Weekend Reading: seven games that should become movies

1:27 PM on 02.04.2007   |   Brad Rice

35 comments

After reading The Escapist Magazine the other week (Nex loves them too), I thought back to a piece that I did a while ago about some upcoming video game movies. As a student of filmmaking and a gamer to make game movies that do not suck before people like Uwe Boll and Roger Avary get their hands on some really great licenses. Thus, this week I present to you seven games that really should be turned into movies.

Also, while we're on movies, the image here is courtesy of the webcomic Multiplex. Be sure to check them out.

Prince of Persia

I've always held a bit of an affinity for the mysteries of ancient Persia, an empire that was strong and learned. Now, I felt that Prince of Persia had an interesting story, and one that was not so stretched out that it couldn't easily be condensed into a movie. If you think about it, the environment, story, and characters are all introduced to you in the beginning, taking up about 1/2 hr of film, perhaps. Then, it's the prince's epic struggle to undo the damage that he has done. The final confrontation takes place, and thus is the end of the game. While I doubt this will be some stellar move that will change peoples' opinions on Persia or video games, I think it'd be a pretty good action flick to go sit and watch during the summer.

Also, in case any of you didn't know, the game is already being worked on, although I'm slightly hesatant to jump for joy with this. The writers are a mixed bag, with one of them having worked on the game, and the other one having written The Day After Tomorrow. I'll be interested to see who they bring on to direct the movie.

Metal Gear Solid

Everyone wants to see Snake on the silver screen, especially Kojima. He's talked about wanting to do a Metal Gear Solid movie, and not letting Uwe Boll direct it. I think that Snake's first foray onto the Playstation would be great for a movie. Certainly the story would have to be compressed, but I think it's possible to cut out some of the bosses like Sniper Wolf and still keep the story. The game keeps everything fairly serious, except for the institution of the cardboard box, which I can see being used if the director handles it in a delicate manner and tries not to break the viewer's suspension of disbelief.

Who do you think is manly enough to don the bandana and take on the lead role as Snake?


Final Fantasy Tactics

In my opinion, Final Fantasy Tactics is the best game of the entire franchise, and also one of the easiest to turn into a film. FFT builds upon a world that is already well known to the general public: medieval/Rennaisance Europe. Now, take that setting, and add upon it the tenants of a Final Fantasy game: magic, monsters, and chocobo. Ramza and gang would make a good cast of heroes, and after Lord of the Rings, people have an easier time looking at goblins and ghouls without laughing at how fake they are. With an extremely well developed story and not quite as much emo-ness as Final Fantasy VIII, I think Final Fantasy Tactics would prove to be a great story. Plus, I'd love to see the zodiac monsters in a more realistic form.

Max Payne

I'm a bit of a sucker for film noir, I admit it. So, with Max Payne sitting there, I couldn't help but pick on it. Film noir has not had the strongest life in recent years, with films like Sin City and Brick being some of the few films that have made headlines. I think Max Payne coul easily be a good tongue-in-cheek look at the film noir genre, while taking some cool elements like bullet time into account. In particular, I'd look towards the Wachowski brothers for directing this film, provided they don't focus too much on the action and ignore the other aspects of film noir, such as the quick and snappy dialogue, the pacing and mood, or the thick plot, then they should do a good job with the film.

This title is also in the works, but I don't know much about it, since it requires IMDB Pro.

Phoenix Wright

Now bear with me on this one. What would happen is more so putting Phoenix Wright into a whoe new situation, and also taking him out of the courthouse. The story will be a bit cheesy and overdramatic, but then again, isn't that what Phoenix Wright is all about? So, we follow Phoenix as he gets a new case where all the odds are stacked against him. Now Mr. Wright has to do some sleuthing of his own in order to prove that this man doesn't deserve to die. Sure, it sounds a little cheesy, but that's what the movies is about sometimes: an escape from reality. In fact, there's a possibility that this could be told with some of the elements of a film noir story. In my head, I imagine this as a cross between film noir and those early action flicks, like the cliffhangers of the 1930's.

So, I ask you readers, who should play the man who will provide justice for all?

Gears of  War

I admit that I have yet to play this game, but from watching the FMVs and hearing so much about the story, I think Gears of War would be great to watch as a more action driven flick. The only concern I have is that it'll be really hard for Hollywood to recreate all the great action that takes place in what I've seen of the game, but I have a feeling that it could do very well.

Guilty Gear

OK, this one is cheating, I admit. I love Guilty Gear, and I'm sick of having them tease me with an anime opening, a full story, and them not filling it out. I want to see a fully animated Guilty Gear anime show or film, simply because I love the series so much. While we'd be dealing with a fairly bloody and violent anime, like Street Fighter. Sadly, though, I know Anji won't be much of a character in the story, and neither would Baiken, two of my favorite characters. The story is mostly about Ky and Sol, and the whole story with the Sacred Order of the Holy Knights.

Are there any stories that you think are more worthy of being turned into a movie?