Enter The Tekken

Despite a history that includes titles like Super Mario Bros, the game-to-film industry has somehow still managed to catch an air of cool. Angelina Jolie lent her ample curves to last year's Tomb Raider while Milla Jovovich is hitching up her skirts for a bit of monster mashing in this year's Resident Evil, but while both of these were gaming landmarks, Hollywood is about to break out the big guns. Console phenomenon Tekken has just had its movie rights snapped up and the Iron Fist Tournament is now preparing itself for the crossover from pixels to print. An arcade staple, the first three instalments of which set the original Playstation on fire, Tekken has become the yardstick against which all fighting games are measured with a bizarre array of combatants beating the sense out of each other. From leopard-headed wrestler King to the likes of Heihachi and Paul Phoenix, who boast two of the most gravity-defying haircuts in existence, all of players' favourites will hopefully make it into Tekken's movie debut. Director and cast are still being sought but the film aims to go into production as soon as possible. The cynical among you may see images of Mortal Kombat and the depth-plumbing Streetfighter loom before your eyes but, given Tekken's (slightly) more sophisticated storyline, it may be possible to pull this one off. Still, if they start optioning the rights to 'classics' like Jet Set Willy and Arkanoid, we'd like to be shown the door.