Live Action Adaptations of Video Games

When it comes to live action adaptations of video games, there's both a lot of hype and a lot of high expectations when they come into fruition. Though it all comes down to execution and how well they play it out.

It either goes well, or ends up as a dumpster fire.

I'll briefly go over the examples of The Last of Us, Fallout and Halo, which I, personally, am a huge fan of the games. So the fact that there are live action series of each made me extremely excited and full of high hopes for what these studios had to deliver.

Let's start with The Last of Us.

I've played a good amount of The Last of Us and loved the story, the gameplay and how much fungal spores could really make a meal out of us easily if they were to adapt to our physiology. So when I came across the series on HBO, I was stoked to watch it.

The lore they talked about before everything went to shit was also a nice touch in the beginning of some of the episodes, and how it gave detail as to how dangerous fungal spores truly can become.

And the clickers... Already getting PTSD.

The casting was good, especially seeing Pedro Pascal playing as Joel. It was well executed, and felt like they were following the lore close enough to emulate the game. The only gripe I really had was who they casted for Ellie, but I can give credit where credit is due as Bella Ramsey played the part well enough to overlook the casting detail.

I'd give this live action adaptation a solid 8 out of 10.

Now... Halo...

I am a huge Halo fan. I've binged Halo 1-4, ODST and Reach. I've read half of the books and love the technology behind the Spartans (but not the ethics), the Covenant, the dangers of the Flood and the crazy lore behind the forerunners and humanity. I've spent hundreds of hours on multiplayer, forge and custom games to the point where Halo has a special place in my heart. I had very high expectations for the live action series as Forward Unto Dawn and Legends were well executed. Paramount was a big studio so figured that they were going to do this series well.

Now don't get me wrong, visually its stunning, and the fight scenes were great. Insurrectionists, the Covenant and some of the Spartans were well planned.

But here's the thing: personally, they butchered this series and did it no justice.

I could barely get through the first few episodes before I decided enough was enough.

First off, Master Chief IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SEEN WITH HIS HELMET OFF! That's what really got me at first. Second, both characters representing Captain Jacob Keyes and Miranda Keyes ARE NOT LORE ACCURATE. I'll at least attest that they got Halsey all right but I'm still peeved at the idea that neither of the Keyes characters were like the original series. Third, the fact that the writers NEVER PLAYED THE GAMES OR READ THE BOOKS is what really sealed it for me. Fourth, Why is there a human on the covenant side?!

If this was meant to be an alternate timeline or universe, sure I guess that's something, but this series, to me, is FAR from lore accurate, and I will die on this hill if I have to.

1 out of 10.

Next we have Fallout

I love Fallout. Wandering around the wasteland, picking up weapons as you go, the crazy dialogue, the messed up lore behind America and the big corporations, the armor, the crazy amount of fun to be had playing these games were an absolute blast. Wasn't super big on Fallout 1 or 2, but Fallout 3, New Vegas and Fallout 4 were incredible.

So I expected this studio to DELIVER something great in the Fallout series.

I must say: I was far from disappointed. They pulled it off BEAUTIFULLY.

Casting was great! Following the lore to the letter, Walter Goggins being a ghoul, the attention to detail on the world building, the references, THE POWER ARMOR, and especially the fact that Bethesda made sure that the writers did the Fallout series justice. 343 may have helped out with Halo, but they are nowhere CLOSE to how well the writers at Amazon did with this series. I was hooked halfway through the first episode and knew that this series was going to do well.

Chef's Kiss

Easily 10 out of 10, and really hope that they continue to do this series just as well as they did the first 8 episodes.

All in all, its safe to say that there are good adaptations for video game series, and there are equally as bad adaptations.

Considering that Henry Cavill left The Witcher for similar reasons of not following the source material.

So long as there are good writers and a good studio backing the project, and following the lore to the letter, great series can be made out of video games.

As for the studios that try to make it "their own" and diverging away from the lore enough to where it isn't even the same thing, think about what the audience is going to think if you butcher their favorite video game series because you "have an idea".

This is coming from a gamer. Take with it what you will.