I am a video game nerd. I love them. Always have. Nothing gets me more excited than the release of a game that I’ve been waiting on. I can’t play them in moderation -- when I get a great new one, I must play it through to its end, ASAP. I will stay up till four in the morning with sore fingers looking like an extra outside of the mall in DAWN OF THE DEAD until I finish. Its one of the few times I’m able to lock in and concentrate on something. The other day I was playing Dead Rising on my new Xbox 360 (Big ups to LD on that one!) when I had one of those moments of thought that was simply scary to me -- it was only about twenty years ago that Nintendo really hit the mainstream with its NES unit. Since that time we have seen a jump in technology that I doubt will be matched at any time soon. These new games for home consoles are far better than large arcade games of just a few years back. The fact that the games themselves have such an amazing boost in graphics, sound, and production value has allowed them to draw big budget Hollywood talent in every aspect of video game development from writing, to voice work and even directing (i.e. John Woo’s Stranglehold). Video games have become much cooler than movies as their story lines are not hamstrung by a plethora of development executives and businessmen worried if the stories will be able to connect with a broad audience. No, video games are still in the business of servicing themselves and their own story lines, for the sake of just being kick-ass. It is one of the reasons more and more studios are riding the success of these games and buying up their rights. Video games are building audiences for themselves with fresh and original content, and studios use that to make nice tent pole films with less risk for themselves. The problem thus far has been that most video game adaptations have just flat out stunk. I think a lot of that goes with the fact that for the most part they are choosing the wrong ones to adapt.

With one of the more successful video game franchises on both the small and large screen Resident Evil dropping its third installment, RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION, in wide release later this month along with the big budget version of Hitman hitting theaters later this fall, I started thinking to myself, “What games need to see a multiplex sooner rather than later?” After much deliberation and consultation, I have come up with a list. If I excluded anything, please feel free to let me know in the harshest. I know all of you will…

Honorable mention: Kung Fu, Pac Man, Joust*, The Sims, Leisure Suite Larry, Contra, Dead Rising, Half Life, Area 51*, Splinter Cell*, Bully, Far Cry, Star Fox, Tetris, Vampire Rain, Ghost Recon*, Red Dead Revolver, Lost Planet, Galaga, Call of Duty, Driver, Kid Icarus, Ninja Gaiden, Missile Command, Prince of Persia*, Gears of War*, Spy Hunter*, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy**.

*Currently in development.
** My friends that like Final Fantasy refuse to acknowledge the existence of a film version as they say the story is so different that they could make the game’s storyline and it would be 100% different. Kind of like my stance on the LESS THAN ZERO movie.

And without further ado, in reverse order, the top ten games that should be movies:

#10. THE THING

Okay so I know I’m going to draw some heat on this one but just hear me out. The Thing, which came out on the Playstation 2 console in 2002, picks up where the John Carpenter remake (one of my favorite films of all time) leaves off. It is a really cool sequel with lots of action, guns, and some good twists and revelations to the original plot. As we speak Strike Entertainment, the company responsible for the recent hit “Dawn of The Dead” remake has hired Ronald D. Moore to write a prequel/companion movie to the John Carpenter classic. Why bother? Instead take this kick ass story, which already exists and build a sequel. You’d definitely have my ten bucks. And lets all hope that they would give Kurt Russell a little cameo in it, just like the game, as well.

The movie-like trailer for The Thing game can be seen here.

By the way I find video game trailers for the most part to be much more exciting than movie trailers (which as I’ve mentioned before in this column, are the best part of most films these days.) Just another example of video games kicking the cinema's ass once again.

And the revamped trailer for the John Carpenter classic can be seen here.

#9. THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

A NES staple and incredibly influential game, The Legend of Zelda also drew its roots from a deeply cinematic storyline. As an elfin like boy named Link, you are called upon to save Princess Zelda from the evil clutches of Ganon, The King of Evil. I am not one who generally likes films about fairies and magical kingdoms but come on! It’s Zelda! Fantasy-based movies are getting made with more frequency and outside of LORD OF THE RINGS, I don’t know of another fantasy franchise with as much potential as this one. It’s always fun to see the small under-dogged warrior save the beautiful princess from the evil (insert medieval title here). Its short lived life as a cartoon way back in the day only proved that Zelda is too big to be contained on the small screen and must be let out at some point.

Trailer for Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Trailer for The Legend of Link – a homegrown Zelda movie that you can find online in multiple installments and is hysterical in a train wreck sort of way.

#8. SPACE INVADERS

The oldest game on this list, Space Invaders first laid siege to arcades in 1978 and is one of the most influential games of all time. When it was released, it actually was considered a game with a lot of story by the standards at the time. Of course, now it seems as though the game has very little narrative to it at all, but that’s beside the point. What is important is that we have groundwork laid for a big budget sci-fi epic, popcorn movie. Giant tanks defend the earth against hordes of sinister alien spaceships. It’s V, ID4, WAR OF THE WORLDS, and every other evil alien movie put together. The branding alone of Space Invaders puts it over the top for me.

