Remember how great Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay was? I know I do; it’s kind of hard to forget one of the only truly great movie related games ever made. His films are not always amazing (Babylon A.D. was so bad I almost threw up), but Vin Diesel’s Tigon Studios definitely knows how to ensure developers make good games (shocking I know) related to his films.

Find out all the latest on the upcoming Wheelman game after the jump!

Wheelman is being co-published by Midway (working with Tigon Studios to develop) and Ubisoft, which helps Midway “to balance the risk profile” of their product. Scheduled for release March 24, ‘09 on the PC, PS3 and Xbox360, Wheelman is an action racer with a heavy dose of Hollywood action movie over-the-topness. Think GTA4 meets Pursuit Force.  High speed car chases and vehicle based combat, mixed with the occasional foot powered bullet ballet, and topped off with an interactive imagining of the City of Barcelona; Wheelman certainly sounds cool. A demo is apparently on the way, though no date has been announced yet. No firm release date for the film tie-in yet either.

Vin Diesel aims to once more do what so many fans wish would happen to their favorite movie/game; that the same quality and level of entertainment provided by a film carries over into the game related to it.

Tigon Studios is Vin’s way of ensuring that both developers and publishers create games that truly bridge the gap between film and game. Tigon, and Vin Diesel himself, were very involved with the creation of Escape from Butchers Bay and are likewise involved with Wheelman in a major way.

What’s the secret to making a great movie related game? For one, having the star of the movie be a hardcore gamer, who cares just as much about the game as he does the movie helps. Not simply rehashing the movie (poorly) helps too. Escape from Butchers Bay was a prequel and so too will Wheelman be.

Both the film and the game have been in development alongside one another, with the goal being that they complement each other rather than the usual movie-tie garbage which has the game receiving barely any attention at all from those responsible for the movie.

I can’t promise the game will be a AAA blockbuster, but if anyone could pull it off, Vin Diesel, Tigon Studios and Midway could. Say what you will about Vin, but I’m a fan. I’ll definitely go see Fast & Furious and The Wheelman, and if the Wheelman game is anywhere near as good as the last game he was involved in, I think we may finally get another exemplar of what a great movie related game should really be. In fact, I would pay money to see Vin bitch slap the developers of the new G.I. JOE and Transformers games (which I have no doubt will be rubbish) with a copy of Wheelman.

Source: Wheelman

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