Do You Know These Novels That Were Adapted Into Video Games?
Good novels can make you feel as if you’re immersed in the action, but playing the video games based on those novels can give you a real interactive experience. That said, action games based on popular fiction are the focus of this week’s edition of Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about books and stories that have gone on to find new life in other formats.
But even if you’ve never picked up a game controller in your life, knowing basic facts about the novels and their authors will get you through. Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and their game adaptations.
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This 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, about an Italian family business in the New York City area, was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film in 1972 and then had two sequels. The story also inspired multiple video games over the years, including notable editions in 2006 and 2017. What was the name of the book that started it all?
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This sprawling novel, which dates to the 16th-century during the Ming dynasty and is usually attributed to Wu Cheng'en, is considered a classic of Chinese literature and has been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen. It has also inspired multiple video games — including “Black Myth: Wukong,” which is scheduled for release later this month. Some adaptations of the novel are titled “Monkey King” after a popular character, but what is the book’s original title?
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This 90-year-old mystery novel featuring a Belgian detective has been adapted for various types of media, including multiple film and TV appearances (one as recently as 2017) — and as a video game in 2006 and 2023. Which novel is it?
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This 1975 novel by James Clavell has been adapted for television twice, in 1980 for network television and as a Hulu series that began streaming earlier this year. The story was also adapted into a video game twice in the late 1980s for the early wave of personal computers. What is the name of the book?
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Dan Brown’s best-selling 2003 novel spawned an eponymous 2006 video game that, like the book, involved running around Europe and solving puzzles. What is the title of the book?