Many video game fans will be happy to learn: the independent and fantastical 2005 Sony Computer Entertainment game Shadow of the Colossus is finally being developed as a feature length motion picture. The game was originally developed and distributed in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment’s International Production Studio 1 before going world wide. Naturally, Sony is developing their own game into a movie instead of letting another studio take it. This isn’t the first time the game has been seen on the big screen: it was shown multiple times as the game that Adam Sandler’s character was obsesses with in the movie Reign Over Me.

Even better, screenwriter Justin Marks has been tapped to pen the script. Marks wrote the script for the recent Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, and is currently working on the scripts for comic adaptation Hack/Slash and the new take on Jules Verne’s classic, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which is being directed by McG.

This project intrigues the hell out of me in a very similar way to the movie being made based on BioShock. In both games, there’s massive challenges to overcome. With BioShock, your main character isn’t seen and doesn’t speak while most of your supporting characters are just voices; while in Shadow of the Colossus, your main character speaks minimally with pretty much only one speaking support role. These are big issues that have to be figured out with extreme caution. If any of them are mishandled even slightly, fans of the games will likely riot. Then again, expectations of movies based on games isn’t exactly at a high level these days.

Click over for more and the game’s trailer for your enjoyment.

The game is very simple for the most part. It follows a young man named Wander, who brings a dead young woman to a land that is hidden from everywhere else…a kind of lost world. He brings her here because it is said that a god-like being named Dormin can return her to life. When Dormin realizes that Wander carries a special type of sword, he explains that in order to bring the girl back, Wander would have to defeat the many Colossi that roam these secret lands.

In terms of gameplay, Shadow of the Colossus is very unique. Instead of being like most games where you fight through countless smaller enemies to reach a level’s big enemy or “Boss,” Colossus simply has you find the 16 beasts and fight them and nothing more (unless you like bow hunting lizards). This may sound simple enough, but this world is amazingly large in scale for a PS2 game; sometimes it takes quite a while to get to their locations. When you finally get to them, then begins the task of figuring out how to take them down, and trust me when I say, most of these things are some of the biggest beings ever put into a video game.

I’m currently playing through this one for the second time, so I’m particularly thrilled for this news. While the game has its flaws (as they all do), there’s just something so magical about making your way through it that’s impossible to ignore. Oh, and let’s not forget — when you’re finally in battle with some of these impressive Colussi, it’s about as surreal and intense as video game moments get. One downfall is that I get sad after I take one of these big boys out. They didn’t do anything to us and we just attack them…we’re bullies, man.

Here’s the game’s trailer. If you’re one of those who haven’t played this game, you need to get it, dust off your PS2 and get to it!

Trailer

[Source: Risky Biz Blog]