This update I think I am going to take a break from comics and films and talk about another great past time for me: video games. So I’m dubbing this one Rotten Pixels. I grew up in the prime time for gaming and was a fan of home gaming consoles from the start. While I never owned a Atari 2600, a childhood neighbor named Brad Burns did when I lived in Waynesville and I remember playing games like E.T., Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark and being captivated. A few years later my parents got my brother and I a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) for Christmas after our cousins Dino and Norman showed us the wonders of Super Mario Brothers, Ninja Gaiden and Contra. The system was a hit at the Brassfield house, and even my parents would play on occasion. My Mom liked playing Mario, while my Dad would play sports games like Blades of Steel and WCW Wrestling against us. Those times spent playing the system with my family will forever be amazing memories. The games that seemed to capture my attention were games based with horror themes like Castlevania, Friday the 13th and Ghost and Goblins. The more monsters, the better, I always thought.
As time passed, we moved up to a Sega Genesis that we bought off a guy Bryan went to school with for $30.00. While the system had better graphics and some amazing games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast and Golden Axe, it failed for the most part in the horror department. While some great horror games would come out like Castlevania Bloodlines and Splatterhouse 2-3, the system was bogged down with some off the wall and down right crappy movie tie in games like Bram Stokers Dracula, Marry Shelly’s Frankenstein and The Lawnmower Man. The Sega Genesis years for me belonged to the super hero games like Captain America and the Avengers, Spider-Man Maximum Carnage and Incredible Hulk. While I still loved a good spooky horror game the games were just not being made as fast leaving me fighting super villains and not horror icons. The Super Nintendo would come along, and my brother would be the one to take that step and get the system when we moved to Kettering. While the system had great games, once more I found it had the same bad horror film game tie ins and even less horror games coming.
We made the next move to Nintendo 64, and while it was a solid system, the lack of horror inspired games led this to be the system of “name brands” for me like Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda Ocrina of Time and Goldeneye. But in 1995 Sony released the Playstation, and things would never be the same. The system had many great titles and a ton of horror games that become known as survival horror, making this my favorite system and making me a loyal Playstation buyer. Games like Clock Tower 1-2, Resident Evil 1-3, Silent Hill, D and Nightmare Creatures 1-2 kept the gamer in me happy with chilling monster filled games. But during this time there was also a lack of games based on horror films, something that continues to this day. Sure, every once in a while we will get a game like PS2’s Underworld: The Eternal War and Microsoft Xbox’s Land of the Dead: The Road to Fiddlers Green, but the Underworld game was a European only release, and Land of the Dead was a rushed mess. But back to the system at hand, Sony Playstation would have many horror inspired games come out during its run like Evil Dead Hail to the King , Juggernaut, Over Blood, Legacy of Kain, Dino Crisis, Castlevania Symphony of the Night to name a few. I spent many of late nights in my room or in the family room playing these chilling games alone or with great friends like Jason Gilmore and Andrea Seay, and enjoying every spooky moment. The PSX had a few movie tie-ins that were based on horror/sci-fi films like Evil Dead, The Crow and Alien. Then In 2000 the Playstation 2 was released and like its predecessor it had a nice amount of Survival Horror games released including sequels to Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Evil Dead and Clock Tower, and introduced new series like Siren and Fatal Frame.
In 2006, the Playstation 3 was released and along with it came HD survival horror games! Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Siren, Splatterhouse and Castlevania all have sequels that came out with top notch graphics and continued the amazing story lines. The PS3 also had horror writer and director Clive Barker help make a game called Jericho. Konami released games based on the SAW movies to be a companion to their popular Silent Hill franchise. There were many more great games like the goofy cult classic Red Seeds Profile, zombie first person shooter Dead Island, and the F.E.A.R. series that added end of the world themes with the supernatural. These are just a handful of amazing titles that have come out on this amazing system. While they are not the best of the PS3 horror titles, the SAW games are some entertaining games that show that horror films CAN make some good solid games! Kanomi has only released two in the series and there is a rumor of a third game which, as a fan I am hoping will come.
In 2013, PS3 and Xbox 360 were supposed to get a game based on Childs Play’s killer Chucky! TikGames is the company that making the game, and they claim that in game you will play as Chucky and spend the time plotting against and killing all those who are in your way. The downside to the game is that as of this point it will not be a disc based game but a download only title that it appears will not feature the voice talents of Brad Dourif who has voiced the doll killer in five films. While I am hyped for the game I am still a little let down in the game’s handling, and I feel like the download games are most the time just throw away games. As you can see by these pics at least his look is well done. But as of late 2012, it looks like this game has been canceled.
