Where to begin? Being new to this whole idea of blogging and trying to find something to talk about and I found myself on my usual thought process of "what game am I currently indulging myself in?" Tonight it's my newest addition to my co-collection as I like to call it since it is for a game for a system I don't currently own, but find just as much enjoyment in through the borrowed use of other peoples; Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked.

What strikes me about this game on this particular evening is not that it is an easy to pick up, kill everything in sight, somewhat poorly programmed due to load screens but in general an enjoyable game, but the fact that it's a game based on a T.V. Series, so that of course gets me thinking. I'm thinking of my love for anime along with my love of gaming and all the times my two worlds have collided? well and otherwise. Off the top of my head I come across T.V. to game, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell� But what about the other direction? Game to T.V.?

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a continuation of Final Fantasy VII, as well as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, based on the series. Advent Children with its beautiful cinematics left some people asking for more, but I enjoyed it, through and through. I'm sure there were some parts lost in translation in the voice acting, but I can forgive that for the beautiful image it presented me with and also a window into what Square Enix was going to bring. As for the Spirits Within, it is harder for me to write on since I haven't actually seen it in its entirety, but from what I did see I was shocked to see how close to life-like the characters were becoming, it was definitely something new and the world wasn't ready for it, which is why when presented like a Hollywood film it bombed. So we have a thumbs up for Advent Children, and a thumbs down for Spirits Within due to its lack of success in presentation.

Next on the list, Gungrave. A full 26 episode t.v. series created from one, and then two, third-person shooter games. Crazy! Now in this case I am better versed on the material. I'm not sure that Gungrave was an overly popular game, actually I'm fairly confident it isn't all that widely known, but it is one of those gems you sometimes stumble across. What amazes me about this whole situation is that Final Fantasy I can understand, it is a beloved series that the creators wished to expand on. But Gungrave? A lower budget game not many had heard of, gets an entire series, which in short takes my breath away. They took the small snippets of story offered in the game and completely expanded it into a story with attachment, loss, betrayal and above all else protection, 'to protect is to never betray.'

My final thoughts on this are why is there such a desire to turn games into movies? Movies into games I have more of an understanding for since it allows the consumer to 'experience' whatever they loved about the movie. But with such a potential to ruin someones ideas of what their beloved game means, why turn it to the DVD player rather than the console? And especially with a situation like Gungrave, were the games created with the possibility of a series always in mind? I'm not sure, but it's definitely something to mull over.