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Dead Space (2008)
The Videogame: In the year 2058, the USG Kelligan spaceship is called to investigate the distress signal of another ship on a mining mission. Jumps are in store as you board the craft and explore what's left, trying to uncover a government conspiracy while fending of attacks from the 'necromorphs'.
Sounds Like: Alien (1979). Sir Ridley's genre (and chest) buster is so clearly the inspiration behind the game and its claustrophobic corridors that it's a wonder he hasn't demanded royalties.
What's Better? You can't top the movie, but it's still a hell of game, and likely to have you playing with the lights on…
Red Dead Redemption (2010)
The Videogame: Think Grand Theft Wild West, as you saddle up as bounty hunter John Marston, an outlaw forced to hunt down his former gang members in order to save the lives of his wife and child. There's also the local wildlife to worry about out on those dusty plains.
Sounds Like: Tombstone (1993). Obviously the game owes a debt to a great number of Westerns (from Leone to TV show Deadwood ), but Tombstone helped make the genre popular again, by upping the action and employing a ludicrously macho cast.
What's Better? The raw thrill and gritty frontier atmosphere of the game clinch this one.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007)
The Videogame: Cocky adventure Nathan Drake has nabbed a clue from his antecedent Sir Francis as to the whereabouts of a load of treasure. Teaming up with his pal Sully and journalist Elena, he heads to the jungle in search of the the lost city of El Dorado, with pirates in hot pursuit…
Sounds Like: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Admittedly, there's barely been a decent adventure (movie or game) released since that hasn't learnt something from Indy's first outing.
What's Better? We'd have to go with Indy, though Uncharted does cut it as a decent unofficial reboot, with Drake feeling much more closely related to Indy than Mutt Williams ever will.
Red Faction (2001)
The Videogame: You take control of Parker, a miner who has moved to Mars in the hope of a better life, but he finds extremely poor living conditions, with disease spreading through the colony. Fed up, he grabs some weaponry and leads a rebellion against the Ultor corporation.
Sounds Like: Total Recall (1990). Paul Verhoeven's ultraviolent Philip K. Dick adap saw Arnie as a construction worker who liberates the colonies of Mars after a memory implant reminds him of his former career as a secret agent.
What's Better? Probably the movie, but only because it throws in some mind-melting plotting amidst the gunfire.
God of War (2005)
The Videogame: A third-person mythical actioner, you play bald, strikingly-tattooed Spartan warrior Kratos, who sold his soul to Ares (the God of War) when he was close to defeat in battle. After he tires of servitude, he takes on a whole host of mythological figures in his fight for freedom.
Sounds Like: Clash of the Titans (1981). Both use a mishmash of various characters from Greek legend, thrown together for the sake of a jolly good quest.
What's Better? Clash had some wonderful Harryhausen stop-motion animation, but God of War shows how epic these stories can be.
Gladius (2003)
The Videogame: This game gives you the chance to train a group of gladiators, who then go out and fight in the arena, gaining experience and unlocking abilities. It's a bit of a strange mix of beat-em-up and point-and-click strategy, and there are some mythical characters thrown in for good measure.
Sounds Like: Gladiator (2000). The cover art didn't do anything to clear up this possible confusion, either. Though Maximus never went up against the undead or a minotaur.
What's Better? It's got to be Russell and Ridley's swords and sandals epic.
Driver (1999)
The Videogame: You get behind the wheel as an undercover detective on various driving missions set in the US's coolest cities. You have to work your way up from simple bank jobs to assisting with assassinations, whilst looking impossibly cool in a '67 Mustang.
Sounds Like: The Driver (1978). As well as riffing on Walter Hill's car-chase crime thriller, the game tips its hat to Bullitt , Starsky and Hutch , and any number of 70s chase movies. It literally sounds like these influences with its funky soundtrack too…
What's Better? Nothing beats mastering the handbrake turn, or driving through a window, in the game.
Dino Crisis (1999)
The Videogame: A Secret Operation Raid Team (SORT) are sent to rescue a fellow agent who went missing while investigating a mysterious research facility on Ibis Island. Watch out for the T-rex, and the velociraptors that are stalking the hallways.
Sounds Like: Jurassic Park (1993). The premise is almost insultingly similar to Spielberg's dino-blockbuster, which was set at a research facility on Isla Nubar, and proved what ace cinematic foes the ancient lizards could be.
What's Better? Spielberg wins, but that doesn't stop Dino Crisis being tonnes better than the lame Jurassic Park game.
Destroy All Humans! (2005)
The Videogame: Shifting the alien-invasion perspective, the story is experienced through the bulbous eyes of extra-terrestrials Crypto and Pox. Using death rays and psychokinesis, the 'Furans' escape army capture and destroy their way from Rockwell to Washington.
Sounds Like: Mars Attacks! (1996). Tim Burton's underappreciated foray into pure B-movie territory, as an extremely starry cast of Earthlings suffer an invasion at the little green hands of a fleet of big-brained aliens.
What's Better? Depends if you're a Mars Attacks! apologist or not. Both are good fun if you're in the right mood.
Splatterhouse (1988)
The Videogame: Student Rick ends up in the creepy West Mansion (the Splatterhouse ), from which he must save his girlfriend. With the help of an enchanted hockey style mask, Rick gains superhuman strengths, and fights his way through various beasties, including, eventually, his possessed missus. There's a reboot coming soon...