I could go on and on about video games, but that’s not the full reason for this update. The main reason is the fact that there are many horror films that would lend themselves to becoming amazing video games for a present generation system (aka PS3, XBOX 360, WII). So I would like to do a Top 20 list of films that should be made into games. I chose from a list of many, and it was hard to choose just 20, but I was able to limit down my list and choose ones that would lend themselves to the gaming world. But enough of the build up, let’s start the list with a nice runner up one that came close to making the final cut.
# 21.) Puppet Master Series
Andre Toulon is a puppeteer who has the secret to turn his puppets into living, killing beings! At first Toulon used his puppets for good to fight the Nazi’s that were responsible for the death of his wife. But after his suicide, others used the Puppets for evil as did Toulon when his secret formula later brought him back to life. The Puppets (Blade, Jester, Pinhead, Miss Leech, Torch, Six Shooter, Tunneler) have become good and bad guys and have dispatched ancient demons and even had a fight with The Demonic Toys, another film series from Full Moon Pictures. What the game could be about is that at first you play as Alex Whitaker (psychic from the first film) who must find a way to fight and capture the puppets and turn them from evil to good at Bodega Bay Inn and must use them to help stop a evil cult who wants to steal the secrets of the puppets for an evil plot. The rest of the game is spent playing with your choice of a team of three from all the puppets and using them to fight back against the cult. While the game at this point would not be a huge IP (Intellectual property) for a company to pick up, its cult following and 11 films done and one on the way proves this franchise has a good fan base.
# 20.) Rawhead Rex
Clive Barker’s short story of the same name from The Books of Blood Volume 3 came to the silver screen in 1987 and told the story of a pagan god who was released onto the countryside of Ireland and an author who must risk his life and that of his family in order to stop the killing machine once and for all. The film’s subject would be a perfect fit for a video game as Rawhead would be the main boss and his followers, the goons you must fight off. Rawhead would pop up through out the game and give chase much like Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. It would be great if the character you are is caught off guard from the start of the game and must use whatever he can find to fight off the crazed followers. The gameplay would be very close to Silent Hill and Red Seeds Profile and would have the vast world of Ireland’s countryside complete with farms, barns and small towns. The movie, while very low key and having a cult status, should be and should have been made into a bloody good survival horror game.
# 19.) Wishmaster
A evil Djinn grants wishes to those who posses a gem that binds him to do the bidding of the owner. The Djinn, who can become more powerful by capturing the soul of the possessor, must do so to bring on the end of mankind and the age of the Djinn’s. The film sparked three sequels, and while the second in the series had the same Djinn, the following two sequels had a new one showing that there is more than one of the powerful beings. The game would be a fun one that would have the player making the mistake of waking the Djinn from the gem and causing chaos all around them, with many Djinn’s and the fact they can use their power to create monsters and have the ability to steal the looks of those they choose. It would make this game a fun time trying to figure out who is friend and who is foe. They could get all crazy with enemies and backgrounds given the fact the villains are so powerful and will be as cruel as possible to get what ever they want. Plus getting Andrew Divoff who played the Djinn from the first two would be a must to voice him again for the game. This could make a great PS3 game and would have also made a great PSX game. While the series has lost a little steam in this day and age, it still leaves itself wide open for a good game.
# 18.) Phantom of the Opera (1925)
At the Opera House in Paris, a deformed madman roams the sewers causing terror and killing those who go against his wishes to turn a young singer (Christine) into the star of the show. But the singer’s lover Raoul wants to marry her and take her away from the demanding Phantom. This clash leaves people dead and the Phantom being hunted like a wild animal. The game could follow the aftermath of the film and follow up to what happens when the Phantom who is believed to be dead is in fact not and sets out to get his songbird back, leaving the player to control Raoul having to find Christine who has been kidnapped in the underbelly of France. Besides the Phantom the player would have to also beat rats and vagrants that have been hired by Phantom to stop him at all cost. This could be a mix between a game like SAW and Uncharted and mix horror, action and puzzles together to force Raoul to stop the madman and rescue the lovely lady. The look of the Phantom would have to be taken from this 1925 version and keep the whole Lon Chaney Sr. look of the character. It would also be cool if his grandchild Ron Chaney would lend his voice to the Phantom character. The legacy of The Phantom of the Opera has lived on not only in the reprints of the novel the whole property is based around, but also in stage and film making the character a classic in the world of horror. I think TellTale Games would be the perfect company to make this one come to life.
The Phantom has made it to a few games for the PC. The first is called “The Return of the Phantom,” a game that is very similar to the idea I would want but is one of those early point & click adventures. The second is “Mystery Legends Phantom of the Opera,” both helping tide over fans of the character. And if ya need more Phantom there was also a pinball machine made by Data East for arcades. So PC gamers they have gotten a Phantom fix, but what about us home console guys, why are we left out in the cold?
