E3 06: Gearbox turning up Heat on next-gen consoles

Michael Mann's 1995 crime film is getting the game treatment; Kilmer on board, De Niro and Pacino in talks.

Heat

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LOS ANGELES--Though it was only a moderate success when it hit theaters in 1995, Heat has developed a devout cult following. Its deep characters, clockwork-like plot, and intense violence have earned director Michael Mann's three-hour-long crime epic many fans, more than a few of which are game developers. Indeed, the ultradifficult bank robbery level of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was a direct homage to the film, featuring copies of the hockey-mask-and-coverall disguises worn in the beginning of Heat and re-creating its violent street-shootout denouement.

Now, it appears Heat will be getting a more direct game adaptation. Today, the hybrid entertainment company Titan Productions announced that it has reached a deal with Regency Entertainment, the Hollywood production company that owns the rights to Heat, to publish a game based on the film for "next-generation consoles" in 2007.

According to Titan Productions, Mann is in talks with Gearbox to oversee the game's development. There's also a good chance that many of the movies' stars will be lending their voices and likenesses to the game. Titan claims it is in "advanced stages with representatives for Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer to be part of the video game sequel."

According to a statement by Titan, Heat: The Game will be a prequel or sequel to the film. If the game is a sequel, De Niro's character, Neil McCauley, will appear in flashback, perhaps in the form of training missions. If Pacino declines to get onboard, it would be a sequel that would have a new detective chasing down McCauley's crew.

Though the prospect of a Heat game elicited whoops of delight inside the GameSpot E3 booth, Titan's record has been more than a little spotty. Clive Barker's Demonik, its next-gen game collaboration with Terminal Reality, was canceled in February. Little has been heard about its other movie-game crossover projects, such as Guillermo del Toro's Sundown and John Carpenter's Psychopath, since they were announced.

However, unlike other Titan projects, the Heat game has a well-respected studio on board--Gearbox Software, developer of Brothers in Arms and the PC port of Halo. "There is something about this concept that I call 'hardcore heist' that has never really been done well in a video game, yet everyone on the planet has thought about robbing a bank or something at one time or another," Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford said in a statement. "Heat pretty much defined what hardcore heist means and it gives us a narrative mechanism to consider both sides."

76 Comments

  • deadliest88

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 1:12 am GMT

    I loved the heist on Kane & Lynch made me totally think of heat only with a success gearbox can make it better ? we shall see...

  • patrick31180

    Posted Dec 7, 2008 6:32 am GMT

    when are they going to give us info on heat iv being tracking 2 years now

  • DarqKiller

    Posted Jun 15, 2008 9:14 am GMT

    All I really have to say is, Rock on gearbox and dont *** it up, Because ****ing up Michael Mann makes you look like a complete douche.

  • InfectiousDust

    Posted Jun 3, 2007 2:43 am GMT

    They better not mess this latest movie-to-game port up like the rest...

  • jack_jacob

    Posted May 1, 2007 6:25 am GMT

    Really cool movie, just hope they produce a good product and a nice trailer in the e3 07. On the other hand, nothing is confirmed and i hope they don't scrap the project, i am really looking forward for it.

    GO Gearbox!!!!!!!

  • OGGIS

    Posted Jan 5, 2007 7:22 am GMT

    The movie is really cool. I hope, that the game wouldn't be thrash as Scarface: The world is yours and Godfather: The Game =|

  • kyle_toker

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 2:23 am GMT

    one of my fav movies, better not screw up the game if it doesnt do any good i wont play it so i dont ruin the movie

  • ibz4ever

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 10:27 am GMT

    looks really interesting, this film is one of my favs but i just hope that they dont spoil the game like the did with scarface, i mean the previews looked soo cool for scarface but when it was actually released it wasnt all that AND THE DAMM VOICING WASNT DONE BY AL PACINO WTF?!!!?! Y?!! anyways hopefully they wont screw this one up

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Aug 25, 2006 6:31 pm GMT

    cool

  • GCN49

    Posted May 31, 2006 7:34 pm GMT

    just watched the movie... great movie... hoping for a great game...

