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Neglected Classic Games That Deserve Remakes?
Thanks to GameSpot for its feature discussing neglected videogames that nonetheless deserve remakes. The "games that may have been forgotten but were at least pretty well known in their day" include Roadwar 2000 ("[an] innovative adventure set in the ruins of American civilization"), Biomotor Unitron ("an exceptional game... [that] had the poor luck of being released on the profoundly underappreciated NeoGeo Pocket Color in 1999"), and Xenophobe ("a lighthearted and memorable arcade game... [that] takes itself less seriously than the average alien shoot-'em-up.")
from the Amiga 'nough said
Penguin Adventure. Would be great as a Linux game, too.
I suspect that only a minority of Slashdot-ers will recognize what I'm talking about, but any game in the trilogy deserves a remake on it's own; the whole trilogy deserves a remake, even more.
Lucky for us, that's already in the works. In fact, it's being simultaneously ported for Linux and Windows as well as OS X, AND it's an Open Source project. If I had any programming skills (alas, I don't), I'd be in on the project. As it stands, I'll have to wait until Pfhorge (pronounced "forge," for the uninitiated) comes out to make any contribution.
Anyhow, for those interested, the project is called Aleph One; the main site can be found here, and the SourceForge site can be found here.
~UP
Eat the Path.
that game was freakin' awesome.
on another note, Strider could use an update again.
that 'n Q-bert.
I was greatly disappointed when Duke Nukem got redone as 3D but Commander Keen
didn't. Keen was a much better game than Nukem in almost every respect and
had a lot more vertical action, which would have made for a lot of interesting
possibilities in a 3D version -- platforms up above your head and all that
would make the game play like more than just another Doom clone, as you'd
have to be alert to things going on above (and below) you. Plus, the light,
cartooney spirit of Keen is something the FPS world could really use; I mean,
aren't you tired of seeing skulls and blood all the time? Wouldn't it be nice
to see some weird slugs and neon green slime for a change?
Plus, it would probably be the first FPS to include a pogo stick with
exaggerated bounce. Bonus points if you also get to fly the Beans-with-Bacon
rocketship.
I don't buy a lot of games, but I think I'd buy Keen3D, if it were done well.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
I loved the championship boxing in the article. Does that bring back memories. Xenophobe is a great game. I lost a lot of quarters to that one.
Road Blaster should be on the list, too.
I'm still waiting for Spacewar! 2.
qntm.org
A simple arcade-like game I played on the Amiga. You had to float around on various levels of a spaceship, taking control of increasingly more powerful robots. It was one of those games that was really simple, but had excellent gameplay and you became addicted quickly...
Syndicate
Syndicate Wars
Fountain of Dreams
Bionic Commando
Elevator Action
"The Colony" (http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/gameId,3489/) for Dos, Amiga and Macintosh. One of the grandfather of all FPS with a "explore an aliens-invaded story (Together, of couse, with the original "Mercenary" and "Catch 23" for C64).
A truly enjoiable game still today.
As much as like the idea of remaking classic games. Why dont we try and concentrate on innovating new ones? The Article says that remakes are good because they excite consumers with "names" they already know.
Thing with remakes, what we a really looking for is good gameplay back in the day it was far more important to have good gameplay than have great graphics. It was often the case that some games had great graphics but dire gameplay, other games had excellent gameplay but dodgy graphics. Those that got the balance just right were hits.
As far as remakes go though, a new Populous game would be much appreciated. And I also wish that David Braben would get the new Elite out the door. And has anyone ever done a Spy Vs Spy for the next generation ?
nicki..
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
Mail Order Monsters - Keep the old idea: build monsters, add on parts with money earned through sparring with other monsters. (Sort of like Tecmo's Monster Rancher, but different.) Put this online with plenty of cool upgrades, tournaments, and other modern niceties and you'll make a mint.
Racing Destruction Set - The old ideas: Design cars and race courses with traps, terrain hazards, and so forth, then race. Add same updates as above for MOM. Also make sure you can build a course and then race against computer-controlled opponents of real intelligence.
Adventure Construction Set - Build a single-player RPG from the ground up, including graphics, items, scenery, and more. Update to modern standards for graphics, sound. Set up a site where users can upload their creations and then vote on them. Eventually, game buyers themselves become the real engine for driving more sales of the game.
