Introduction

Remember when the summer movie season started around the Memorial Day holiday? HA! Those days are long gone as the most lucrative time for big summer movie blockbusters begin on the first week of May and doesn't let up until mid-August. Perhaps not coincidentally the PC and video game industry enters their biggest lull of the year around that time. There are a few big games that come out during the summer months but for the most part gamers are left with not much new product on store shelves until the end of August when the major new releases begin their big fall/holiday blitz.

One big exception to this trend in games is all the movie based games that are released around the same time as their film counterparts. Sometimes the games are direct adaptations of the films, sometimes the games actually expand on the films and sometimes the games have little to no connection to the movies they are supposed to be promoting (witness last year's X-Men: The Official Game from Activision which was actually a prequel to X-Men: The Last Stand). With the summer movie season now within reach, FiringSquad decided to combine our big interests and take a look at both the big summer blockbuster movies and their respective game adaptations.

May 4: Spider-Man 3

Movie Summary: Peter Parker has triple the trouble in this third installment of the Marvel Comics based super hero movie series from Sony/Columbia Studios as he has to deal with Harry Osborne's version of the Green Goblin, the Sandman and (finally) Venom

Game Summary: Developer Treyarch and publisher Activision will release their game adaptation of the movie on the same date as the film's release for current and next-gen consoles as well as the PC. Expect the open world action of Spider-Man 2 to be continued in this new game as it follows the movie's story while also bringing in new elements and villains from the comics

Movie Prospects: Is anyone NOT stoked about seeing Spider-Man 3? If not, you have obviously been in a coma for the past few years. Expect even more Peter Parker anst filled moments, great action sequences, a very mad Thomas Haden Church and (finally) Venom (ok, we still think Topher Grace is a whip but it might work).

Game Prospects: This will likely be the best movie based game of 2007 based on the terrific work Treyarch did on Spider-Man 2. With access to the graphical goodness of the Xbox 360 and PS3 and the controls of the Wii and the promise of an even bigger New York City to explore Spider-Man 3 will likely be a huge hit for Activision.

May 18: Shrek The Third

Movie Summary: The third CGI movie in this series from Dreamworks will continue the parodies of classic fairy tails. All the voice actors are back as Shrek, now the king of Far Far Away, wants to head back to his beloved swamp by trying to find an heir to his throne

Game Summary: Activision and developer Shaba Games will be adapting the movie to consoles and the PC (Activision has a long history with the Shrek franchise) and will release the game about 10 days before the movie heads to theaters.

Movie Prospects: We aren't as hyped about Shrek The Third as we are about Spider-Man 3 but with all the voice actors back and the prospect of poking fun at pop culture mixed with fairy tales it will likely do very well with the younger crowd.

Game Prospects: Little info on the game itself has been released so far by the publisher Activision. The tie-in to the movie will likely generate a lot of cash for the company based on the sales history of Activision's previous games in the series.