Rampage, the tongue-in-cheek destruction game that Midway released in 1986, will be made into its own movie sometime in the future. Acquired by Warner Bros. in 2009 for an estimated $33 million dollars, the movie will be developed by their sister company, New Line Cinema.
New Line Cinema, the company behind titles such as horror favorites A Nightmare on Elm Street and Final Destination, are aiming to create the title in a new light. They are aiming to develop the movie “in vein and tone of Ghostbusters and Independence Day,” and have also hinted at adapting the visual style of the game and incorporating it into the film.
The game follows three mutated monsters; Lizzie, the lizard, George, the gorilla, and Ralph, the werewolf. The plot follows this trio as they seek revenge on the company that mutated what was once three men into the giant monsters they are now. Akin to the simple plot, the simple game play consisted of destroying every building within the side-scrolling area within a certain time limit. There were multiple ways to follow out the demise of these buildings and those who inhabited them as well, using superpowers such as glass-shattering howls to eliminate as much as possible.
The movie, despite having the rights purchased two years ago, has a ways to go since the writers had just met recently to begin developing the plot. Perhaps they will delve into the back story of each of the men to justify the means of them annihilating every populated city in America? Many popular games have met their demise on the silver screen, but hopefully there is hope for a game that revolves around destroying everything. Maybe Michael Bay should direct this one for some ridiculous visual effects.