Curmudgeon Gamer: Not happy
HOTU Overview An absolute and addictive gem of a game.
I'd like to see Paradroid remade. I spent many hours playing that game. It would make a pretty FPS. Take over another robot and be able to use their weapons, be kinda neat to also use thier sensors.
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
Oh, yes: "Cholo" too! http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=474
Sundog:
Synopsis - you are a slave, who's uncle was a free man. He died and left you his spaceship (good), and the obligation to forefill his contracts (bad), which could either free you or doom you and all your decendants to eternal slavery to pay off the forfiture clauses (ugly).
So you have to fly around the galaxy, finding cargo to haul to make enough money to by the items needed by the colony to whom you are contractually bound, all the while fighting off pirates in space, muggers on the ground, and trying to keep your junk-heap spacecraft flying and maybe even improve it.
I've always felt there needed to be a sequel, after you won your freedom, to try to incite revolt among the slaves and overthrow the system.
(And for all those of you who remember Dungeon Master - remember Zed, Duke of Banville? Guess what game he came from.)
www.eFax.com are spammers
A lot of games I'd like to see don't date as far back as some of the previously mentioned, but are based on the NES and SNES. Games like Final Fantasy 4 (2 US) had what I still think is a great plot, but it suffered due to the poor translation and "Americanization" that Japanese video game makers thought we needed.
Or maybe just great games that never made it over here. Things like Fire Emblem (Roy and Marth from Smash Brothers) and their ilk.
Maybe some company could come out that only does remakes with better translations for old school international video games.
Zak McCracken was friggin brilliant.
I had it going on an Amiga emu a few years back, but it was too crash prone to play. This game got me interested in computers, so i owe it a lot. Plus hundreds of fun hours working out the strange things about that game.
Aliens taking over the telephone company, monorail on mars, two headed squirrels...sweet.
A few german boys are doing Zak 2 as a fun project - very much looking forward to sinking myself into this game.
Remember, it takes 42 muscles to frown and only 4 to pull the trigger of a sniper rifle.
I find most modern games don't have a sense of humor that is "funny" Games like Super Hero League of Hoboken were amusing not because they were racy but because they were hair brained. That is the kind of game i would love to see remade.
Just kidding!
How about a spinoff/remake of Moon Patrol:
Mars Patrol: Avoid glitches! Grind rocks! Examine patches of mud!
Every time this topic is brought up (or every time I bring it up,) I have to mention Rocket Jockey. One day I'm going to get tired of complaining and program it myself. But until then, I'll keep complaining!
With the main controls being 'left grappling hook', 'right grappling hook', and 'drop the lines', today's controllers with shoulder buttons are perfect. And with quick online play, the game would be unbeatable. Hm. Speaking of which, anyone know if theres a good way to play Win95 games on XP? The 'Compatability Wizard' sucks. Don't tell me I'm going to have to make a 95 partition to play this.
Jeffool.
In my opinion, modern remakes of classic games seldom capture the magic of the originals. Instead, they exploit our nostalgia for marketing/licensing purposes, and often piss on the legacy of the original game.
Nintendo is one of the main offenders here, shoe-horning a Mario-themed game into every possible genre without regard for the gameplay of the original Super Mario. Personally, I can't stand any 3D Mario platformer (not to mention any Mario sports and puzzle games). Super Mario 64 may be a decent game in its own right -- but it's not really Super Mario as far as I'm concerned.
I don't even think Super Mario World (considered by some to be the best Mario game) recaptured the awesomeness of the original Super Mario.
The key to many classic games is simplicity. Adding tons of slick graphics, new moves and power-ups, and worst of all, 3D perspective doesn't improve game play, it ruins the perfect balance achieved by the original.
On another note, a GTA 1/2/3 pack for the GBA would be super sweet (with GTA 3 made to play in the top-down 2D mode of the originals).
Anyone play the NES game "Kickle's Cubicle" by Irem? Not many have. It was this action/puzzle game that slightly resembled the Lolo series. It was made in a super-cute kiddy fashion (complete with hearts, etc), and was admittedly hella easy up until about the 3rd or 4th world. But after that it started getting more and more difficult and thus more fun. After you beat it you get to play more puzzles that become borderline impossible, and you get hooked hard.
