Current Events > Book tie-ins for video games

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm a nerd. I've probably read more of these than most. Halo, Mass Effect, Hitman and Dragon Age had a few decent ones.

But it blows me away how many of them there actually are. Doom. Assassin's Creed. Gears of War. Splinter Cell. Sonic the Hedgehog. Brute Force. All sorts of genres and games.

I can't help but wonder how many of these succeed and are worth it. I guess with the amount of books out there being attached to any sort of known IP make it worth it?

How many have you read and which ones were your favorites? I think my favorite is the first Mass Effect tie-in book that goes into Anderson and Saren's history. The real cool thing about it was that it's directly referenced in the games.
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The halo books are pretty fuckin good

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I hear the Bioshock book is good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDefkW2z4VU" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGQh1Lgx0GM" data-time="

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Bungie did it best when they were making the Halo games because you didn't need to read anything to understand what was going on between CE, 2, and 3.

Then 343 kinda fucked it up especially between 4 and 5 though it seem like the jump between 5 and Infinite won't be as confusing.
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Killmonger posted...

I hear the Bioshock book is good.

it's fine until the 50 page monologue about the virtues of selfishness and the sinful ways of altruism
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Metal Gear Solid book has Snake throwing one liners like re4 Leon S kennedy
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Banana_Cyanide posted...

Bungie did it best when they were making the Halo games because you didn't need to read anything to understand what was going on between CE, 2, and 3.

Then 343 kinda fucked it up especially between 4 and 5 though it seem like the jump between 5 and Infinite won't be as confusing.

It's tricky because on one hand you can't expect most people to read them but on the other you don't want them to feel unimportant and disposable. Like it was a bit weird in the Bungie games there are a while bunch of Spartans who are just never mentioned.

I think Mass Effect 1 handled it best. You get a lot of background info in the novel and Anderson tells you the basic stuff in a dialogue conversation. It doesn't even stick out because that's how you get lots of information in that game.
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I really enjoy the Resident Evil novels by S.D. Perry. They're very pulpy, but they capture the spirit of the games pretty well.

My favorite "tie-in" is this though:

https://kotaku.com/dantes-inferno-the-official-novelization-of-the-book-5445824

If you'll recall the GoW/DMC clone called "Dante's Inferno" that came out about a decade ago and was, ostensibly, based on the classic poem. This is straight up a reprint of that bit of classic literature with the game's super edgy and badass cover slapped on it. Imagine thinking that you're going to read about this ripped badass saving his smoking hot girlfriend and instead you get fourteenth century Italian poetry.

_Rinku_ posted...

If you'll recall the GoW/DMC clone called "Dante's Inferno" that came out about a decade ago and was, ostensibly, based on the classic poem. This is straight up a reprint of that bit of classic literature with the game's super edgy and badass cover slapped on it. Imagine thinking that you're going to read about this ripped badass saving his smoking hot girlfriend and instead you get fourteenth century Italian poetry.

Lmao that's incredible
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I have never bought a video game related book. Only one I have is the elder scrolls one I got with a collector's edition of Skyrim. I have seen many online but I need something with pictures and stuff.

Also, I've heard that the Doom books get pretty wacky and Mormon. I bought the first one at a used bookstore, but haven't cracked it open yet.

Halo must be doing alright. They keep making them and my local store seems to devote more shelf space to them that Star Trek or Star Wars books.

Resident Evil did alright. It was fairly true to the tone of things and introduced a decent concept of a high up Umbrella executive using STARS to bring down the company with it being tied to him. It could just get a bit clunky in taking parts of the puzzles too literally.

Mass Effect wasn't bad either, and I appreciate they worked the books into the games, especially since it let me shoot Kai Leng.

My favorite though is old and fairly niche these days. A novelization for Primal Rage, a 90s fighter with dinosaurs and shit controls. It added a lot of lore they wanted to use in the sequels they never got to make and felt the most like it could stand on its own because of that.
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They're pretty awful when they actually start shoving book characters into the game.

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Darmik posted...

_Rinku_ posted...

If you'll recall the GoW/DMC clone called "Dante's Inferno" that came out about a decade ago and was, ostensibly, based on the classic poem. This is straight up a reprint of that bit of classic literature with the game's super edgy and badass cover slapped on it. Imagine thinking that you're going to read about this ripped badass saving his smoking hot girlfriend and instead you get fourteenth century Italian poetry.

Lmao that's incredible

This! 10/10
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I had a little paperback novelization of Ocarina of TIme that was basically a strategy guide. It was hilariously awful0

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I had a few Sonic books as a kid. They were those choose your adventure ones. I guess that was the closest way to make a book into a game.

I wonder if the Splinter Cell books are good.
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TheDreadedWave posted...

They're pretty awful when they actually start shoving book characters into the game.

Is that where Mass Effect's Vega comes from? I was confused as hell when that swole knuckle dragger showed up as if he has been in the last two games.
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I don't think Vega was in the books before ME 3. I think he was there for new players.

