District 9 Turned into a Retro Video Game

Neill Blomkamp is known for a sort of gritty, realistic style with his films, that makes even creepy aliens, charming robots, and the members of Die Antwoord seem like they could totally be part of our world. Okay, maybe not that last part. So the idea of a film like District 9 being reduced to chunky pixels seems a little strange to me.

That said, they managed to do it with that old RoboCop arcade game, and it worked pretty well, so I guess it’s an idea worth considering. The guys at 8-Bit Cinema ran with the idea, envisioning the world of Wikus and the prawns as an old school side-scroller.

With the help of some alien weapons, and a super-powered arm, it actually looks like a pretty fun game. It’s even got a boss battle – though you’re the boss. Sadly, there are no voice samples, which I think would have made it even better. I’d really like to hear the game say “Don’t Point Your Fokkin’ Tentacle at Me!” in Wikus’ distinctive South African accent.

Oh well, it’s not like we’ll ever get to play it, as it only exists as an animation, and not an actual game.