The TV show as a videogame is a prospect that still remains relatively untapped. During gamings infancy, the Commodore generation would barely have acknowledged this sub-genre existed, with only a scattering of titles to endure such as Miami Vice and the curiously awful Dallas Quest. However, moving into those halcyon cartridge days, there was a stream of cartoon shows making the leap into pixel paradise. Some were good (Tiny Toon Adventures, Ren & Stimpy: Stimpy's Invention) and some were tiresome (The Itchy & Scratchy Game, Captain Planet). As time plugged on, and generations of consoles and PCs arrived boasting better graphics and speedier processors, live-action shows started getting the gaming treatment. The result remains mixed, with slim pickings including a heap of CSI and NCIS titles, X-Factor sing-a-longs as well as bringing the likes of The Sopranos and Lost to consoles. Today, this sub-genre is getting interesting, with torchbearers, Telltale Games, building on the success of Wallace & Gromits Grand Adventures and a certain series included in our list, with a soon to be unsheathed episodic Game Of Thrones series. These games mark a step forward; allowing players to substitute ledge hopping or button combos for lateral thinking and decision making in order to progress. But before you gaze too far into the future, take a glimpse back at the video games based on TV shows that remain good fun to play.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