# 17.) Tombs of the Blind Dead
The Knights Templar were the Catholic Church’s right hand men and were the warriors who spread the word of God, until they were all set up and murdered by the same church they worked for and were accused of witchcraft. The Knights were blinded by fire pokers before they were killed, and for this the Knights placed a curse on the small European town that they were executed in. Years later they return as blind zombies to get their revenge and make all pay for their wrongful deaths. The series of films featured them in old ruins and even on a ghost ship showing you cannot escape the blind dead who hear you breath and your heartbeat. The film had three sequels and a handful of copycat films making it a very well loved iconic Spanish horror series. So if you have not seen them, I recommend them. The game could take place in the small town and could follow you and a group of other survivors as you must survive the night of the Blind Dead’s attack. Guns, torches, swords and blunt objects are your weapons, and the game will send you into harm’s way many times to save fellow men from what could be their deaths. Everything in town can be used and every building is open for hiding because the main focus of the game is to save others and survive! The game’s path can change whether or not you are able to save people in your group and depending on the amount you don’t affects your ending. The game could also be multiplayer and would allow you and friends to try and survive the night of terror. This game would fit in perfect with the zombie craze that is sweeping the consoles now and is one that could appeal to fans of the film and those who don’t know the series.
# 16.) Leprechaun Series
Forget about Lucky from Lucky Charms cereal, this pint sized terror is an overprotective mean magical terror of his pot of gold and will murder you and your friends to get it back! A family moves into an old house and after taking a dried up four leaf clover off a box a newly freed Leprechaun torments them. His weakness is not only the power of the four leaf clover but also that of dirty shoes that he feels like he must clean. The Leprechaun has been in a total of seven films and has been to Las Vegas, Space and even the Hood twice. He kills in all types of silly yet fun ways, and delivers funny rhymed remarks while doing so. The game could take place with a group of friends who stumble upon his gold and make the mistake of splitting it and making themselves the target of the pint sized terror. This one would be fun to play as either the human who must get the gold back from his friends and or stop the Leprechaun or you could play as Leprechaun and avoid the means of defeating you from the thieves and collect all your gold back. This is just a small idea that would make for a good cheap download game, but I know that there is a full disc-based game to be made with some other idea beyond what I’ve come up with here. This character lends itself to the world of video games and with the cult following, it could easily be a good selling game as well. Warwick Davis is a must to voice Leprechaun and it would be nice to see the look captured in video game form as well. With a reboot of the series in the works for 2013 from Lions Gate and WWE, there might be some hope this film series might get the game treatment.
# 15.) Phantasm
After the death of a long time friend, brothers Mike & Jody and ice cream man Reggie go to the funeral and find out that the new mortician called the Tall Man is not what he seems. He is super strong, super tall, loves the cold and controls hooded dwarves and silver flying spheres that can kill a man in seconds! Tall Man has spread death and chaos around the world for many years and wants to ruin the whole world. This amazing yet odd series has four films total and begs to be made into a video game that could be almost an official number 5 in the film series that seems to have had problems for years getting made. The game could finish the storyline that has been presented into the films and could have you play as Reggie and Mike and have them go to war with Tall Man and his followers. You would have to switch between the two depending on the mission and at times the two would have to complete a mission together. I would love to see this game made, and it should have all the actors from the films voice the characters they played in the films. It would be a must to have Angus Scrimm voice the Tall Man. Someone should pitch this idea to director and creator Don Coscarelli and a game studio and get this game made! Also when you die, Tall Man should say “You Played a Good Game..But You Died” then laugh…that would be amazing!
I should also mention for gamers who still have an Atari 2600, they can get their hands on a fan made game cart based on this popular film series. It’s a maze-based game and plays like an early version of Final Fantasy. The game has not only Tall Man and the dwarves but also an amazing midi version of the films main theme. This is a must have game for fans of the film series and all that’s horror for the Atari 2600. Copies of this cart pop up on Ebay from time to time so keep your eyes open. I happen to be the proud owner of a copy of the game, and I must say while simple, it is a fun gaming experience.
# 14.) The Howling
The Howling series is one that’s run for a total of 8 films so far and for the most part each follow a different town with different issues dealing with werewolves. The first film follows TV reporter Karen White who helps in the capture and killing of a brutal serial killer whom she thinks turned into a beast before he was gunned down. The station sends her away to a nice resort to relax but instead she finds out that she is in the company of a town filled with werewolves and the killer she thought to be dead is back and is in fact a werewolf! The sequel to the film had Karen’s brother trying to get to the bottom of his sister’s torment and fighting the queen of werewolves. While low budget after the original, the series has a wide open door to making a good video game and has enough characters and locations to keep it fresh. It would be great if in the game you must escape the resort only to find that the whole town is werewolves and it becomes a race to escape the hellish location. Throw in key werewolves from the other films in the series and bam, you have a great survival horror game like Resident Evil that substitutes the zombies for werewolves. Or another idea could be that you are a hunter who goes to different locations from the films to kill off werewolves, you see one of them killed your wife and now you want revenge on them all. This one also could be a first person shooter and support motion controllers. Or one last idea would have you play Ian the werewolf from part 6 and have him at war with other werewolves, that way you can have them fight! While this series does have some stinkers, it still could be a fun cheap IP that could make for an entertaining gaming experience.
