Xbox 360 smash Gears of War is to become a movie following New Line Cinema, the company behind Lord of the Rings, buying the film rights to the game.

No doubt set to follow in the footsteps of other Hollywood greats such Mario Bros, Streetfighter and Doom [erm... Ed] the film will follow the games storyline of a bunch of Mercs heading off to planet Sera to battle the Locust Horde.

The game, is one of the most popular titles on the Microsoft console and has sold 3 million copies to date.

New Line Cinema is obviously keen to convert these gamers into cinema goers.

Cliff Bleszinski, lead game designer for "Gears" worked with screenwriter Stuart Beattie ("Collateral") to define a treatment, with the aim of crafting a movie that will appeal to the game's fans and moviegoers.

Producer Marty Bowen is hoping this one will be different from the list of previous flops mentioned above.

"We're not going to do a to a lowest-common-denominator movie", said Bowen in an interview with Reuters. "We're going to attempt to elevate it. And we're starting off by having an A-list writer doing it."

We will keep you posted.