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When you watch "The Matrix," as Neo cranes himself back and dodges bullets with incredible speed and skill, you can't help but marvel at the majesty of the film. It opens up the imagination to how much fun you could have in that world, indeed, how awesome it would be to be able to explore the Matrix knowing that you were The One with special powers and a dire mission to accomplish. In short, the film practically begs to be turned into a video game.

Or does it?

Some movies nowadays have so many special effects that it only seems logical (and lucrative) to make a version of the film's world that the audience can interact with. Making a video game based on this sort of movie seems like the natural next step. Of course, pulling this off successfully is more easily said than done.

Video games based on movies are becoming more and more popular, even expected and demanded, because they have some definite things in their favor. On the one hand, a movie turned into a video game already has practically all of the marketing done for itself. Video games are rampantly popular and generate a lot of buzz, much like movies. Consider how many websites are dedicated to new games and movies. The internet is crawling with sites, forums, and blogs full of production updates on movies and games before their release, plus reviews once they've come out. Put a video game and a movie together, and you're sure to get a fan base of the game who will take an active interest in the movie adaptation.

However, video games are an entirely different medium than movies. The plot and character development differ, and it can be hard to meld the two into a satisfying gaming experience. It is easy for some game developers to overlook the finer points of what makes a truly memorable video or computer game, and instead they may opt for shortcuts that enable them to achieve a certain time-to-market goal. After all, good business sense dictates that these video games should be released to the public during the key window when the movie's hype is going strong.

Regardless of the pressures of the gaming and film markets, some developers are able to hammer a movie plot into a player-controlled adventure successfully. The result is something that captures the end goal of any game adaptation: a new version of the world for the audience to interact with and enjoy. Achieving this can be quite a challenge, since the gameplay should accommodate both people who are unfamiliar with the movie and the fans who will be scrutinizing the game for any deviation from the source material. With so many different camps to appease, these movie-based games face a large number of potential critics.

Although it's impossible to please everybody, a game maker can at least attempt to capture the "spirit" of the film in an enjoyable game. There will always be critics, but this approach should please the most people.

Learn more about this author, M. Sparga.
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