Good filmmaking is universal. A good script, direction, acting, production... whether you're adapting a novel, making an original story, or making a video game movie, the elements are all the same. If you want to make a good Mario movie you need to be able to mine two hours of plot and character from the property.

People say that making a movie from a video game removes the interactivity inherent in the medium, which makes the game good. This is true. So obviously compensation is needed. Ocarina of Time, for example, isn't a masterpiece because of its script, but because of its gameplay, characters, and art design. If you remove some of these things, you have to add more of the others. Majora's Mask, on the other hand, has a much more powerful narrative and would probably be easier to directly adapt into a passive storytelling experience.

Another problem is the repetition of video games. Video games often build on the application of the same skill set to various situations: it's how momentum is made. In film, obviously, repetition does not create a momentous plot. There would be only so many gunfights in a Halo movie before things became really boring, regardless of how compelling the strategy of the combat is. The viewer is not experiencing the strategy or the depth of the combat. You need to compensate with character.

Speaking of character, video games, which are jam-packed with unforgettable personalities, lack one essential element of film: interaction. In games, you interact with other people. In film, other people interact with still other people, not you. There is a gap in the protagonist of a film that would have been filled in a game with your own mind. In film, the gap must be filled with extra characterization. Even in a game like The Last of Us where the playable character has a distinct personality, there is a difference between moving this fleshed-out human being around, and watching him move himself around. No matter how rounded a video game avatar is, there is still a gap of autonomy (rightfully so) that must be crossed by a strong screenplay if a film is to be adapted.