Buildings Will Fall As Classic Game 'Rampage' Now In Development

The game of Rampage was incredibly simple. Take control of a giant monster and destroy a skyscraper faster than your opponent. Save for grabbing a few screaming, helpless humans and fighting off the military, that was about it. However, in an age when brand recognition is the most important thing and a game of red and white pegs can become a $200 million alien invasion movie, it makes as much sense as anything else that New Line Cinema is now developing Rampage for the big screen.

According to The Hollywood Reporter producer John Rickard, who worked on A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination, Horrible Bosses and next year's Bryan Singer film Jack the Giant Killer, is spearheading the project. He'll soon start meeting with writers to flush out a story.

In the game, a middle age man, young girl and old man mutate into a gorilla, lizard and werewolf and destroy buildings while fighting off the military. The movie would use the title and game's visuals to "make a smartly-budgeted monster movie in the vein and tone of Ghostbusters and Independence Day" but wouldn't necessarily adhere to that premise.

If Hollywood can make a movie out of Battleship, they can make a movie out of Rampage. And if Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim is a hit for Warner Bros., they'll be happy to have another giant monster movie at an advanced stage of development.

Though the game itself was upgraded for several different home console systems, many of you probably have never seen or played Rampage. After all, it was at its biggest in the late Eighties and early Nineties. Here's a little game play footage for you to enjoy.