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Weekend Reading: seven games that should become movies
by Dick McVengeance on 02.04.2007 33 comments

Weekend Reading: seven games that should become movies screenshot

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?

MORE IN OUR Weekend Reading SECTION

Latest comment by DryvBy |view all 33 comments
Guitar Hero would make an excellent movie!...





CannibalCalvin 's Avatar
CannibalCalvin at 02/04/2007 13:28

Gears of War and Guilty Gear are the only ones I think have a good chance. However the way videogame movies have gone I have doubts as to how as to the quality of the final product.

I submit the recent DOA movie as exhibit A.
codespinneker's Avatar
codespinneker at 02/04/2007 13:40

FEAR and Half-Life 2 are what I want to see but I doubt I will get either of those.
J_Sensei's Avatar
J_Sensei at 02/04/2007 13:41

FFT would be amazine. Too bad it has a snowball's chance in hades of happening.
velcroman's Avatar
velcroman at 02/04/2007 13:41

pheonix wright movie would be kickass, just make it cheesy as hell, like snakes on a plane.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 02/04/2007 13:42

Katamari Damacy needs to be made into an epic 9-hour trilogy.
Kif 's Avatar
Kif at 02/04/2007 13:44

Gears would be amazing if it was as brutal as the game. I'd love to see the massive blood effects on a cinema screen while chainsawing some Locust.
tazarthayoot's Avatar
tazarthayoot at 02/04/2007 13:45

Phoenix Wright could be played by only one person. The actor has to be young, funny, good at making a fool of himself, and charming.

I vote Indiana Jones.
5lectro's Avatar
5lectro at 02/04/2007 13:47

Are gamers really that desperate for stuff to spend 5$ and two hours on? I know i'm not, so screw this.

-Including Gears of war in there is asking for another Doom.
-An MGS movie would be good because it would be made in-house. Unfortunately, they'll never have the cash.
-An FFtactics movie could be good for the same reason, but could be bad because Square movies are very action-driven, and that's not what tactics is about.

Rant: "emo" is the keyword for "HAY GUYS EVERYBODY HATES THIS AND I HATE IT TOO AM I COOL YET?"
velcroman's Avatar
velcroman at 02/04/2007 13:53

$5? i have to pay atleast $9
Grim's Avatar
Grim at 02/04/2007 13:59

Gears would be pretty tight.
Dick McVengeance's Avatar
Dick McVengeance at 02/04/2007 14:07

5lectro: No, I just found Squall to be very bitchy throughout the game. I thought it was a good game, I just didn't like Squall at all.

Konami will never have the cash for making this movie? All they've got to do is go to Sony's film division for it. Like they're not going to fork over the money to let Kojima and crew do this...hah.
Aaron Linde's Avatar
Aaron Linde at 02/04/2007 14:13

The guy who did Children of Men ought to be required by court order to make Half-Life 2.

Fuck, Children of Men was essentially HL2 without headcrabs.
wario67's Avatar
wario67 at 02/04/2007 14:14

Gyakuten Saiban 4 has an new person
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aiPwIGqxhdc just saying the whole series isn't about Phoenix Wright

and guity gear anime would rock
make it happan
just plz don't make it like that takkan anime movie that movie left an bad taste in my mouth
Deus Ex Machina's Avatar
Deus Ex Machina at 02/04/2007 14:16

God of War anyone? As long as Vin Douchebag (I'm clever, I know) doesn't play Kratos. Oh, and Uwe Boll doesn't direct. I guess that's implied.
Justice's Avatar
Justice at 02/04/2007 14:18

Actually wario67, phoenix is the first defendant in the game
and yeah guilty gear anime FTW!
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 02/04/2007 14:55

@Deus Ex Machina:

It's happening. Fingers crossed, because if done right it could translate into an awesome flick.
velcroman's Avatar
velcroman at 02/04/2007 15:05

woah, aaron has his RL face as an avatar too. in the immortal words of goldgerg: who's next?
Rainbowblack's Avatar
Rainbowblack at 02/04/2007 15:09

@Deus Ex

I agree with you on the Vin Diesel part, but you do know Hollywood is not made up of gamers so they don't know any better. You gotta admit he's their OBVIOUS choice.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 02/04/2007 16:00

I think the major hurdle preventing Final Fantasy Tactics from being adapted into a masterpiece of cinema (aside from it being a video game) is that, after two sub-par Final Fantasy movies, the public and its corporate masters may be wary of another colossal flop. I know that if I had no other knowledge of the Final Fantasy series, I wouldn't want to see a (perceived) "sequel" to The Spirits Within.

