Can One Spoil a Game?
Many reviews of Mass Effect 2 have been criticized for containing spoilers, such as the one on Gametrailers.
While I’m not going to examine whether or not reviews should contain spoilers, or even whether a reviewer should warn about potential spoilers (why watch a video review if you don’t want to be spoiled?), it does indicate just how cinematic games have become.
Can a game be spoiled?
Claiming that you can spoil a game by revealing details about the plot would have seemed preposterous earlier in the history of gaming. What could you reveal about Pac-Man, or DOOM, that would ruin the experience for somebody else?
Those games were solely about gameplay. While there are still games of this nature (New Super Mario Brothers Wii, for example; pro tip: Mario saves the princess in the end), games are increasingly cinematic.
While most game to film adaptations are ill advised, I'm going to make an exception for this one
Progressing through the storyline in Uncharted 2 is most of the allure of the game. Role playing games such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 are arguably more reliant on their story than they are on any gameplay mechanics.
Games now have cinematographers, and use influences from film to frame shots. They have cutscenes that add up to over a full hour of game time, and their scripts can run into the hundreds of pages. Will the convergence continue?
Raul Julia, rest now sweet prince
Are game to film adaptations appropriate?
The history of game to film adaptations has been spotty at best, with most of the releases comically bad. While there have been few successes, the number of games made into films grows with each passing year. Lately we have heard rumors of a Mass Effect film. Is this even appropriate?
At some point in the near future a film will no longer merely be ‘inspired’ by a game, it will have to choose between merely using the universe and remaking the game. While game structure isn’t appropriate for a film, there will be enough iconic shots and dialogue lines in most upcoming AAA games that films will barely need to create any content of their own.
'DOOM' is pretty much my review for this one. Jesus, no
Is it even appropriate to make a film of a game anymore? I realize that franchises like crossover products, such as films, toys, comics and Happy Meal box art, but it is very likely that films could fall behind games for total quality of expeirence as they lack interactivity. Why would somebody want to go to a Mass Effect film when they could just load up the cutscenes from their completed game save?
It’s unclear whether this is a phase that games are going through or whether this is a permanent gaming trend. For my money, games will continue down this path for the forseeable future, and you will start to see Super Bowl advertisements for games that people mistake for films.