  • KyanMehwulfe

    Posted May 21, 2006 2:27 pm GMT

    Interesting.

    Heat mother slaggin' rocks.

  • DevJin

    Posted May 15, 2006 9:57 pm GMT

    they should only release their games at ps3 only, if they want to sell BIG.

  • Teivan GameSpot staff member

    Posted May 15, 2006 3:06 pm GMT

    i loved that movie! I can't wait to play the game!

  • John_Stewart

    Posted May 14, 2006 11:10 am GMT

    go heat!!!!

  • diablusx

    Posted May 14, 2006 7:54 am GMT

    I may have not seen the movie in a while but how can they stretch out the 3 or 4 heists without the game being bad?

  • aj_102

    Posted May 14, 2006 6:47 am GMT

    NO WAY !!! THRES ONLY 10 MINUTES OF RANDOM ACTION AT THE END !! HERE MAN !! TERRIBLE !!

  • Mohamadouf

    Posted May 13, 2006 2:30 pm GMT

    It will Suck Like every other single game made after a movie

  • gdogg4210

    Posted May 13, 2006 1:03 am GMT

    idunno, sounds kinda iffy, but if they do make it i hope its a preqeul because it just wont be Heat without Danny Trejo

  • comthitnuong

    Posted May 12, 2006 8:26 pm GMT

    that cool

  • gellis1981

    Posted May 12, 2006 6:05 pm GMT

    I love this movie...a very underrated film. It's one of those movies that you can root for the good and bad guy..De Niro and Pacino were great.

  • Ravushimo

    Posted May 12, 2006 1:47 pm GMT

    one of my favorite movie and now they wannamake game! awesome, i have hope that game will be v.good

  • Cyke

    Posted May 12, 2006 12:47 pm GMT

    It's one of my favorite movies ever, so I'm happy for the announcement. However, let's hope they actually take elements like planning a robbery or catching robbers in the act into the gameplay, instead of just going the easy way out by making it another GTA clone/ generic 3rd-person shooter.

  • spidey008

    Posted May 12, 2006 12:37 pm GMT

    Great... Another game that the politicians can bash!

  • Killagorilla27

    Posted May 12, 2006 11:58 am GMT

    That sounds kinda cool. I'm a huge fan of Michael Mann films, especially Heat and Collateral, so this could be cool. I wonder how the whole prequel/sequel thing will work...I was kinda hoping you could just play through the movie....with events leading up to the beginning, and the fallout at the end...that sounded cool - but still - next-gen. So, hopefully this will be good.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted May 12, 2006 11:09 am GMT

    that's, well, hot i guess.

  • mattxavier

    Posted May 12, 2006 10:51 am GMT

    I hope it would be open world.

  • DJKrayz_basic

    Posted May 12, 2006 10:33 am GMT

    Heat was a cool movie.. but can they truly make a game out of it..? time will tell..

    absolutely loved the gunfight in the bank robbery part of the movie.. cool stuff...

  • MartinMan

    Posted May 12, 2006 10:17 am GMT

    Wow.......a game based on the Movie HEAT will definitely kick ass.

  • j05l33

    Posted May 12, 2006 10:03 am GMT

    some good stuff, hopefully it wont be a disappointment like other games based on movies

  • snakes2solid

    Posted May 12, 2006 9:43 am GMT

    Hey Al Pacino!!.. Get your ass in the videogame!!!!!!!!!!.. I love ya but you should be in this one!!... "videogames have come a long way"!!!.. " it's a form of entertainment and you're very entertaining"!.." stop holding back"!

  • FINNT

    Posted May 12, 2006 9:38 am GMT

    DAMN this game will kick ASS !!

