Here's further proof that A Game of Thrones is indeed a big deal in fantasy: it has its own video games. How many games did those crappy Shannara books get? How about Terry Goodkind's laughable, sociopathic Sword of Truth series? How about Robert Jordan's....well, there actually was a decent game based on The Wheel of Time back in 1999. But A Game of Thrones is standing proud right now. So Atlus, HBO, and developer Cyanide Studios are assembling an action-RPG based on the TV series and, by extension, George R.R. Martin's original A Song of Ice and Fire novels. What can we expect when the game arrives early next year? Judging by the newest trailer, we can expect a wall. 
OK, so it's not a wall, it's THE Wall, a massive fortification that separates the semi-civilized realm of the Seven Kingdoms from a lawless northern waste. It's only part of the sprawling medieval-fantasy world that Martin crafted for his novels, but it's the focus of this trailer, which plays like a standard-issue Dragon Age cutscene despite the voice of James Cosmo. There's more to the game, however: it follows Night's Watch guardsman (and animal-controlling warg) Mors Westfold and Red Priest (and magic user) Alester Sarwyck, neither of whom are seen in the novels (yet). The two of them follow different paths across the Seven Kingdoms, encountering several established series characters along the way--and Jeor Mormonth's just one of them. There's another trailer for the game, and in between the generic milling around, you can catch sight of Varys the Enuch and possibly even Martin himself.
That said, Cyanide Studios also made A Game of Thrones: Genesis, a strategy game that pleased very few fans earlier this year. And the early footage of their new A Game of Thrones title for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 looks no different than every other Western-themed RPG out there. Perhaps that's because Martin's setting is fairly mundane at a glance. It's set apart not by improbable world-building, but by realistic power struggles and drastic plot twists (and some downright creepy stuff, but that'll likely get toned down for the game). In RPG terminology, it's more like a dirty version of Tactics Ogre than a Final Fantasy or World of Warcraft.
But I'm not the best judge here. If someone asked me to turn A Song of Ice and Fire into a video game, I'd immediately commission an old-fashioned Final Fight brawler starring Barristan Selmy, Strong Belwas, and...let's say a zombie/cyborg version of Barsena Blackhair. But more commercially minded parties prevailed here.
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24 comments
Am I the only one not excited about this? In a Game of Thrones universe video game, I would rather not play as premade characters. The universe is so vast and exciting and interesting that I would want to create a character in it rather than go through the whole game as Aleister or this Mormont fellow? I'm not a purist here, either. It's just not striking me as a good idea, coming off the heels of Cursed Crusade.
As well, just a regular hack'n'slash gameplay seems wasteful of the IP, and the graphics..
That blood. Those textures. Good character designs, but holy shit the graphics are jarring. Hopefully they'll be fixed. Seriously, is it so hard to make gameplay based off of Dark Souls, that works and is realistic? I just don't see it translating well without some realistic gameplay choices, and a hack'n'slash doesn't seem to be one of those. Also, Cyanide Studios, who made the horrid RTS in the same IP, who's whole history has been badly licensed games, does not make me happy.
ATLUS, I love you. I really really do. You publish and develop some of the most interesting RPGs. Well, except for Cursed Crusade. And now this.
I get it, George R.R. Martin should oversee the story. That's obvious. But making pre-mades in this medium doesn't strike me as particularly interesting in a vast universe, with interesting possibilities in this medium. Immersion. And all you can do with it is a couple of pre-mades, hack'n'slash, and lackluster trailer? I hate making an essay about how wrong this feels and how much potential is being wasted on a great IP and universe, but this just makes me sad.
?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Did anyone else notice Zangief at the 36 second mark?! HELL YEAH! YOUR WALL CAN'T SAVE YOU AGAINST THE RED CYCLONE, WESTEROS BITCHES!
Moreover: while I can praise the WOT game for many things, some of its costume designs are laughable, especially the gownless bondage straps worn by the Red Ajah Aes Sedai (sorceress) as a normal outfit when she's hanging around official places trying to fit in. The cutscene where she demands the main character treat her with the respect she deserves is unintentionally hilarious.
(The sad 'costume' for Lews Therin in the game's prequel, is another exception. It literally looks like a cosplayer wearing a towel for a cape, which official production art for promoting the game revealed to be exactly what it was!--the actor whom they used as a model for the game's graphics of that character is proudly shown, next to the actress in the ridiculous Bondage Sedai outfit, wearing a cute little cape tacked to his shirt under big clunky yin-yang seals like a four-year old at Halloween whose parents are destitute and don't have much imagination. I know it sounds harsh, but the game was much better than to deserve those costumes.)
