Video Game Crossovers That Need To Happen - Part 1

Since the beginning of time, gamers have envisioned their favorite shows, movies, and even game franchises merged with other games that they enjoy. Oftentimes it is clear that some original games are simply generic versions of a movie that the creator loved and didn’t have the money to license. Unfortunately, when developers do get the licenses the money used ends up feeling like they could have been better served in the development of the game.

Just for a while, let’s sit back and dream about what could be if everything was perfect and we could mashup any game with any license or franchise that we wanted.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 x G.I. Joe

GI Joe is an aging 80’s cartoon property that just can’t seem to catch a break. There have been numerous movies starring the likes of Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, and The Rock. The most recent move, Snake Eyes, is proof that the nostalgia still remains as Hollywood still thinks the franchise is a money maker. Still, on the cartoon and video game side of things, the franchise hasn’t managed to make its mark. Even when the cartoon was popular in the 80’s, the video games produced never really had a ‘big hit’.

In steps Battlefield 2 and large scale battle model. Believe it or not, in the days of Battlefield 2 on PC, a GI Joe mod was created to great fanfare. The mod was very popular and the iconic vehicles had the perfect video game home... until they were forced to take the mod down due to licensing issues. Regardless of the result, GI Joe had seemingly found the perfect format to call home.

Fast forward a bit to the 2017 version of Star Wars Battlefront and you have a peculiar hero based template. For some time, people enjoyed the Star Wars based Battlefield franchise. Star Wars Battlefront took the iconic music, vehicles, and battles of the Star Wars universe and applied them to the Battlefield template. A striking success, Battlefront rebooted their series in 2017 with a hero based score streak bonus. Score enough points in a single match and you would have the opportunity to spawn special units, vehicles, or even become one of the iconic heroes in the Star Wars universe. Each hero having special abilities and weapons, the heroes were overpowered and yet still were vulnerable enough to not completely throw a match out of balance if played incorrectly.

GI Joe has a host of characters on both the hero and villain side that can easily fill out an impressive roster in any game. Thankfully the fighting game genre hasn’t been touched as military soldiers vs terrorists in a melee battle just doesn’t make any sense. In the hero based Battlefield format, you could focus on the personality and weaponry that each character exhibits.

Duke is the overpowered leader that has a huge buff radius. Snake Eyes is the stealthy melee hero. Roadblock is the minigun wielding tank. Shipwreck...um...has a parrot!

On the villain side of things, Cobra Commander could be Cobra’s counter to Duke with a special ability that helps him run away quickly. Destro could have some great gadgets. Zartan could have the ability to switch sides once per match along with a disguise ability. Of course, Storm Shadow could counter Snake Eyes’ abilities and so on and so on.

There would be so much potential in a game of this magnitude if given the love and care that it deserves. Great voice acting and a kicking 80’s cartoon soundtrack would even throw things into overdrive as well if the ‘cartoon’ element was retained in the graphics style.

D.I.C.E. is sleeping on a winner here.

Battlefield x Avatar

There are a lot of movies that feature massive battles but not too many are as exciting as Avatar. As a movie that truly focused on relying on nature rather than technology, Avatar was an amazing technological Hollywood blockbuster. With all of the attention and records that movie received, Avatar never truly got a great video game adaptation.

Though we’ve gotten a taste of the upcoming open world game called Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, there is an opportunity within the Battlefield framework as well.

As next gen games are getting off the ground, finding ways to push the envelope of what is currently on the market are rare. By weaving Avatar into the Battlefield framework, the multiplayer FPS war genre could reach all new levels now that ‘bots’ are becoming a new thing again. Just as in Battlefield 2042, an Avatar mashup could really spice things up...just not in the way you are thinking!

The appeal of the Avatar franchise is the feeling that the entire ecosystem on Pandora has the potential to make humankind a meal! Using the power of next gen, a Battlefield style Avatar game could pit a large number of players (humans vs Na’vi) in different climates on Pandora. Then the native creatures in each climate could also interrupt and hunt down both sides as they battle. The humans could even have ‘Avatar’ Na’vi on the ‘human’ side that would fight the Na’vi.

Reaching a certain score on either side could also call in high powered reinforcements to tip the scale of the battle. The humans could bring in large bomb dropping air support. The Na’Vi could coerce the wildlife to stop fighting the Na’Vi and instead only attack the humans. While this could certainly tax any CPU given the amount of participants in any battle, the possibilities of spectacular Avatar battles are endless!

Sifu x Kill Bill

For years I’ve complained that there are few games on the market that truly fill that Kung-Fu Theatre hole in the hearts of 80’s babies. After Saturday morning cartoons and midday wrestling, Kung-Fu movies used to be a trademark of weekend relaxation for many of us. Produced by Hong Kong movie studios like Shaw Brothers, these cheesy action classics became an integral part of American culture.

For years, gaming tried to be that bridge for people to live out their Kung Fu Theatre dreams. There are quite a few recent PC games like Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior’s Way, Shaolin Vs Wutang, and One Finger Death Punch that cling to the trademark sounds and characters. There were even old school arcade games like Kung Fu Master, Yi Ar Kung Fu, and Double Dragon that slightly scratched that itch.

Still, even with the addition of Street Fighter esque games to the scene, few of them captured the strike-block-block-block POW feeling that classic kung fu films delivered.

Probably the closest popular offering today to that feeling is a game for the Playstation called Sifu. Built off of the mild success of the developers previous martial arts game called Absolver, Sifu embodies the essence of a modern day kung fu film. While it doesn't have the trademark Shaw Brothers kung fu sound effects, it pretty much has everything else.

All of that aside, we all know that Kill Bill as a franchise deserves a kick-ass video game. The epic sword fights and martial arts combat in Kill Bill made the movie feel just like a live action video game in cinematic form. With the Crazy 88's running around as fodder and The Bride mopping the floor with everyone lackeys to O-Ren Ishii, Sifu is the perfect backdrop to a universe that is begging for a proper video game crossover.

But Wait There's More...

As you sit there and salivate over the amazing fun that could be had from these video game offerings, I warn you that there are more great ideas to come!

In the meantime, tell us what video game crossovers you'd like to see!