Games and the books they are based on

[Coincidence]

I'm a curious modern entity known as a bookworm gamer. Novels and videogames are today my two primary artistic media that I get involved in. I'm just going to list a few here for sentiment.

1. The Witcher - I bought both the original set of short stories by Andrej Saprowski under the title of "The Last Wish" as well as "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" and played and read both at the same time. It was an engrossing experience that I recommend to those of you who haven't engrossed yourself in this series yet. I finished the book in two days, it being so damn good that I found myself reading it as I walked between lectures and classes, to and from train stations and while eating lunch and in my spare time when I should have been doing my homework. The game on the other hand I played every night religiously for my first playthrough and loved every second of it. Being an ultra fan of the book, I loved how to lore in the game matched the lore in the book perfectly, while still telling its own story. The creators of the game were obviously devoted fans of the book.
But don't read the sequel. It's called "Blood of Elves" and while the original was unique and exciting, the sequel is trying to be Tolkien and that's boring.

2. Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Amnesia is the most terrifying piece of artwork I have ever seen. Not only in the atmosphere pitch perfect, and not only do the two monsters in the game haunt my nightmares, but it exposed me to one of the greatest antagonists in all of fiction: Alexander of Brennenburg.
Currently I'm reading Dracula, the original text by Bram Stoker, and I can't help but notice parallels between the two works. I haven't read anything confirming that Amnesia was inspired by Dracula, but here me out: both stories are told through diaries and lost notes, both star the English middle-class who are in way over their heads, both deal with otherworldly themes, the monsters of the night are kept at a distance, both villains (Alexander and Dracula) resort more to trickery instead of brute force or numbers, both have enclosing castles that the heroes end up trapped in (Castle Brennenburg and Castle Dracula) of which the antagonists are the barons of. Even if they aren't related, they are both still worth your time.

Oh, and by the way, Laudanum features briefly in Bram Stoker's Dracula as a makeshift medicine.

3. Spec Ops: The Line - I haven't played this yet and have instead had to settle for the demo (which doesn't give a good first impression) but Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation recommended it so I might pick it up. But what I have read, which this game is supposedly based on is Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. If you do wish to read this book, let me warn you that after the final page has been turned you will throw the book at the wall and declare loudly from the rooftops that you are a misanthrope because this book will make you lose all faith in humanity.
I tried watching Apocalypse Now. I couldn't get through it.

[Uberbeard]

Metro 2033 is a good example, I just finished my first playthrough and I plan to go back at some point. Really enjoyed it