Sadly, the game no longer runs on my now-seven-year-old system (graphic hardware issues), but despite my gripes there are lots of reasons for anyone interested in what amounts to an atmospheric fantasy fps to look into picking up an old copy.
I'm really not sure that the things which make Game of Thrones awesome will translate well into the medium of video games. That said, I'll be keeping my eye on this one and will most likely try it when it comes out.
The WOT game was not only good, it featured a quite good soundtrack that was later expanded into a CD that didn't go very far out of its way to announce it was based on the game soundtrack. Which doubtless led to some confused buyers, because there are two kinds of music on the game (and on the CD):
1.) Some electric guitar Celtic-themed folk music that actually sounds like music but doesn't even remotely sound like anything someone would either hear in Randland or in a movie of the property (and which don't fit the settings of the game either);
2.) Some creepy non-musical background atmospheric hair-raising noises that work great for a lot of the game's intense first-person-shooter settings, but which work great for absolutely nothing else.
In fact, I turned off the soundtrack quickly while playing the game, even though I liked the portions that were actually music. I needed to be able to hear if something horrible was about to jump out and murder me.
Wait, what?! ATLUS is involved with this game? FUCK YEA I'M IN!!
With the kind of clout like Atlus, famed for churning out awesome games out of bizarre concepts (looking at you, Rock of Ages!), the worst we can get from this is an "okay" game.
There was also a game set in Raymond Feist's Midkemia. Video games made from fantasy novels tend to be quite sucky.
There were two games based on Midkemia, actually. And Betrayal At Krondor was the exception to that rule of games based on fantasy series sucking. That game actually got me into reading Feist's work as a teenager. More than that, it got generally good reviews, became a big seller once it was released on CD-ROM and Computer Gaming World named it Game of the Year for 1993.
Return to Krondor, on the other hand... we Feist fans don't talk about that one. For a lot of reasons.
Did those crappy Shannara books get a video game?
Yes. Yes they did. A minute's worth of research on Google would have told you that and led you to several places where you could download it.
http://www.gamespot.com/shanna...
And while I've never been a fan of Brooks' work, I did give the game a shot as it was overseen by Lori and Corey Cole aka the wife/husband team who designed and programmed the excellent Quest For Glory series for Sierra back in the Golden Age of Adventure Games. It was quite good.
I'm excited about this even though I haven't read the books (don't kick me to death and take my nerd card, I'm going to read them!), the studio seems to respect the source-material and I respect that. And if they suck, we can just pretend they don't exist. :D
Is it just me, or is there something "off" about the graphics. Something doesn't sit right with me, it'll probably get ironed out before it's released.
"Did Terry Goodkind's laughable, sociopathic Sword for Truth series get one?"
"Sociopathic"?
I was rooting for you this week, Mr. Todd Ciolek, but now you've done it!
The Sword of Truth series is about being ANYTHING BUT SOCIOPATHIC! We could all learn to be better human beings if we tried to be more like Richard Goddamn Rahl!
Although, if you're basing your opinion off that terrible TV show version, you may be right... they got next to nothing accurate on that abomination.
Oh, certainly. Richard's conduct when dealing with a possessed chicken-that-was-not-a-chicken was admirable. Bawk bawk bawk.
I don't know if I'd call Terry Goodkind's work sociopathic.
Crude, yes. Sexist, yes. Mysogynistic? Absolutely. But Sociopathic? Just because he seems to have this fetish for building up strong female characters only to have them brutally raped and murdered?
Come to think of it, yes. That IS sociopathic.
"Sexist"? "Mysognynistic"?
How are any of the intelligent, strong, and confident female leads (of which there are more then male characters) written in any way misognystic? Goodkind often makes his female characters some of the most powerful people in his stories.
I think you are getting the ideals of the book's villains confused with the true point of the stories: That it's wrong to have the ideals that the villains do.
I'm sorry, but that series is not quite on the level you're claiming here.
Rather than name all my problems with it, here's a link that puts it better than I could:http://www.bhagwad.com/blog/20...If we'd all behave like Richard, the world would most definitly not be a better place; apart from the fact that you get Goodkind's political views rammed down your throat time and time again.
I read that blog and it's criticism is in need of criticism.
One of the most obnoxious kinds of criticism is the "I didn't want that, I wanted it like this..."
Is it so hard to not accept a story the way it is, instead of the way you want it to be? Sometimes the best stories get shit on, because the critic doesn't want it to be told that way. Enjoy things for how they are, and if you want something different, go write it yourself.
