Games on Film

Harry and Rory make their return to the world of Castlevania to see what's up in Wallachia in seasons three and four of the Netflix series. New threats emerge, old foes reappear, and a bunch of familiar thesps, including Bill Nighy, Jason Isaacs and Malcolm McDowell, join the cast. But as our heroes Trevor, Sypha and Alucard reach what may be the end of their story, will (bloody) tears be shed? Th...

It has begun...again! The long-awaited reboot of Mortal Kombat arrives, bringing with it the promise of more fatalities and gore than ever before. Fresh face Cole Young discovers he has been chosen to defend Earthrealm against the forces of Outworld, with fan favourite fighters on both sides, and the centuries-old rivalry between Scorpion and Sub-Zero at its centre. But how will the film itself fa...

It's the end of an era, as Harry and Rory reach the sixth and final film in the Paul W. S. Anderson / Milla Jovovich survival horror series. Recaps, revelations and retcons abound as Alice returns to Raccoon City to stop Umbrella once and for all. The truth behind her past, the Red Queen and the T-virus outbreak will all become clear - sort of - but will she be in time to save humanity's last rema...

Harry and Rory count down to the launch of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition by watching and discussing an animated chapter of the epic saga. But first, Harry details his own experiences playing through the original trilogy, as well as the controversy surrounding the third game's ending and its legacy. Then it's on to Paragon Lost, as Freddie Prinze Jr's space marine leads a squadron into a do or die...

The witching hour (and a half) is upon Harry and Rory, as they watch and discuss the anime adaptation of the first Bayonetta video game. Rory shares his experiences getting to grips with the beloved hack-and-slash-em-up, before they examine whether the story and action translate successfully to feature film form. The titular witch has magical hair and guns on her heels, though when she finds herse...

It's the third anniversary of the podcast, so for a special treat, Harry and Rory record their first board game on film episode (in the 'studio', with the microphones), the cult comedy classic adaptation of family favourite Clue(do). Butler Tim Curry leads the colour-coordinated characters through multiple murders in multiple rooms with multiple weapons - and multiple endings - but as the bodies p...

Harry and Rory blast off into space 16-bit style, with a British sci-fi action-adventure comedy starring martial arts movie star Scott Adkins as the titular hero of teen gamer Sarah's favourite side-scrolling beat 'em up. But when she gets magically transported into the game and into the body of lowly crew member Jake, she must rely on her gaming know-how and outside assistance from whoever's in c...

As Pokémon celebrates its 25th anniversary, Harry and Rory are joined once again by their brother and creator of Deadendia, Hamish Steele, as they talk about the 20th Pokémon movie, I Choose You! A celebratory reset/remake of the early anime series episodes, PTM:ICY! retells Ash Ketchum's first steps on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, the beginnings of his friendship with Pikachu and a que...

To mark the recent release of Hitman 3, Harry and Rory look at Agent 47's second cinematic outing, rebooted and reskinned as Rupert Friend. This time, the barcode battler is in pursuit of someone who holds the key to the Agent programme, but so too are a shadowy syndicate who will stop at nothing to unlock the secrets of how to build an army of genetically engineered super soldiers. With gun fight...

Harry and Rory are joined by gaming events manager Gareth "Swanny" Swann to mark the 10th anniversary of Disney blockbuster sequel Tron: Legacy. They discuss the impact of the original film, how the digital world changed between instalments and where a potential third film may go, touching on philosophy, theology and wicked cool light-jets. Its distinctive visuals and iconic Daft Punk soundtrack w...

As Paul W. S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich's new Capcom video game adaptation Monster Hunter makes its way into at least some cinemas this month, Harry and Rory resume re-watching Resident Evil movies with their fifth entry in the series. Once dead characters from past instalments are resurrected and fan favourite characters from the games are introduced, as evil goes global - or at least moves fro...

With the arrival of the next generation of consoles and the forthcoming release of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on PS5, Harry and Rory discuss the big-screen outing for the intergalactic duo. Produced in conjunction with a remake of the original game, the film charts the first encounter of the alien mechanic and his robot chum, as they team up with a band of celebrity space heroes to defeat a plane...

During a tumultuous moment in US history, with the Presidential Election hingeing on postal ballots, there is no better - or worse - time to finally discuss Uwe Boll's infamous political comedy. Harry and Rory set their sights on the controversial source material, before heading down to Paradise City, where a downtrodden Dude gets caught up with a doomsday hippy cult's heist of a German-themed amu...