Kai Leng was in the books before ME 3 but I think that was a synergy thing. Anderson's love interest throughout the books didn't make her appearance until ME3. The Jack mission IIRC. I think she's the only true example.
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Vega made his first appearance in an animated movie. He talks about it if you have a sparring match with him.
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Banana_Cyanide posted...

Vega made his first appearance in an animated movie. He talks about it if you have a sparring match with him.

Oh yes that's right.

Wow I just remembered that period where EA would often have animated movie tie-ins. That's even weirder than books.
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Have you read the Worlds of Power series?
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Foppe posted...

Have you read the Worlds of Power series?

Never even heard of them until just now. I wonder if that was the first time this was a thing?

Castlevania II having a book is weird.
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Darmik posted...

Foppe posted...

Have you read the Worlds of Power series?

Never even heard of them until just now. I wonder if that was the first time this was a thing?

Castlevania II having a book is weird.

Elite included a novella in the game box back in 1984.
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008Zulu posted...

Is that where Mass Effect's Vega comes from? I was confused as hell when that swole knuckle dragger showed up as if he has been in the last two games.

I only know Kai Leng came from a book but it's the same sort of issue with an unrelated medium introducing characters that show up in the game series.


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Im sure its absolute garbage, but I remember seeing a paperback of the Need for Speed movie novelization in a small rural towns gift shop, and I cannot even fathom what type of person would read that

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I had one problem with the Halo novels.

The one set on the first Halo, like half of it was just the game, in text form.
"MC does this, then he does that, then he blew up some Grunts"

That was so boring
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I had a few choose your own adventure mario books. They were cute. I wouldn't say they were super great or anything but it was neat how they'd make little puzzles (with images and everything) that if you solved them could help you choose the correct option in what would otherwise be a blind choice. Or how they weighted certain choices by having you play a little minigame that was like 75% result A and 25% result B
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SMAP- posted...

Im sure its absolute garbage, but I remember seeing a paperback of the Need for Speed movie novelization in a small rural towns gift shop, and I cannot even fathom what type of person would read that

A novelization of a tie-in video game movie.

God damn imagine being the writer assigned to that one.
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I never played the games, but I remember reading one of the Myst books (might have been Book of Atrus) when I was younger, and I really enjoyed it.

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Not related to the topic at all but my brother owns a X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel.

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TheDreadedWave posted...

Not related to the topic at all but my brother owns a X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel.

How the hell would that even work.

Like if the X-Men travelled to the future wouldn't that mean the Marvel universe is canon to a Star Trek timeline.
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Darmik posted...

How the hell would that even work.

I dunno, I only saw the cover.

It had Proffessor X's like flying green head floating in space

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Darmik posted...

TheDreadedWave posted...

Not related to the topic at all but my brother owns a X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel.

How the hell would that even work.

Like if the X-Men travelled to the future wouldn't that mean the Marvel universe is canon to a Star Trek timeline.

The Kirk crew found a rift of psionic energy in space where the X-Men appeared in a Shi'ar ship, being hunted by another Shi'ar ship.
They also had another crossover with the Next Generation crew set after the First Contact movie. When they try to timetravel home, they get interupted by Kang the Conqueror who puts them in a parallel universe.
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Assassin's Creed Forsaken actually tied into AC3 so much and filled so many gaps that couldn't be done in the game, and made me enjoy the story more than usual. Peak AC storytelling around that time IMO

Some parts were so loved by fans that they actually got the voice actor of Haytham to say some choice lines from it.
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The Splinter Cell books are good, but they are Tom Clancy books so it's almost cheating.

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Banana_Cyanide posted...

Then 343 kinda f***ed it up especially between 4 and 5 though it seem like the jump between 5 and Infinite won't be as confusing.

They sure did. Like, the stuff in the books before this point was actually always in the games if you looked and that was cool as hell. But with Halo 5 especially, they fucked up by randomly "introducing" Blue Team. The nerd in me was freaking the fuck out but at the same time, they didn't actually show or tell us anything about Fred, Kelly, or Linda.
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Fundabz posted...

The Splinter Cell books are good, but they are Tom Clancy books so it's almost cheating.

But were they written by Tom Clancy or do they just use the IP?
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Hexenherz posted...

Fundabz posted...

The Splinter Cell books are good, but they are Tom Clancy books so it's almost cheating.

But were they written by Tom Clancy or do they just use the IP?

Pretty sure they just use the IP. I'm under the impression that a lot of "Tom Clancy" books weren't written by him anyway.

Both tes novels by gregory keyes were top notch
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ultimate reaver posted...

I had a little paperback novelization of Ocarina of TIme that was basically a strategy guide. It was hilariously awful0

This is going waaaaay back but i think i had a strategy guide of Ocarina that told it like a story.

So instead of

'Place a bomb next to this tree and go into the hole for the heart piece'

It was (paraphrasing kind of)

'Link curiously placed a bomb gently beside the tree and was surprised to see a hole appear. He went into the hole whereupon he discovered a wonderful gift, a heart piece!'
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