Gaming's biggest movie rip-offs

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Can't get the license? Make the game anyway!

The relationship between games and movies has always been a tense one. There's something almost violently alchemical about the way the two media usually react to each other. It's like getting hit by a yellow, piss-soaked snowball. Either element can be unpleasant enough on its own, but put them both together and something far more horrible happens.


Games of movies, movies of games, they're both usually about as much fun as the death of a clown at a ten year-old's birthday party. But still we just can't resist combining the two. Maybe it's because we like our games to be epic and involving like movies, or maybe it's just because they both happen on a screen and we can't be bothered to differentiate. Either way, since the dawn of gaming we've had an almost instinctive craving to blend the two media, and it almost always blows up in our faces.


Thankfully though, certain developers have cracked a magical formula for making the unholy alliance work. A method by which to integrate a movie's concepts into an interactive format while still creating an enjoyable and worthwhile product. The technique? Ripping the movie off without bothering to buy the license. Yes it seems that without the official branding on the box, the evil mistakes the game inside for an innocent one and so neglects to infect its code. Don't believe us? Read on. The flagrant 'borrowing' has been going on for years...

David Houghton
David Houghton
Former GamesRadar+ Features Writer

Former (and long-time) GamesRadar+ writer, Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.