  • gibb1

    Posted May 12, 2006 8:02 am GMT

    i don't remember much from the film, but i'll watch it soon, but it's seems cool.

  • patton101

    Posted May 12, 2006 8:02 am GMT

    Heat is one of my favorite movies but honestly I cant see this as a game. But who knows, we'll see how it turns out.

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted May 12, 2006 7:46 am GMT

    does the phrase ' me too games' mean anything?

  • Apathetic_Prick

    Posted May 12, 2006 6:58 am GMT

    Very cool; Heat's one of my favourite movies. But, I think it should be two games in one. One from the side of the thieves, another from the side of the cops, because that's basically how the movie was, too. Except it's a lot easier to tell two simultaneous stories when it's non-interactive.

  • 247k

    Posted May 12, 2006 6:56 am GMT

    that's great

  • mattxavier

    Posted May 12, 2006 6:37 am GMT

    The scene with Deniro and Al Pacino in the diner was deep, it was a classic secene.The game, if it is made should be fantastic.

  • cesarotromundo

    Posted May 12, 2006 6:24 am GMT

    good good

  • NeoJedi

    Posted May 12, 2006 6:23 am GMT

    That movie is awesome, let's hope the game port is as good. If Pacino, DeNiro and Kilmer sign on, it'll be incredible.

  • Drachman

    Posted May 12, 2006 6:07 am GMT

    Heat is an excellent movie, but the scene that made it was the scene with De Niro and Pachino sitting in the diner talking about bank robbing off the record. Only those two great actors could pull that off so well.

  • dirtywhiteboy

    Posted May 12, 2006 5:42 am GMT

    As long as the down-town LA shoot-out sounds like it did in the movie I might try it out. Man that was one of the best movie shoot-outs ever an the weapons sounded sooo good!!

  • Schillinger

    Posted May 12, 2006 5:22 am GMT

    Great movie, but why!

  • xmg0

    Posted May 12, 2006 4:04 am GMT

    Gearbox should do nicely because of past performances which did well in fun and sales.

  • Neil1

    Posted May 12, 2006 3:12 am GMT

    OMG I LOVE THIS MOVIE!! I can't wait to see how this turns out. I really hope it does well. I was only thinking a little while ago about a HEAT game - now it's coming!!!

  • soulknight63133

    Posted May 12, 2006 2:57 am GMT

    Though I ilke HEAT I don't see how they would be able make it too much different from GTA, The Godfather, and Scarface. Some of these titles weren't too bad, it got repititious and boring as you got near the half way point in these games.

  • NintendoGamer06

    Posted May 12, 2006 2:49 am GMT

    movie isn't average, better than most films, anything with Al Pacino is and Heat is one of the best on all fronts. (story, actors, music, location setting).

    The game probably won't work unless they spend a great deal of time on it. If the 3 main actors don't sign up and they change the story then i would rather they leave the licence alone. It would cost the makers alot of money to get everyone on board, and what about the soundtrack....don't think that would be used. If they are going to make a game as poor as EA'S Godfather it will be a crime.

  • loganbdh2

    Posted May 12, 2006 2:33 am GMT

    Heat will be a great game adaption.......and if pachino does the voice acting for this game it'll clearly show that he is tired of scarface being called his "prodigy movie"

  • anamnawshad

    Posted May 12, 2006 2:30 am GMT

    One of my favorite movies! Don't know how the game will turn out........

  • aloushi87

    Posted May 12, 2006 2:14 am GMT

    That movie was average (IMO), i wonder how will the game turn out!

  • rynb1325

    Posted May 12, 2006 2:09 am GMT

    Does it not piss anyone else off that they're making every movie with a following into sub par or just flat out bad games. Call me cynical but I don't believe developers make these movie games because of their admiration for the films, but to capitalize on their popularity. That really sucks because Heat is one of my favorite movies ever and even if it wasn't some works should just be allowed to stand alone. It totally tatters the perception of the originals. At least they cancelled Taxi Driver.

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