While games involving puzzles and mysteries can be challenging and fun, action games are by far the most exciting. Punching bad guys and getting into high-speed pursuits and blowing stuff up are all the things that video games were invented for. Action games adapted from action movies have given gamers the chance to play as such iconic heroes as James Bond and Jason Bourne.
There have been some terrific games based on action movies, from GoldenEye 007 to John Wick Hex, but there are also plenty of action movies that haven’t been adapted into games that could be perfect for the medium.
10 Dredd
There have been a few video games based on the iconic 2000 A.D. character Judge Dredd, but the most recent one was released in 2003, long before Karl Urban played the definitive on-screen incarnation of the character in 2012’s woefully underrated Dredd.
Judges Dredd and Anderson’s infiltration of a high-rise controlled by a drug lord filled the movie with wall-to-wall action, which would serve a video game adaptation well.
9 Baby Driver
Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver already has the feel of a video game. The way the camera follows Baby’s car around during the vehicular pursuits recalls every classic driving game, while the gunfights and third-act foot chase would diversify the action.
A getaway driver who drives to the rhythm of pop music would make a great game protagonists, because the gameplay would be a barrel of fun and the soundtrack could be filled with licensed hits like the movie.
8 Hard Boiled
From the opening teahouse shootout to the final maternity ward showdown, Hard Boiled is arguably the peak of John Woo’s “gun fu” subgenre of action cinema. It’s primed to be adapted into a shoot-‘em-up video game.
Badass cop Tequila Yuen, played by the legendary Chow Yun-fat in the movie, would make an awesome playable character for an action-adventure game.
7 Léon: The Professional
Whether the playable protagonist is the titular hitman or his 12-year-old protégé, a video game adaptation of Léon: The Professional could be incredible. It could be like a Hitman game with a Last of Us dynamic at its heart.
The villainous DEA agent Norman Stansfield, played brilliantly by Gary Oldman (who could reprise the role in game form), is an iconic bad guy who would translate beautifully to a game’s narrative.
6 Battle Royale
Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale has spawned a genre of video games – it’s the namesake of “battle royale” games – but not an actual video game adaptation.
The premise of a bunch of junior high schoolers being forced to fight to the death by a totalitarian government made for one of the greatest action movies of the 21st century. It’s also a perfect premise for a high-stakes action game.
5 Brawl In Cell Block 99
S. Craig Zahler’s ultraviolent gem Brawl in Cell Block 99 follows a delightfully simplistic plot with well-established stakes, which makes it ripe for a game adaptation. Vince Vaughn stars as an ex-convict who returns to crime when he can’t find legitimate work and gets handed a jail sentence that’ll cause him to miss the first few years of his baby’s life.
That seems to be the worst-case scenario before a crime boss threatens to kill the kid and its mother if he can’t settle some scores for him on the inside. This involves getting transferred to a rival criminal’s prison and fighting his way through various guards and inmates.
4 The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s gritty, grounded take on Batman has had a massive influence on modern blockbuster cinema. The Batman of the Arkham games came close to capturing Nolan’s Bat, but still existed in the heightened comic book reality of the comics.
It could be interesting to revisit the somewhat realistic version of the Caped Crusader from Nolan’s acclaimed trilogy in video game form.
3 Enter The Dragon
Bruce Lee’s final film, Enter the Dragon, is also praised as one of his greatest works. He stars as an undercover agent who infiltrates a drug lord’s martial arts tournament on his private island.
In a video game adaptation, players would have to enter the tournament and best a few opponents before breaking off and investigating the drug lord’s operations.
2 Seven Samurai
One of the greatest and most groundbreaking action movies ever made, Seven Samurai tells the story of a makeshift band of warriors who assemble to protect the innocent residents of a village from an impending attack by bandits. The formula has since been emulated by The Magnificent Seven, Battle Across the Stars, and countless others.
With Ghost of Tsushima reinvigorating interest in samurai culture in the gaming community, it might be a good idea to revamp Akira Kurosawa’s action-packed masterpiece as a video game.
1 Kill Bill
The Bride would make a heck of a playable character. Going through the plot of Quentin Tarantino’s two-part action epic Kill Bill, personally crossing the names off of the Bride’s revenge list, would provide endless fun for gamers.
From the opening suburban fight scene to the House of Blue Leaves showdown to getting buried alive, there are plenty of scenes in Kill Bill that would make captivating levels of a video game.