"Watchmen" Video Game Prequels the Film

Get ready. You're about to get a nerd rant. Hide the children.

So have you heard about the Watchmen movie? It's based on an incredible graphic novel written by Alan Moore, author of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta, among many other awesome things. He's a grim author, but his work is usually fantastic (although sometimes a bit over the top).

Guess what, Hollywood? I don't know if you got the memo, but Alan Moore hates what you've done with his graphic novels. That's right, he took his name off of the upcoming Watchmen film because he doesn't want it made! Oh well. Make it anyway. Nothing's going to stop you.

But in comes the conundrum. If Alan Moore and initial director of Watchmen Terry Gilliam thought the script was unfilmable, how are they going to make a video game out of it? Well, it seems those clever dogs have found a new way to go about it.

Warner Bros. announced Wednesday that two episodic, downloadable Watchmen games will be available to coincide with the film's release and then the DVD's release. You'll play Nite Owl and Rorschach, running around and beating up the bad guys in the '70s (the film takes place in the '80s). The games visuals will match the visuals of the films and will be overseen by Dave Gibbons, the artist of the graphic novel.

I suppose the thing that intrigued me to the film is how Zack Snyder has a knack for sticking to the source material (see also 300), so I was hoping that it would be a very faithful nod to the comic. But now they're writing new material regarding the history of the Watchmen, which doesn't exactly work in the context of the comic. One of the best things about Watchmen is the mystique that surrounds the plot. Adding a prequel or two throws that out the window.

End rant. I'm sorry.