# 13.) The Hills Have Eyes
The Carter family goes out into the desert looking for an old family mine, and while on the quest they suffer some car issues that lead to them fighting for their lives against an inbreed family lead by the father named Jupiter. The death toll rises and only one family will make it out alive. The film spawned an official sequel and a remake that also had a sequel. The game could take place in the desert and would have you playing as a new family that finds themselves the target of the hills family. The goal of the game would be to rescue and dispatch the cannibal family before you and yours become dinner. It would be a prequel as well that way you can add in all of the family and show a little backstory of who and what they do, and as well they could make up and add new family members. The plot of the game could also take many twists and turns and could really build up the suspense and horror of what this family does. It should be based on the original films and not the remakes and must have Pluto look like Michael Berryman, and include the rest of the family and from the first and second film making this a full tie in. This one could be made and while the IP is not a major household name if the right amount of survival horror and terror is placed in the playing experience I am sure horror gamers would check it out. I would like to see Rock Star or Konami handle this title.
# 12.) SCREAM
Sidney Prescott is a teenage girl who is dealing with the murder of her mother and the relationship she has with her boyfriend. But when fellow classmates are being slaughtered and she gets haunting phone calls, she becomes the focus of a killers sick game. The killer known as “Ghostface” is out for blood and fame, and Sidney must fight to stay alive and to figure out who the killer is! This one also was made to be a video game and with the graphics and advanced programing this could be an amazing game! The game again could play like Silent Hill mixed slightly with Resident Evil and could follow you as Sidney Prescott or another young lady who is being stalked by Ghostface and how you must find who the killer is and save those he has also targeted. I know many people have said they would like to play as the killer but to me that would not be as fun as trying to survive his attack. With the The Weinstein Company getting into the video game business with the birth of TWC Games, one would think it’s only a matter of time that a home console gets a game based on this film series. Fans want a game as you can see by this “fake” PS3 cover.
TWC Games did make a Scream 4 game, but sadly it’s just an iPod/cell phone game and to me those are not really true games they are just small games for none gamers who play the games while waiting. In the game you play as Ghostface and must kill your target and avoid being captured by the cops. So with this I must say come on TWC Games get on making a full game for PS3 and Xbox 360.
# 11.) Hammer Frankenstein Series
Doctor Victor Frankenstein is a man hell bent on creating life and finding the secrets of life and death. Along the way he doesn’t care who he has to kill or swindle to get what he wants. After many failed attempts to create life Victor has been hung, been burnt and attacked by his own monsters many times. If fact when we last see him, he is a patient in a mental hospital who is in fact running it. The Hammer Frankenstein series has a total of seven films and every installment has a different monster! Victor Frankenstein was played by the amazing british actor Peter Cushing who American fans also know as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars. In fact David Prowse who played two monsters in the series was also the man in the Darth Vader suit! The series left itself wide open for another sequel and what better way then to do one in the video game world. It could take place in the asylum and have you play as The Baron as the inmates have turned on you. You working on a new monster, but something goes wrong as you must battle your old monsters from the past. All the creatures from the past seven films could be present and you must destroy them and your new creature all the while trying to escape the inmates, guards and monsters. Or you could play as a man who has had his girlfriend kidnapped by Victor who has taken a shine to her and has decided she will be his. So you travel to the asylum and must battle inmates and all the monsters of the past that have been rebuilt by Victor in order to save your woman. This would be a Hammer fan’s dream, and this could happen if Hammer that has now been reopened decides to get into the growing game market. I would line up to play a game based on this series, and I am sure many others would as well. I would like to see Konami, Capcom or THQ tackle this one.
Well this is the end of the first wish list for horror films that should be video games, and we have made it from 20 to 11 and have even had one bonus film! To me it’s odd that more film companies have not gotten into the game business. I mean WB has been in and has made a killing on their Batman titles. Universal has gotten kind of into the game world with working alongside companies like Telltale Games and TikGames to bring Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and the soon to released Childs Play to gaming consoles, and even Paramount has released new games based on Days of Thunder and Top Gun. The Weinstein Company has said they will be making games when the only thing that has been released is a cell phone game based on Scream, and one company that should get into the gaming market is Lions Gate that owns the rights to many horror properties that could make great games. I mean Lions Gate has the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie coming out made by the people who did the SAW series and what’s keeping them from teaming with Konami and Zombie Studios to make a game based around Leatherface and his family? Well while you try and figure out the answer I will see you all back for part 2!
Rotten Ink 