Funny, I feel otherwise. Good gameplay but not a great story
The Last of Us (HBO)
- Thread starter Aragorn
- Start date
To each his own I guess. I found combat kind of one dimensional. Whereas the story is “Tropes but perfectly executed”.
Wow, I'm shocked to see someone say that. The stories in both The Last of Us games are two of my favorite stories in any medium, they both just blew me away.
When I hear words like "it's not a good story" I can't help but feel some people conflate "story" with "plot"; which is akin to conflating the branches for the trees. Not the same things.
The plot of 'Last of Us' is "old dude and bratty teen on a road trip to save the world", but that's not the story. The story of 'The Last of Us' is about how two people deal with trauma, grief, fear of abandonment, and most of all, about reconnecting with humanity, both in the other and in their self. It's a very very well told story and I feel sorry for those that had all that fly over their heads.
The plot of 'Last of Us' is "old dude and bratty teen on a road trip to save the world", but that's not the story. The story of 'The Last of Us' is about how two people deal with trauma, grief, fear of abandonment, and most of all, about reconnecting with humanity, both in the other and in their self. It's a very very well told story and I feel sorry for those that had all that fly over their heads.
Ghost of Tsushima is getting a film, and the studio is working closely with the game company. They need to keep the soundtrack for sure.
As for game films, I think nowadays the problem isn’t that the game didn’t have a good story so much as a Hollywood studio thinking they can do the story better instead of the one we fell in love with.
^ Yeah, that's the latest one getting the hollywood treatment, which is kind of ironic given what it was inspired from. Still, can always use more good Samurai movies. 
Original stories based on the properties are sometimes a necessity though. I hear The Last of Us will focus more on the side-characters, for instance, and will perhaps even introduce new one. It allows them to set it in the same world yet do their own thing with it. Being that the original creator is along for the ride means that can be consistent with the IP.
And that's where the problem lies with most game-to-movie/to-series adaptations. They take the basic concept, but often change things, often for dramatic effect, and in turn get away from the recognizable elements of the property. The Animus in the Assassin's Creed movie, for instance.
The Tomb Raider movies feel like they've been the most successful in capturing the spirit of the games, especially the reboots which are more grounded.
Original stories based on the properties are sometimes a necessity though. I hear The Last of Us will focus more on the side-characters, for instance, and will perhaps even introduce new one. It allows them to set it in the same world yet do their own thing with it. Being that the original creator is along for the ride means that can be consistent with the IP.
And that's where the problem lies with most game-to-movie/to-series adaptations. They take the basic concept, but often change things, often for dramatic effect, and in turn get away from the recognizable elements of the property. The Animus in the Assassin's Creed movie, for instance.
The Tomb Raider movies feel like they've been the most successful in capturing the spirit of the games, especially the reboots which are more grounded.
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Has there ever actually been a GOOD movie based on a video game, that wasn't just an adaptation in name only? I feel like the best they've ever gotten in "mediocre to passable". Which is nuts when you consider how they have comic book adaptations pretty much down to a science!
I know there's some very fertile IPs that have movies in development, but even with the likes of Beyond Good & Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Borderlands, (and I think I even read that the Mass Effect movie may be rising from the depths of development hell) I'm reticent to get excited about ANY of them, despite these being among my most favourite game franchises ever!
I remember back when the Mass Effect movie was first talked about getting into discussions with people that insisted that it *must* be done to the letter of the game or else it doesn't count. To counter this (and as a fun thought experiment) I broke the story down into a (verrry rough) two hour, three act treatment. What emerged from that process would have only passingly resembled the first game, as brevity and the need from exposition necessitated merging or entirely cutting both major characters and key set pieces. (Ash & Kaiden now the same person, Garrus and Wrex reduced to glorified extras, Tali cut and her role in the plot given to Liara instead, Eden Prime being 5 mins and done, Feros, Novaria & Therum all smooshed into one place...etc...etc)
Now if on the other hand a Mass Effect movie where simply to tell a totally in canon story about say, the discovery of the Prothean ruins on Mars, or a story set during the First Contact war, or just some random contained adventure with original characters, somewhere else in the galaxy during the events of the games. Basically what the tie-in novels and comics already do but with bigger stakes.
