It's that time of the year where love is in the air, romance is budding and relationships are in full bloom. A lot of couples use this time to check out romance movies over the Valentine's Day weekend. However, what do gamers turn to for a fix on thrills, frills and a little bit of romance? Well, there are visual novels, but in the AAA sector there's a stark lack of games based on romance angles.
Here's where Gaming Blend comes into play... with all those classic romance flicks out there, why not imagine what some of these films would be like if they were turned into worthwhile, hardcore games? I mean, it's not impossible and it's all explained how some of these classic romance movies would make great video games in the following list. Check it out.
True Romance
Here's an absolute classic that a lot of people remember for that unbelievable shootout at the end of the film. What if a game was based around the concept of this movie? You play an outlaw couple on the run from a mob boss after killing one of his henchmen, just like in the movie; you try to score some cash while blasting down mafia goons in highly destructible set pieces. The end goal? Take out the main mob boss and evade the law. Heck, it could even be a two-player co-op title.
A third-person shooter with a gritty, crime-drama story overlaying a kind of sunset-hazed atmosphere and lots of physics-based, over-the-shoulder shooting to keep the action tense and the plot moving along. I know a lot of people would probably say, “Isn't that just Max Payne 2 in the form of a Tony Scott film?” Well, technically that was Max Payne 3, but who's counting? Anyway, a True Romance flick as an action-packed, third-person shooter is definitely a romance-film-to-video-game concept I can get behind.
My Bloody Valentine 3D
This isn't really romance per se, but it hinges on the themes of romance and Valentine's Day. Now here's the real kicker with a game like this: we're beginning to see emergent horror titles pop up like Summer Camp and Slasher Camp that mimic how movies like My Bloody Valentine actually played out, thematically. A Slender Man style game centered around the plot of My Bloody Valentine in a dinky mining town where a killer is on the loose killing the residents – and an added bit of mystery where players have to discover who the killer is – could make for some thrilling gameplay.
Imagine a first-person murder-mystery-horror game of sorts where you can either switch between different characters or have other people assume their role with a multiplayer option. The added bonus of Oculus Rift VR support and you have yourself a real immersive experience. A few jump-scares, some hokey dialogue and some bloody violence, and this could be one of those Valentine's Day guilty pleasures ripe for horror fans.
Ghost
It's a classic, yeah. How would it work as a game? Well, it's easy to see the difficulty in it but at the same time, a movie like the classic 1990 Ghost is ripe for the making as a game for today's generation of technology. First up, image this could be a multi-character game, you play as Patrick Swayze's character in the ghost world and you get to play as the Demi Moore character in the real world.
The actual game could be played as a third-person, murder-mystery title; think Murdered: Soul Suspect. Players will have to scour the environment for clues and talk to people in the real world as the Demi Moore character, maybe deal with the occasional escape segment to outrun enemies or stealth around areas in order to get to restricted areas. As the late-great Swayze, you'll have to fend yourself off from other evil ghosts, maybe take on the investigative aspect with a slightly different tint by reading people's spirit to tell if they're lying or not. A few multiple endings and a tight pace and it could work.
Dirty Dancing
One casual game had to make the cut. You didn't think that a list full of romance movies being turned into games was going to be chock full of violent re-imaginings from top to bottom did you? Well, it's not. In this case, we have another Swayze flick on the list that covers something a little bit outside the norm. A dancing game. It doesn't have to be anything special but it fits right up the alley of being prime Kinect bait.
The premise is pretty simple: you and partner (because why not?) have to perform various tandem moves to progress through the increasingly challenging dance routines on your way to winning a dance competition. A light story loosely based on the story tension exhibited between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey should be enough for those who actually play Kinect games for the plot, and some quick-time esque cues fused with typical Just Dance routines should be enough for video game dance enthusiasts to get a kick out this little romance tale turned interactive entertainment.
Casablanca
Now here's one you probably did not expect to see on this list. It's a classic and it's ripe for the picking. Imagine taking on the role not of Rick or Ilsa, the main characters portrayed by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, but of another third-party character who gets to explore more of the world and surroundings setup in Casablanca. A third-person, open-world adventure game set around Morocco would be prime bait for a location, and a gauzy black and white film filter to the game's visual style would really help set the mood.
Playing as a resistance fighter entwined in the drama that surrounds the film's main plot of Rick caught up in helping his lover's husband escape from the Nazis, players would have to perform various missions in and around Casablanca, with Rick's Café Américain working as a central hub. An L.A. Noire espionage drama that plays out similar to The Saboteur would be gold. A dialogue-wheel communication system, a little bit of vehicular driving and a bit of romance on the side – playing off the main plot of the movie, of course – and Casablanca could be a real worthwhile romance movie turned video game.
