For Christmas I got the first Lego Harry Potter game (years 1-4) and while I haven’t played much of it yet since my Wii lives at home (and I live at school), I’ve reallllyy enjoyed it so far. Considering that the characters don’t actually speak, the game manages to make a lot of really decent Potter related jokes. I think this is going to be a game I can really get into. Plus, playing on the wii always makes spell casting that much more fun. Just point and alohomora!

I’ve played a few of the other Potter games as well, as once you run out of books to read, video games is a pretty fun way to immerse yourself in your favorite literary worlds.

It doesn’t always have the same effect though. I remember playing a few different LOTR games on my computer growing up, and it just never seemed to have the same epic feel to it as the movies (I should say books, but I prefer the movies).

Doing a little research, there have been way more games based on books than I ever realized. In the 80s, there was a text based adventure based on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. American McGee’s Alice is a creepy take on the classic story. Apparently there was even a Wheel of Time game that didn’t gain any traction because it came out at the same time as Quake.

I know that the only way we’re going to see more of our favorite books turned into video games is after they get turned into movies, but I really hope this is something we see a lot of in the future. Like movies turned video game, these can be an engaging way to throw yourself into worlds you’ve only read about.

Do you know of any good games based on books? Are there any you’d really like to see?