Likewise for say Metal Gear Solid, I wouldn't bother with Shadow Moses, and instead adapt the earlier less well known original Metal Gear game, with an eye towards it being the definitive version of those events.
Personally if I were pitching an AC movie; first I'd say "what are you crazy? If anything this is a streaming show!", but also I'd take an approach that mostly ignored the present day stuff, only expressing it through the editing. Specifically by using a non-linear structure. 'Memento' meets 'The Matrix'.
I know there's some very fertile IPs that have movies in development, but even with the likes of Beyond Good & Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Borderlands, (and I think I even read that the Mass Effect movie may be rising from the depths of development hell) I'm reticent to get excited about ANY of them, despite these being among my most favourite game franchises ever!
I think when it comes to making movies for story heavy game franchises, trying to tell an original story set in the same universe is preferable to trying to retell the events of the game in 1/10th to 1/50th the time.
I remember back when the Mass Effect movie was first talked about getting into discussions with people that insisted that it *must* be done to the letter of the game or else it doesn't count. To counter this (and as a fun thought experiment) I broke the story down into a (verrry rough) two hour, three act treatment. What emerged from that process would have only passingly resembled the first game, as brevity and the need from exposition necessitated merging or entirely cutting both major characters and key set pieces. (Ash & Kaiden now the same person, Garrus and Wrex reduced to glorified extras, Tali cut and her role in the plot given to Liara instead, Eden Prime being 5 mins and done, Feros, Novaria & Therum all smooshed into one place...etc...etc)
Now if on the other hand a Mass Effect movie where simply to tell a totally in canon story about say, the discovery of the Prothean ruins on Mars, or a story set during the First Contact war, or just some random contained adventure with original characters, somewhere else in the galaxy during the events of the games. Basically what the tie-in novels and comics already do but with bigger stakes.
Likewise for say Metal Gear Solid, I wouldn't bother with Shadow Moses, and instead adapt the earlier less well known original Metal Gear game, with an eye towards it being the definitive version of those events.
Admittedly I didn't watch this because 1) the trailer didn't look good and 2) video game movie so this impression may be way off; but from what I saw of the Animus it seemed like a case of the film makers getting TOO hung up over adapting the game's mechanic into the story instead of just *telling the story*. All that armature, jumpy flippy nonsense seemed very unnecessary.
Personally if I were pitching an AC movie; first I'd say "what are you crazy? If anything this is a streaming show!", but also I'd take an approach that mostly ignored the present day stuff, only expressing it through the editing. Specifically by using a non-linear structure. 'Memento' meets 'The Matrix'.
Didn't get around to that one either, but given how the game was practically tailor made for a grounded live action adaptation, it's disappointing that (from what I gather) they still somehow managed to undershoot it.
Yeah, agreed. Not to mention that a lot of these games have universes that a lot can happen in based on their concepts, so while it'd be nice to have retellings of the games, having new stories set in them makes more sense and expands the lore, as long as they stay consistent with the originating material.
Again, agreed. It was so goofy the way they'd done it, when it wasn't really necessary to begin with. But by making it the way they did, they set themselves even more explanation due to the way it contradicted the way it was done in the games.
I quite liked it. The first movie anyway. I don't remember if I saw the sequel. But what I liked about the reboot was the included backstory. Made her feel more relatable and grounded.The previous movies while fun never really ended up feeling adventure-y to me, and ended up feeling way more comic-book-y.
Which category would Detective Pikachu fall under? I thought it was good, and I think the overall reaction to it was pretty good.
I never played the game, so I honestly can't comment on the adaptation side. As a movie though I though it was OK. Not terrible. I rather feel Reynolds carried most of it though (in a Robin Williams in Aladdin kinda way), and I honestly doubt I'll ever bother giving it a second watch, so make of that what you will.
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A lot of JRPGs have anime series that follow the plot. If that was more of a thing in the US that could work with Mass Effect. Like one 10 episode season per game. But for movie length they’d need to tell a unique story in the world.
I guess if it’s successful as Last Of Us, that could become a thing. I’d be excited about that. Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption, etc.
I guess if it’s successful as Last Of Us, that could become a thing. I’d be excited about that. Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption, etc.
I'm kind of surprised it's going to be that expenisive, the only real effects it's going to need are the infected, and the ruined cities when they're out and about.
Didn't Star Trek Picard basically steal it's story from Mass Effect?