Sounds Like: Evil Dead 2 (1987). Rick may resemble Jason Vorhees in his mask, but the evil house and its rampaging minions are pure Raimi schlock.
What's Better? The side-scrolling arcade game was fun, but mostly because you were pretending to be Ash…
Speedball (1988)
The Videogame: Imagine a five-a-side game played in a futuristic arena, in which armoured musclemen take part in a kind of live-action air hockey with a big metal ball. Violence is apparently compulsory.
Sounds Like: Rollerball (1975). James Caan is the star player in Norman Jewison's sci-fi sports movie, set in a dystopian future in which the titular game has become hugely popular. The bruising sport sees armoured men skate around an arena trying to score points by dunking a big metal ball into holes in the wall.
What's Better? The repetitive game can't match the excitement of the original movie. The remake however…
Rampage (1986)
The Videogame: An arcade smash-em-up platformer, Rampage features three humans who have been transformed into giant monsters: an enormous lizard, a massive King Kong-esque gorilla, and, er, a giant werewolf. You control a beast, and destroy various cities and their inhabitants.
Sounds Like: Godzilla (1954), or any follow-ups in which he fought (or teamed with) various monsters. And, of course, they also nicked freely from King Kong .
What's Better? There was something extremely satisfying about taking control of one of the derivative beasts and razing a city block.
Need for Speed: Underground (2003)
The Videogame: Well, it's basically a racing game, but it takes place on the streets. Adopt your best Tim Westwood impression as you blaze a trail in your pimped-up ride, earning cash and respect through the medium of illegal racing.
Sounds Like: The Fast and The Furious (2001). Many racing games were inspired by Rob Cohen's franchise-starting action movie, which sees Paul Walker's cop go undercover in a street racing gang to learn about crimes and suchlike from petrolhead Vin Diesel, only to get swept up by the circuit's souped-up, neon charms.
What's Better? Characterisation is probably stronger in the videogame.
Infamous (2009)
The Videogame: In this open-world superhero adventure, you play as Cole McGrath, an ordinary guy who gains superpowers, including some rather nifty electro-abilitites. It's up to you to decide which route the character takes: are you going to use your new powers for good or evil?
Sounds Like: Hancock (2008). Infamous obviously riffs on a number of movie and comic book progenitors, but it feels like there is close kinship with this Will Smith vehicle, which saw the superstar portraying a troubled and out-of-control superhero, who often caused more harm than good. The likeness between the two protagonists' outfits is particularly striking…
What's Better? As you're in control of the character's destiny throughout Infamous , you're less likely to be dumbfounded by the WTF plot lurches that derail Hancock 's second half.
Aero Fighters (1992)
The Videogame: You take to the air in a fighter jet in this scrolling shooter. Missions involve attacking various nations in a style of gameplay that feels like a bigger brother to Space Invaders , or an air-bound Metal Slug .
Sounds Like: Top Gun (1986). Maverick (Tom Cruise) is a hot shot pilot forced to go back to school after some reckless flying while on a mission. Overcoming his father death, his best friend's death, and a ludicrous amount of homoeroticism, Maverick earns everyone's respect by gunning down some rival fighters in the climactic scenes.
What's Better? It's got to be the 80s classic.
Army Men: Major Malfunction (2006)
The Videogame: Part of the series of Army Man games, you are one of the small, shiny, olive-green playthings, called into action when an evil brace of toys declares war on your charming suburban homestead. Not exactly a landmark in videogame history.
Sounds Like: Toy Story (1995). Pixar already exploited the comic potential of the little guys in their first feature. They perfected the movement of the non-poseable characters, had fun with the miniature reconnaissance mission, and got the characterisation spot on by hiring R. Lee Ermey to do voiceover work.
What's Better? Toy Story , for sure. The little soldiers were a great addition to the movie's supporting cast, but nobody wanted them to be the main characters.
Carmageddon (1997)
The Videogame: A racing game with a bit of a twist. You drive a beefed-up car around various industrial courses, but you can gain bonus points by mowing pedestrians down, as well as destroying the vehicles of your competitors. This title was pretty influential in the 3D racing genre, and its popularity earned it a couple of sequels.
Sounds Like: Death Race 2000 (1975). This cult classic, set in a dystopian future (well, it's the past now), sees Frankenstein (David Carradine) and Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (Sly Stallone) taking part in an über-violent cross country motor race. The gory spectacle is the most popular form of entertainment for the masses.
What's Better? It's hard to choose, when both are such giddy fun, but Carmageddon probably loses a few points for the barefaced cheek of its wholesale cribbing.
Dead Rising (2006)
The Videogame: Zombies must be among the ultimate of all videogame enemies. Relentless and plentiful, there's something extremely satisfying about laying waste to waves of slack-jawed undead assailants. In Dead Rising , you play as Frank West, a photojournalist who finds himself trapped in a shopping mall in the middle of a zombie outbreak.
Sounds Like: Dawn of the Dead (1978). The second part of Romero's (first and best) zombie trilogy locates the action in a shopping mall. Consumerism is attacked as ferociously as the decomposing hordes in a genre classic.
What's Better? Romero's trilogy is near untouchable, but you could do a lot worse than Dead Rising if you're after some all-out zombie action.
