There’s only one thing better than a great film – an ever greater gaming tie-in. After all, once the credits roll, what better way to act out your excitement than by diving into the action yourself and exploring any number of these compelling gaming movie spin-offs.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Few franchises have given rise to as many video game spin-offs as Star Wars. In fact, there have been Star Wars spin-off games for almost as long as there have been video games, with the first, the arcade hit Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, launching all the way back in 1982.
With so much to choose from, it’s difficult to know which game can be thought of to best epitomise the Star Wars experience. However, if we opt to go by critical acclaim and reviewer scores, then 2003’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, is likely the victor.
Star Wars: KotOR was the very first RPG to be set in the Star Wars universe, giving players unprecedented freedom to explore the galaxy. Previous titles, and many more since, have placed you within recognizable scenes in the movies – effectively tasking you with acting out predictable outcomes.
KotOR, instead, side-stepped this entirely by setting its story long before Episode I, back in a time when Jedis were commonplace and the Old Republic was strong. This proved to be a master stroke as it enabled players to take charge of their own Jedi, and act out the thrill of using the force in an altogether distinct – yet recognisable – setting.
The Expendables Megaways
Action films have always enjoyed a huge degree of popularity, with modern franchises such as the Bourne films and Mission Impossible demonstrating that top tier action flicks to rival any in history are still being produced. But in the hearts and minds of the movie-adoring public, the 1980s has come to be closely identified with this genre’s unique blend of explosions, muscles and bravado.
It’s easy to see why after all – many of the biggest action movie stars ever got their start in the 80s, from Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV) to Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, Predator), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Rambo) and Bruce Willis (Die Hard).
So legendary are these names that fans have long wished for an all-star film that would bring them all together at last, and that’s precisely what we got with The Expendables (2010) and its sequels.
The film is a pure love letter to 80s action cinema, and pulls no punches, and nor does its unique spin-off game – the slots title, The Expendables Megaways, which is available on reputable platforms and providers furnishing this sector.
By combining all the thrills of a true action caper with the exciting and accessible gameplay of a top tier slots title, this 5 reel, 3 payline digital one-armed-bandit is a sure-fire hit for fans of classic gaming and action flicks alike.
GoldenEye 007
Like Star Wars, Eon Productions’ James Bond franchise is no stranger to video game tie-ins, with memorable examples over time including 1992’s James Bond 007: The Duel and Nightfire (2002). Though one game towers over the rest – GoldenEye 007, the launch title for the Nintendo 64.
The film GoldenEye itself was a remarkable global hit, and was the first outing for Piece Brosnan in the role, succeeding Timothy Dalton. It was the first Bond film in 6 years, and it made a huge splash with its reinvigorated action aesthetics that made it the perfect vehicle to base a game upon.
The N64 title, developed by Rare, was incredibly ambitious and was credited with being the first FPS built from the ground up to work and run well on a game console – the genre historically being limited to the PC with its more responsive mouse and keyboard input method.
GoldenEye 007 not only incorporated many of the most memorable scenes from the film, but threw in a huge multiplayer party mode that let up to four players battle it out in local multiplayer – a true innovation at the time.