Horror month continues as Capcom's other zombie video game franchise turned feature film makes its debut on the podcast. Harry and Rory first look back at the original Dead Rising game, as well as the official Japanese web series Zombrex: Dead Rising Sun. It's then onto the main feature, as a bad batch of anti-zombification medication leads to an outbreak, a quarantine and a ticking clock before t...

It's the spookiest time of the year, so Harry and Rory grab their flashlights, tune their radios and head to Silent Hill. First, they dip into the original Konami horror games, plus key spin-offs, before seeing how the monsters, music and more made their way to the big screen, as a mother searches for her daughter (and Sean Bean searches for them both) in the titular town. Filled with ashen fog, d...

Harry and Rory yell "GET OVER HERE" and grab a hold of a new Mortal Kombat movie, an animated retelling of the events of the first game from the perspective of the iconic undead ninja warrior. First they look at earlier cartoon offerings from the mid-90s, namely VHS spin-off The Journey Begins and kids series Defenders of the Realm, before plunging into the more 'mature' world of Mortal Kombat Leg...

Harry and Rory discuss Dragon Quest: Your Story, a CG-animated adaptation of the fifth instalment of the long-running JRPG franchise, in which a young adventurer seeks to free his mother from the clutches of an evil wizard. They trace the history of the series, its impact on the genre, and its huge success in its native Japan, before embarking on a journey through the film itself. With controversi...

Harry and Rory are joined by comedian Dan Thomas to look at low-budget sci-fi spectacular Arcade, from the director of Captain America (not that one) and the writer of Batman v Superman (yes that one). They dig deep into Dan's first childhood viewing and how it holds up nearly 30 years later, as a group of cool '90s teens, including Seth Green, check out the hot new VR title, only to discover game...

It's Games on Film vs. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as Harry and Rory mark the 10th anniversary of Edgar Wright's video-game-inflected graphic-novel adaptation. They discuss the PlayStation-era pop culture of Spaced, look back at the original source material, and replay the much-missed spin-off game, before launching into the film's hyper-kinetic universe, as a self-obsessed slacker must do battle...

It's Tekken time on the podcast, with Harry and Rory squaring up against the official live-action movie adaptation of the fighting game franchise. In a not-too-distant dystopian future, vengeance-fuelled whipper-snapper scrapper Jin seeks to bring down the Mishima family and with it the Tekken tournament/corporation/global superpower once and for all. The bros discuss boyband BROS., flashback fati...

It's The Wizard, Harry (and Rory)! Our hosts discuss this runaway road movie brimming with NEStalgia, as a trio of kids hitch-hike to California to compete in a video game tournament. They talk about e-sports in the early 90s, the Nintendo World Championships, Universal Studios and the new Super Nintendo World, as well as relive the film's finale with a head-to-head Super Mario Bros. 3 challenge....

After a brief break, it's the return of Games on Film! And for this episode, Harry and Rory devise and pitch to each other their ideas for movie tie-in games. Which films are crying out for a video game version? Which movies would you want to play through? What kind of games would they be? From Big Trouble in Little China to Being John Malkovich VR, they develop their dream titles before going thr...

Harry and Rory decide to take their minds off the current viral outbreak, and so, to mark the release of the Resident Evil 3 remake, it's time for another instalment in Paul W. S. Anderson's zombie saga - this time in 3-D! Oh no. Milla Jovovich goes toe-to-toe in Tokyo with Albert Wesker and attempts a prison break in LA in search of survivors. But does this soft reboot of the franchise breathe fr...

To mark the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Harry and Rory are joined by David Thair, the Mayor (and host) of 'Asstown', an Animal Crossing Podcast from Hi-Score Club, to discuss the animated feature film adaptation. Just how does an easy-going life-simulation transfer to the big screen? With added action-adventure sequences, sci-fi spectacle and a hint of Twin Peaks, amongst all the soa...

Harry and Rory mark the second anniversary of the podcast with their annual tradition of a Tomb Raider movie, this time covering the second outing for Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It's another globe-trotting action-adventure across land (in a Jeep), sea (in a wetsuit) and sky (in a wingsuit) as Lara teams up with mercenary/ex-partner Gerard Butler in a race to stop an evil scientist from finding...