Speaking with the fairly decent folks over at WhatIfGaming, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima was quoted as saying that if there were a Metal Gear Solid movie, he would want to oversee everything. He then laughed off the idea of releasing a tie-in game with this fictional movie:

For the most part, I would never do a film without overseeing all aspects and making sure the fans and especially I am happy with it. As for that note, the idea of releasing a game to coincide with the film is an interesting one *laughs*. I might do that.

This got me to thinking about other video game franchises that need to be made into movies.

God of War

Okay, we already know that Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner is attached to direct (supposedly), and we know that God of War creator David Jaffe is okay with this. We also know that Dijimon Hounsou has been thrown around as a possible actor to play Kratos. Which, actually, would be pretty awesome. Sure, he’s not Greek but he’s built and, with a coat of gray body paint, could easily look the part.

The only question that remains is who would play Ares. I’ve thought about this a while and I really have no idea who would be good. Who would you guys pick?

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Everybody loves a good spy flick. When you consider that the plot of the original Splinter Cell had to do with unrest in the middle east having to do with oil and the threat of terrorists detonating a suitcase bomb inside the United States of America, the movie would still be quite topical. And now Morgan Freeman playing the President wouldn’t seem nearly as batshit crazy as it was in Deep Impact.

But who do you get to play Sam Fisher? You can’t get Michael Ironside because rumor has it that he’s being forced out of the VO role because he wants too money. Not to mention he’s damn near 60. So where do we turn? When I find that the United States is in a pinch and we need a super spy to bail us out, there is only one man: Keifer Sutherland. (NOTE: I would say Chuck Norris, but the bodycount would be way to high to be truthful to the source material)

StarCraft

When was the last time we had a good outer space Science Fiction movie? Seriously, StarCraft sets itself up perfectly for a feature film. You already have a war between the Terrans and Zerg while the Protoss fight to avoid a war within their own empire while they fight the Zerg.

If you make this into a big budget summer film starring, say, Christian Bale as Raynor and Angelina Jolie (I tried to think of someone else) as Sarah Kerrigan, it could work. Of course, you would have to get RoboCop and Starship Troopers director Paul Verhoeven to direct.

Wolfenstein

Yes, yes, another game that is rumored to have a movie being made out of it – unfortunately, I’m not talking about Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I’m talking about the original Wolfenstein 3D! Not only does the rather basic story of the game leave it open to great interpretation and “creative license”, but you wouldn’t have to worry about who they get to play the title role – as long as he’s American.

The movie itself could play out to be something like “Escape from Alcatraz” or “The Great Escape”… only with Hitler in a mech.

Night Trap

Three words: “Sci-Fi Channel Original”.

The Legend of Zelda

We’ve already seen what a Zelda movie could be, thanks to IGN and their epic April Fools joke. Now all we need to do is make this Peter Jackson-directed epic actually happen.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215

How long has it been since we’ve had a good film-noir? Hotel Dusk is the black sheep in the group – the game that you probably recognize from magazine previews, but most likely haven’t played. I don’t blame you – it’s a DS game not developed by Nintendo. The story is split between 1964 and 1979 as NYPD officer Kyle Hyde searches for his former partner, Brian Bradley. While on his search, Kyle rents a room at Hotel Dusk. Of course, since “Room Service Sim” sounds boring as hell, Hotel Dusk just happens to hold the keys to solving the Kyle’s mystery.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
You’re going to tell me that The Practice could run on television for eleven years (including it’s spin-off, Boston Legal) but Phoenix Wright couldn’t be turned into a 90-minute motion picture? Give me a break. Much lighter in subject matter than the previous Nintendo DS game featured, Phoenix Wright has everything to make for a fun, if not slightly cheesy, courtroom comedy/drama. You have a protagonist whose name can be played off of (“Isn’t that right, Wright?”). You have cases that, while serious at their core, are usually handled with a slight slap-stick quality.

Plus, your protagonist has a catch-phrase:

“Objection” in Hollywood Executive -speak translates, roughly, to “Cha-CHING!”.

Now remember, good video game movies are not impossible. Hell, early Comic Book films were beyond terrible, but eventually Hollywood started to get the formula down right — hell, a couple of comic book movies (Road to Perdition, A History of Violence) wound up being nominated for Oscars! So, surely this should give us hope that a true Resident Evil could be done, right?

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