Heat movie tie-in on the way

Titan Productions is teaming up with Hollywood production company Regency Entertainment to produced a videogame based on Heat, the healthily violent action movie which first hit our screens in 1995.

The game is set to appear unspecified next-gen consoles, and the film's director, Michael Mann, is currently in talks with Gearbox Software to take on development responsibilities. Gearbox's previous games include Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Halo PC and the PS2 version of Half-Life.

There's no definite confirmation as to whether the game will feature the voices and likenesses of the movie's stars, namely Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer - but Titan says it is in "advanced stages" of discussion with their agents.

"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," said Gearbox president Randy Pitchford.

"Heat pretty much defined what hardcore heist means and it gives us a narrative mechanism to consider both sides."

The Heat videogame is due out some time next year. In the meantime, there's another Michael Mann movie tie-in on the way - Miami Vice, which, as you'll know if you read our preview, is exclusively in development for the PSP.