My ideal game-based movie: Castlevania, except not directed by Paul Anderson, and no mention of miserable piles of secrets. They are free to mess around with canon if it'll make a better movie, I'm not picky.

Side-note: You hate Squall, and yet you hang out with me? Kinda contradictory...
Aequitas's Avatar
Aequitas at 02/04/2007 16:17

I was also going to say Castlevania, but I have a feeling anything the movie industry tries to do with that will just end up like another generic Dracula film.

I want a badass Front Mission movie.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 02/04/2007 17:13

Funny you mention that Aequitas, I could have sworn Dick was mentioning to me that Front Mission would be another good game-to-movie adaption. I'm surprised he didn't include it in his list.
Goldrush's Avatar
Goldrush at 02/04/2007 17:35

Fallout, Siren, and BOF: Dragon Quarter. The settings and situations in these games would make a great foundation for a movie.
10BobMarleys's Avatar
10BobMarleys at 02/04/2007 18:38

What about scarface? i love that game
Dick McVengeance's Avatar
Dick McVengeance at 02/04/2007 19:43

I've only played FM4, and I don't quite see how well it'd be accepted, so that's why I didn't include it in the list.
TEH_JUICY_1's Avatar
TEH_JUICY_1 at 02/04/2007 22:26

at risk of coming off as overly cheesy and fanboygasmic i have one choice that could be totally awesomewickidthashitsu :Zelda
yeah yeah yeah coming of age tale young boy bla bla bla princess gone bla but if done right and imbued with shiggys genius child like wonderment could potentially be a very moving and sweet film.(with some wicked action)
GatsuTheBerserker's Avatar
GatsuTheBerserker at 02/04/2007 22:40

I suggest you do not let uwe boll see this or he could very well buy up the rights to all of them except MGS.
Aequitas's Avatar
Aequitas at 02/04/2007 23:22

I don't see what would keep any Front Mission movie from wide acceptance, aside from the usual potential for Hollywood ruination. Sci-fi future, giant robots, and war. What's not to like?

And I must recommend grabbing the original Front Mission for Super Famicom along with the translation patch. I started with FM3, which was great but kinda overly long and drawn out (same with FM4). The first is shorter, in a good way, and probably the most fun I've had with a strategy RPG. Get it, it's great.
doro's Avatar
doro at 02/05/2007 01:45

Kurt Russell would have to be Snake. Come on!
DrXym's Avatar
DrXym at 02/05/2007 04:48

Where is God of War? Some of those others don't come even close to deserving a movie adaptation. Prince of Persia - Possibly, has an epic vibe; Max Payne - been done 100 times before; Gears of War - space marines fighting aliens (hmm); Metal Gear Solid / Final Fantasy Tactics / Guilty Gear - the Japanese might make fun games but their backstories are nonsensical with heavy slabs of melodrama, as Final Fantasy has already demonstrated with its previous movie translation; Phoenix Wright - see previous, and add a "FFS who dreamt up this list?"
ChrisFurniss's Avatar
ChrisFurniss at 02/05/2007 12:40

@ Aaron

The entire time I was watching Children of Men I was thinking "This is just like Half Life 2".

It was awesome.
ChrisFurniss's Avatar
ChrisFurniss at 02/05/2007 12:40

Also, that webcomic is ripping off John Allison so hard it's not even funny.
anomalous_underdog's Avatar
anomalous_underdog at 03/07/2007 22:53

after advent children, squaresoft should next make a 3d movie for vagrant story (great game, nice story)

DryvBy's Avatar
DryvBy at 04/15/2007 18:29

Guitar Hero would make an excellent movie!

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