10 Video Game Tie-Ins That Missed The Point Of The Movie

1. Platoon

Return of the Jedi Famicom
Ocean

Oliver Stone's semi-autobiographical (i.e. we don't know how much heroin he smoked out of skulls) Oscar winner is a powerful, complex, brutal portrayal of the Vietnam war and the effect it had on its young, drafted soldiers. It also featured Christ-like imagery, the horrific double-standards of conflict and a cruelly blunt outlook on what it means to kill - for country or pleasure.

Complex political commentary, you say? The harsh reality of war? To Ocean, this was A-list video game material. Their platoon found an anonymous soldier (somewhat fitting, given star Charlie Sheen's character being treated as expendable as the next) as he navigates a confusing map, avoiding booby traps and shooting the Vietcong. The gameplay isn't much help, with enemies appearing on-screen and opening fire before you have any sort of reaction time.

It also betrays the film's ending, not to be spoiled here. Needless to say, it turns your character into the killer rather than just a survivor of circumstance.

Contributor
Contributor

Kenny Hedges is carbon-based. So I suppose a simple top 5 in no order will do: Halloween, Crimes and Misdemeanors, L.A. Confidential, Billy Liar, Blow Out He has his own website - thefilmreal.com - and is always looking for new writers with differing views to broaden the discussion.