Tomb

It's happened: they've done it. They've finally made a video game out of one of the most brilliant films ever made. A film that has inspired millions, that has shaped how we think and has influenced the way in which we perceive the world and our role in it.

I'm talking of course about the classic 1953 Daffy Duck cartoon, Duck Amuck.

You know the one. Daffy Duck suffers countless indignities at the hands of an unseen animator and gets increasingly cheesed off. Every time the angry mallard tries to make the most of his situation and proceed with the film, a malevolent paintbrush will change his parachute into an anvil, or strand him in the South Pacific without a boat, or cause the screen itself to cave in on his head. If you've seen the film, you're chuckling with the memory of it right now.

Well, somebody must have decided that the time was right to revisit this 50-year-old masterpiece, because Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck has just been released as a game for Nintendo's portable DS (Duel Screen) console. Gamers take the role of a mischievous animator, causing all kinds of grief for the cranky little black duck by use of the console's stylus and touch screen. Rub out Daffy's beak with an eraser! Transform him into a grotesque flower-monster! Hand him a stick of dynamite and light the fuse! You can even blow into the console's microphone, extinguishing a candle just as the poor guy tries to navigate a staircase in the dark! All of these shenanigans are met with audible responses from Daffy, ranging from sneers to full-on nervous breakdowns. Apparently, if you turn the sound off, he mouths his complaints wordlessly for a moment, before typing up a message announcing his intention to contact a lawyer.

Will the new game be any good? Hard to say. It's tough to imagine getting hours and hours of fun out of this thing. Still, the thought of being able to torment my own personal pocket-sized Daffy Duck is just about irresistible.

Video games based on licensed properties such as films and cartoons tend to suck, but there are occasional exceptions. One of the most brilliant games based on the Looney Tunes universe was Sheep Raider for the original PlayStation, in which players took on the role of Ralph Wolf (a dead ringer for Wile E. Coyote, only with a red nose), and attempted to steal sheep from a pasture watched over by the overprotective Sam Sheepdog. You remember Sam and Ralph — the wolf-and-sheepdog duo who dutifully reported to the pasture each day, punching in their time cards, and greeting one another with a cordial “Mornin' Ralph.” “Mornin' Sam.” In the game, Ralph must sneak past Sam in order to gather up as many sheep as possible, utilizing such cartoony tools as giant rubber bands, huge boulders and snake-charming flutes that send Sam into a sleepwalking trance. At its best, Sheep Raider really feels like “playing” a classic Warner Brothers cartoon.

Hmmm... stealing sheep, tormenting ducks... perhaps the secret of making a successful Looney Tunes game is allowing the player to be a little naughty? After all, if performing antisocial acts in Grand Theft Auto is fun, imagine how satisfying the same situation could be if all of your “victims” cursed at you like Yosemite Sam.

What other classic films could be made into successful video games by allowing players to be the villain? There just might be a treasure trove of untapped potential here. Imagine a game based on The Wizard of Oz (1939) for example. It would suck, right? But what if you got to play as the Wicked Witch? That changes everything. Now you get to fly around on a broomstick, dodging tornadoes and consolidating your iron grip over the population of Emerald City. Forget singing about going off to see the wizard... unleash your army of flying monkeys on the trembling inhabitants of Munchkin Land! End-of-level bosses like the Scarecrow and the Tin Man would surely fall before your green, warty malfeasance. Bwaa ha ha! I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too! Insert coin to continue!