PSP World

Gangs of London: The Movie

PSP game, Gangs of London is on its way to the big screen with director Menhaj Huda set to helm the feature length flick. You may not have heard of Huda, but you should have a passing familiarity with Gangs of London. Developed by Team Soho (now Studio London), Gangs of London was one of the best selling PSP titles in 2006. While it may have sold well, (it's since been certified as a 'Platinum' title), the game received fairly mediocre reviews. Here at PSP World we awarded the game a 7.1, with our review noting that "Driving around London is great, and there are a load of extras, but the terrible story, voice acting, and poor enemy AI bring down the title".

The game, Gangs of London, came on the heels of Team Soho's PS2 game The Getaway. While not a sequel in the truest sense; with a shared setting, genre and developer, many considered Gangs of London, to be a spin-off of the console game that came before it. There were other similarities; both games boasted plenty to do, but unfortunately a lot of it just wasn't much fun. Both games were also hotly anticipated. The promise of both; games that challenged the GTA franchise in a fully-realised and gritty London setting.

Inspired by films such as Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, we've now come full circle with the rights to Gangs of London being optioned.

While here at PSP World, we thought the story was lacking, Menhaj Huda and Pulse Films clearly see something that we missed. "Gangs of London was an iconic game which both Thomas and I were huge fans of - bringing it to the big screen is going to be a massively exciting task" said Huda. Thomas Benski, MD at Pulse and Executive Producer, agreed saying, "We are very excited about securing such a great piece of IP in Gangs of London for development into a feature film. The popularity of the game means that there is already a strong fan base, and the content lends itself to a fantastic story on screen."

Huda certainly has the runs on the board when it comes to capturing the grit and violence of London. His film Kidulthood tells the story of two days in the lives of a group of fifteen year-old teenagers in London, that opens with a girl committing suicide and ends with a boy beaten to death with a baseball bat. This is no feel-good romp, and if this is a depiction of London teenagers, imagine what Huda can do with warring London gangs.