The beat-em-up is actually a perfect choice for an adaptation of "Watchmen." Consider that the very idea of the superhero is a personification of the will-to-power fantasy. Both the "Watchmen" comic book and movie are a deconstruction of that fantasy. Watchmen: The End is Nigh, though, gives an insight into the psychological motivation of the superhero that's impossible to replicate in another form. That's that beating up bad guys is fun.
It sounds like a simple concept until you start digging into the deeper psychological motivations behind our love of violence. There's a cathartic moment of release that comes from exercising a measure of power over the world and meeting difficulties and evil with direct force. Beating up bad guys as Rorschach is fun because there's a selfish and brutal component to heroism that we don't like to acknowledge. Our civilized veneer that makes a virtue of humility tells us that it somehow cheapens the hero if the hero likes his or her work and enjoys the accolades that it brings.
Most of all, beating up bad guys in a videogame is fun in a way that can't be replicated in a film or a comic book. That's because the game offers you the opportunity to become Rorschach or Nite Owl and apply their abilities however you see fit... at least within the game's narrow parameters. When I beat up a group of bikers outside the Rumrummer bar, it's not Rorschach making those decisions -- it's me. I decide my strategy, I decide who to pick up and throw. I decide whose arm I'm going to break, which weapon I will select and which techniques I will utilize. My battles as Rorschach are unique. No one else will ever complete the game in quite the same way and in that moment, I am Rorschach. I understand in a way I never could before what Rorschach meant when he said "Was reborn then, free to scrawl own design on this morally blank world."
The problem with Watchmen: The World is Nigh, though, is that that feeling and insight came from being a crazy fan of the original book and having just recently seen the movie. As I pointed out earlier, it's doubtful that the game on its own without knowledge of the other material would generate that sort of reaction. I'd call that a failure on the part of the game's designers. Making a successful adaptation means making something self-contained that can be understood without reference to the original material. Doing that means getting to the essence of the property and respecting your own selected medium enough to make it worthwhile. Neither "Watchmen" the film nor Watchmen the game in any way diminish the comic book. It's as good as it ever was. Yet what a wonderful world it would be if both adaptations could have been classics as well.
[Originally from Long Island, New York, Allen's been gaming since that day in 1975 when his parents had to drag him kicking and screaming away from a PONG machine. The Angry Bear is his opportunity to release the thoughts in his head to a safe and controlled environment. If you want to know more about him, you can catch up with what's going on in his life through his personal Twitter.]
