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Game Franchises From The Ashes
Thanks to Nintendojo for posting the latest in their series on classic games that deserve to get resurrected in updated form. The latest instalment picks out Combat for the Atari 2600, "...one of the first genuine 'deathmatch' games around", but earlier picks include Fortress of Narzod for the Vectrex, and Shadowrun for the SNES, of which the author says "...the style of this game, plus its rudimentary squad-based combat, makes this a natural for an upgrade."
I always wondered why there never was a mainstream Shadowrun RPG. Certainly has the potential! And the success and quality of Baldurs Gate proved that RPGs are not dead and can sell well.
My cats ate my karma. They also wrote this comment.
My list would include:
:-)
Gauntlet 1/2 (Arcade) - possibly from a 1st-person perspective, throwing axes/arrows at ghosts and goblins, giant dragons, death himself, thieves...
Hunter (Amiga) - A bit like an early version of GTA3 - you have a mission and you have to run around using any form of transport available to do it... the amiga version had bikes, boats, cars, planes, hang gliders, windsurfing, tanks, jeeps... all open to the player, who's free to do what he likes to complete the mission.
Software House (Spectrum) - A little known title where you run your own software house in the style of a football management game. Negotiate with authors, choose how to market the game, negotiate with high-street chains to get them to take stocks.
Stunt Island (PC) - Similar in vein to Hunter, you have completely free access to many vehicles and your job is to be a stuntman - Think what you could do with every vehicle imaginable and AI-controlled "partners" you can script to create the perfect stunt. If you haven't guessed, I like freedom in my games.
Kikstart 2 (Spectrum) - Create a bike course using simple building blocks then race split-screen against a pal. Multiply up with full Motocross Madness graphics and network multiplay.
XQuest 2 (PC) - Sorry... it's the last on my list and I just like XQuest. It's an old DOS game that still available online (google it) that's a smooth, simple variation of Crystal Quest for the Mac. I just want the author to update it!
Just my twopenn'th.
First of all, M.U.L.E should have been the first one on the list. I know there have been some re-makes, but it still deserves to be number one on the list, many things can be done without ruining the gameplay. (guns would of course ruin the game, but plenty else to do) All consoles needs this game.
Second, I see no text adventures. Plenty are still being made, but all are underground. I know this is aimed at console games, but Nintendo could easially bundle a bunch of games with a keyboard, and it would work. (plenty of free ones to start with, and I'm sure authors would like the chance to have their name on for a tiny royality for the rest)
I keep a C64 emulator around for this gem. You control a probe droid and have to reprogram a ship full of rogue droids. The main task is in a reprogramming contest. The contest is simple, flip switches by sending impulse down circuits. When time runs out, either you've flipped a majority and take control of the droid, or you lsoe and it's Game Over. This is complicated by having a limited number of pulses to fire, and by complications in the circuit diagram. It's pretty basic, but you never have any leisure to plan or study. Some droids you take over can just blast other robots - but your control burns out the droid you're riding in after a certain amount of time, so you can't blast your next ride.
Great game, simple concepts multplied into intense gameplay. It would have been a winner for GB or GB-Color. Paradroid Advance would probably be overdone and overcomplicated. I've beaten the damn thing maybe twice over the course of 15 years of (intermittent) gameplay.
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951