The Best Video Games Based on Television Shows

The Best Video Games Based on Television Shows

Article by Justin T. Bowler
@IndyFilmTwittic

While there seem to be nearly a hundred animated television shows based on video games, it makes one wonder how many decent video games are based on television shows. The answer is, not many. Here, we will take a look at the few that are fun and fantastic.

Number 5.
Beavis and Butthead 
Released in 1994 on Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Gear.

Plot: To help Beavis & Butthead attend the gig of a lifetime, players have to traverse the locales of Highland, Texas in order to retrieve the tattered fragments of their tickets. 
Review: This game came out at the height of the animated series shown on MTV. Funny, inappropriate, and lame, the game is filled with everything you loved about the television show. 

Number 4.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Released in 1991 on Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Arcade game only.

Plot: While trying to stop Shredder and his henchmen from stealing The Statue of Liberty, Shredder sends the turtles through a time warp. The Turtles must fight Shredder’s army in both the past and the future in order to get home. They face Shredder until he falls to his death and The Statue of the Liberty is returned to its place.
Review: This is the best of the TMNT games out there. While the graphics may seem substandard compared to anything today, players will delight in the basic brawling gameplay of Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. 

Number 3.
The Simpsons: Road Rage
Released in 2001on GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameBoy Advance.
The Simpsons: Hit and Run
Released in 2003 on GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows.
 
Review: Very similar, but one has more of an actual story connected to it, these two driving games are top notch for fans of the show. The vocal talent at The Simpsons has always been first rate, and the writing for the characters in these games is equally entertaining. 

Number 2.
The Walking Dead
Released in 2012 on Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS.

Plot: The game takes place in the same fictional world as the comic, with events occurring shortly after the onset of the zombie apocalypse in Georgia. However, most of the characters are original to the game. Season One centers on university professor and convicted criminal Lee Everett, who rescues and subsequently cares for a young girl named Clementine, trying to protect her from the dangers of zombies and dangerous people while preserving her innocence. Season 2focuses on Clementine herself as she is emotionally and physically challenged by the dangers of the world as her childhood innocence is slowly diminished by the difficult choices she must make.
Review: The Walking Dead is an episodic graphic adventure video game series. It’s impressive on an interactive level, as this game drops you into the apocalypse. What would happen if the dead started walking the Earth? This game attempts to answer that question. It forces the player to slow down in some areas and think fast in others. Just like the award-winning television series, this game gives you the feeling that you are one of Rick’s party, truly fighting for survival.

Number 1.
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Released just a few years ago in 2014 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. 

Plot: The Stick of Truth follows The New Kid, who has moved to the eponymous town and become involved in an epic role-play fantasy war involving humans, wizards, and elves, who are fighting for control of the all-powerful Stick of Truth. Their game quickly escalates out of control, bringing them into conflict with aliens, Nazi zombies, and gnomes, threatening the entire town with destruction.
Review: South Park: The Stick of Truth is an award-winning video game, ahead of its time, and has all the fun of the television show in a video game. It is hilarious and clever. If you are a gamer and you love South Park, then this is the perfect blend.

There you have it. The best video game adaptations from television shows. If you think I am missing one that should be in the top five, let me know in the comments below.

Justin Bowler
IG @IndyFilmTwittic and @OhTheEffingHorror
Twitter @JustinTBowler