A short film of people in a movie theater emulating a game of Space Invaders

#7. CASTLEVANIA

Another mainstay in the Nintendo arsenal since its release in 1987, Castlevania features the tale of the Belmont family and its war against Dracula and the forces of evil. It is loosely based on Dracula, the first game that featured whip wielding Simon Belmont as he battles through monsters and mayhem in Dracula’s treacherous home, Castlevania. This is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, with special edition rare versions of its games selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay. It also has very nearly been made into a feature on several occasions, the closest being last year when it fell apart just before it was about to shoot. Director Paul Anderson left to go do DEATHRACE 3000, the remake of DEATHRACE 2000. The project has since found a new director, Sylvain White (STOMP THE YARD) and is currently undergoing rewrites before principal photography begins next year for a 2009 release.

Here is the complete version of the original Castlevania.

Here’s a REALLY AWESOME home version of Castlevania: Bloodlines made by a fan.

#6. METAL GEAR SOLID

A remake/sequel to the old NES game Metal Gear, Metal Gear Solid was first released on Playstation in 1998. The story of Solid Snake, a Snake Plisken-like, wet works operative who comes out of retirement to fight FOXHOUND, a renegade military unit that has stolen Metal Gear, a large mechanized tank with nuclear capabilities. This game was one of the first to really take the cinematic storytelling style in video games and push it to the next level. From cool missions to larger than life bad guys, Metal Gear has it all. From the time it was released, Metal Gear Solid and all of its subsequent sequels and prequels have gone above and beyond carrying an inventive fresh narrative that is large in scope, audience friendly, and just begs to be put up on the big screen. The rights to Metal Gear were recently snatched up by our good friend, producer Michael De Luca, and it appears to be on a good track to be hitting a multiplex near you very soon.

An outstanding trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4

In anticipation, some fans have already made their own trailers

#5. METROID

Metroid is the story of Samus, a gorgeous bounty hunter, clad in a high tech warrior space armor, who fights the energy-sucking Metroid aliens, space pirates and various other creatures on the deserted space colony SR388. Metroid was first introduced widely to gamers on the old NES console in August of 1987 and has been a mainstay in home games ever since. This has been in development for a while, with John Woo attached to direct, and could be a very exciting sci-fi with an ALIENS-type story line, IRON MAN-type armor, and bigger and badder special FX.

Video of the original Metroid completed in 12 minutes

Metroid 3 Prime trailer

#4. GOD OF WAR

What do you get when you cross GLADIATOR with CLASH OF THE TITANS? An epic struggle of man against the power of the gods. God of War, which more than any other game on this list seems like you are watching a movie as you play it, is the story of Kratos, instrument of Death for the Greek gods. He is ultimately betrayed and must fight the gods he used to serve. The game is so full of giant set pieces, mythological heavyweights, beautiful women, cool weapons, extravagant sets, and outright bloody action, the only question seems to be can this movie be brought in at any kind of a price that would be somewhat sensible? Hopefully for all of us, the answer some day soon will be "yes," as this story easily could be on par with LORD OF THE RINGS. God of War is currently in development at Universal Pictures with Atlas Entertainment and Mosaic Media Group attached to produce.

The trailer - God of War 2.

#3. HALO

I almost feel like this one deserves an asterisk like the films in the runner-up paragraph above, as it seems to be only a matter of time before this one does get made. As most of you probably know, it was already extremely close once with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh on board to produce before the plug got pulled due to concerns about the cost and gross participation. Never the less, HALO is still a huge franchise and some studio (20th Century Fox re-acquired the rights in June) will no doubt end up making a killing off of the Master Chief and company sometime soon. Look for the huge release of HALO 3 later this month to re-ignite interest in the project and give it the momentum it needs to reach the big screen sooner rather than later.

Story Link

HALO 3 trailer

#2. GUN

I’m a sucker for Westerns and for me this is the best one made yet, just edging out Red Dead Revolver (I just ordered Call to Juarez so if that’s better, then I guess this one is moot). I think what the Gun games capture so well is an amalgamation of all the extreme-natured, cool things that go on in Western films, but at a much faster and action-packed pace. What makes Gun great is that its storyline is already so cinematic, A-list actors do all the voice-overs, and the action and scope are both huge. Unlike any Western film I have ever seen, Gun has a real comic book sensibility to its story telling that I think would make the movie feel really fresh, despite the fact that it is somewhat of a collage.

The Gun trailer

#1. GRAND THEFT AUTO

One of the most successful franchises of all time that has been corrupting the youth of America quite well for years on end. Much like Gun, GTA is sort of a fusion of pieces from great films of the past that have the pulse of the new “gangster rap” culture (especially Vice City). It is the ultimate bad-ass anti-hero game that could really be the SCARFACE of this generation. Thus far, the two biggest challenges in bringing this game to the big screen would be deciding which of the GTA storylines to incorporate into a film (personally I think Vice City would be best), and the fact that Rock Star Games has been EXTREMELY reluctant to sell it. Rumor has it that everyone from Tony Scott to Eminem has thrown their hats in the GTA ring but have all been shot down by Rock Star who is afraid a sub-par film might kill their flagship franchise. Whatever the case, when this baby finally gets made you can bet it will be a huge hit as the game's fan base rivals that of any other, and the subject matter could make for an all-time great guy's movie that could be watched again and again for decades to come.

The Grand Theft Auto 4 trailer