The image you see above is a screenshot from Vivendi Universal's Fight Club, a video game based on the book/movie of the same name.

Talk about missing the point.

Where to begin? First off, the source material(s) is a conflicted, often contradictory, sociopathic rant against both the emptiness of rampant consumerism and anarchism. Black-humored, anti-capitalist literature like this is probably not the best starting point for the development of a video game. What's next? George Hayduke's Punch-Out?

To make matters worse, Vivendi's effort is planned as a standard platform fighting game sans all those pesky themes and ethos. Players can play as either Tyler or Jack in context-less movie-themed environments. Following the same rules as Fight Club, the brawls end with a tap out, or when an opponent can no longer defend him or herself. Aside from the screenshots, details are vague at this point. Blog is hoping they don't wuss out entirely by opting not to include Meat Loaf's character, Bob "His name was Robert" Paulson.

It's a long stretch, but if you got the right sort of programmers together and stuffed their heads with the writings of Chuck Palahniuk, Abbie Hoffman and Edward Abbey, they might be able to turn out a quality game. It could be the nastiest game ever, something 30 times more subversive and violent as good ol' GTA. Focusing on the material's "Project Mayhem," players could be rewarded for trashing Volkswagens and destroying
corporate art displays. Not only would you have to dodge police in this game, you'd also have to ignore the nagging of your alternate personality. To win the game, the player would finally have to destroy society. A sequel could possibly dive into the pitfalls of the ensuing state of anarcho-socialism.

No, somehow, Fight Club: The Game ain't a joke. If Def Jam Vendetta can actually find distribution, in all likelihood this will be in every Target outlet in the country by Xmas '04.

Also: wasn't there a rule in the source material about no shoes?