?! Whatever, EA has plenty of money to waste, and somehow it worked.

Sean Connery in a white tux goes a long way in selling the experience, and the third person action delivers an oddly charming blend of old school action and modern gameplay. The animators even got his trademark nuances down pat, from the way he held his Beretta, to the signature Judo chop – as well as recreating the look and feel of the film’s environments, including the dirty ass gypsy camp.

More importantly, you shoot about 1000% more henchman than the entire Bond series combined. And that equals awesome. Sean Connery should be the star of every game.

Runners up:

Aladdin (Genesis)

Great action, well-designed levels, and some of the best 2D animation ever seen in the 16-bit era. Too bad it’s based on a Disney movie, making it entirely too gay to put on this list.

The Goonies (Famicom) and The Goonies II (NES)

Better than you remember. Part puzzle game, part platformer, with a little RPG element thrown into the second entry. The original game was only released in Japan for the Famicom, leading many to think that the second was intended as a sequel to the movie. No, you’re wrong.

Krull (arcade)

A weird 80’s arcade game nobody cares about based on a weird 80’s movie nobody cares about. Shut up, it’s awesome. Also features the best sound effects since Laser Blast for the Atari.

Rambo III (Genesis) and Rambo III (Master System)

If you combined the two together, this would probably be my favorite game ever made on earth.

Star Wars Episode I: Racer (Dreamcast)

An entire game based on George Lucas’ last good idea, this should-be-crap is better than any other game in the “future racing” genre since the original F-Zero. It’s also more entertaining than Episode I, II, and III combined.

Image Source: Wikipedia