I would LOVE to see that game updated, especially with two player levels. The thought of a quasi-DM/CoOp game using the KC engine makes me laugh -- the thought of two people trying to complete a puzzle together while trying to kill each other at the same time is quite cool.
Oh, and if you haven't played Kickle's Cuble then GET IT. The first few world will mildly entertain you, but as you progress you'll be cussing like a sailor at this kiddie game and loving every second of it.
when the best gaming console was an Atari. My favorite games were Joust, Qix, Adventure, Tapper... on PC Alley Cat was alot of fun as well. I remember when my dad bought a 286 I was all depressed because the 5"1/4 floppy wouldnt fit in the new computer and all my games were on those.
Mysteries of life or life of mysteries SuperHeroes the best of both worlds
Am I the only one who loved this game? Ya the graphics sucked, but I loved the music, the voice commentary, the different characters, the infinate levels. Man, I miss that game already.
Darn this no 'edit button' crap. But yeah, Paperboy. Sure, why not. With nifty Max Payne-ish 'bullet-time' so you can hit those front door steps without slowing down! And it doesn't even have to be Paperboy. Just call it Special Delivery and you've got a little more room to work around with. Start as a paper boy, go on to small parcel delivery, or if you choose the darker path, drugs, or even Mafia involvement! It's genius!
:D
You're a delivery boy in a decent sized consistent city, delivering parcels from place to place while doing other mini-adventures along the way. You can't miss with this!
Jeffool.
Nothing like it has been made since. Not even remotely. I've been waiting for years and plodding on with the CGA-version...
What about M.U.L.E.. I can still hear the game music in my head on quiet nights. Mule Midi version here
There could be a whole universe created on the concept of Joust. I'm not sure how you would joust in 3d, but riding ostriches into the air is just screaming for an action-rpg remake of the thing. It would only work though if they seriously endowed the story to flesh out the universe we only got a small glimps of in the original release.
Also, what's with Zelda being on the remake list. Isn't that done once or twice with every Nintendo system that get's released. How can they remake it any more than they already have other than doing a pixel-pixel conversion of it??
Vash the Space Cowboy
The article is so right about StarTropics... I loved that game, and I think it was very near the last NES I bought before moving on other systems.
There was a game for the old Mac ... I think it was called Robotwars. It was turn-based. You had a small set of robots in a play field, and you'd play out a "script" for them: Go over there, hunker down, and scan that area for enemies (shoot if you see any). Last player with any robots standing wins.
It was a great game, but simple in concept. Graphics were's too great (isometric view) but not any worse than, say, any GBA game. Your opponnents were only visible if one of your robots could see them.
It would take some work to re-do Robotwars for anything other than a PC, but it would make for a great GBA game.
And they should make a Kid Icarus 3 while they're at it.
... but I'd like to see a sequel to Gun Force 2, by Irem.
I played through it with a friend on MAME-X, and all I could think about was how much better it was than Contra. It's a shame that I could never play through it in its original arcade form, but if they ever release another I would be incredibly happy.
"Programming is like sex - one mistake and you'll have to support it for the rest of your life."
Forbidden Forest on the C64 man..... Aztec (would love a new version of that kick ass music that increased in intensity as you went...)
Rolling Thunder arcade...
the remake of Pirates! is currently under development by Firaxis Games. It should see a release later this year.
You might want to contact Toys for Bob for an update for Archon as well as the (mentioned below) Mail Order Monsters as Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III may be able to help there. They were the ones who released their Star Control II to us as the somewhat updated Ur Quan Masters.
Star Control 2 was, at the time, the greatest game ever written. Gameplay, depth, graphics, sound, in every part, the game was so far ahead of the competition that there could be no realistic challenger. Indeed, the ending left so many strings for a sequel that quite literally from the month it came out, there was anticipation for Star Control III.
Then came Star Control III. Ugh. Accolade took the game to new developers and it was clumbsy, uninteresting and not fun to play. The sub-plots were meaningless and the story was unengaging. Gameplay took a step backwards.
You can help!
Sign the Petition Ask Accolade to re-make Star Control III with the original developers at Toys for Bob.
Totally fun adventure, good story, nice and creepy. You can find it here:
m ind.html
http://www.inwards.com/~fairway/game_pages/alien_
That site is great for remembering life with a GS, by the way...
Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
I'd like to see a Mars Patrol game where you guide rovers through troublesome landings and flash RAM and software glitches to take pictures of the (possible) life on mars ala Pokemon Snap.
The game could degenerate into shooting martians and hopping over holes pretty quick and it would still be good.
1. M.U.L.E.
2. Archon
3. Omega Race (the Vic-20 version was awesome)
Just found this... has a bunch of different information about MULE and various projects regarding it:
World Of Mule
Someone has already created a fairly retro, modern version of MULE: Space HoRSE published by Shrapnel Games.
I can't believe no one thought of this classic game, but I guess I'll be the first to suggest some sort of remake. How about an updated version of Tetris? I think that would be well-received (if nothing else, at least for the fact that it's never been done).
That game has been neglected ever since it first came out and no one has yet to make a clone of it (to the best of my knowledge).
Oh waitTrue story.
Master of Magic is a game that deserves an update. A lot of dedicated people still play it, even as it gets harder and harder to make it run. It's a DOS game, but I mostly play it in DOSemu on a Linux machine (I have gotten it to run on 2000 and XP, though).
Mainly, it could use an update to make it more compatible with modern expectations of Windows games, like multitasking and perhaps some directX goodness for the otherwise simple, tile-based animations. Its AI was actually pretty good for its day, but I'm sure that modern standards could be well-applied there, too. I don't think it would take much to get zoomable views and support for higher resolutions, either.
I still manage to play about 1 game a week. It's held up very well for a game that's eight years old.
Another game that could use some updating is "Scorched Earth". I've played countless 3D versions that attempt to capture the fun of the original. None have quite given me the same simple joy I have when I napalm just right through an opponent's shield. I'm not asking for gameplay changes, just something that'll run on a more modern platform. Wendell Hicken, are you listening?
Syndicate was fun and different when it was released. Its graphics STILL look good, but a rotatable view would be nice. I haven't been able to make it run on NTish Windows, but if it could, I would. Wishlist here would be for a mission designer, decent 3D (I've played Syndicate II...) and perhaps adding a level of play at the business management level (e.g. investments, media management). Syndicate would be fun in a persistent world setting, too, with multiple corps, maybe some indy media types, criminal elements, government crusaders... sigh.
There was nothing so fun as Persuadertron-ing an entire map of people to do your bidding, arming them, then destroying all your enemies with a horde of peons.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
I really loved the original NES title. It had a nice mix of side scrolling, first person perspective, mini-sniper battles, and cool anime intermissions. (He even got laid to boost his energy! - How cool was that in a game from that time.)
I wanted XIII to be the new Golgo, but it just isn't as good as it could have been. A new Golgo could be really, really cool.
Joust was a phenomenal 2D game, and I'm sure something engaging could be done with flying jousting ostriches in 3D. Actually, the first polygonal 3D game I ever played was the slightly similar-themed DragonStrike on the PC, a game that could use a remake itself.
Wizball, the profoundly strange C64 game also seems like it would make a good 3D platformer.
Remakes are best done in the manner of Gus Van Sant or Shigeru Miyamoto: preserve the essential elements of the original while updating the bells & whistles. "Remakes" (and sequels, for that matter) that appropriate the name or concept of the original while ditching the core elements are what give remakes (and sequels...) a bad name.
That being said, I'd like to see (Yet Another) remake of "Elite" for the new millenium. "Freelancer" does not count.
I'm not really sure how you could continue the story intelligbly, Valkyrie Profile for the PlayStation (and various emulators...) was an incredible RPG. What I thought made it great was that it was completely original. The battle system, the story, everything was unique in that game.
I've played quite a few of the older RPGs but I think Valkyrie Profile might be my favorite RPG of all time.
True story.
The Lynx port of Xenophobe was quite good. I think it holds up favorably after -- eep! -- 14 years. I feel old now :)
Emulator can be found here, and a system BIOS here.
After reading all four lists, I wondered why a few were left out. At least Panzer Dragoon Saga made the list but they did leave some important few out.
NiGHTS (Sega) - Ask anyone if this game should be remade and they'll either say "yes" or shrug and say they haven't heard of it. For being a "flying on rails" game that was timed, it gave you a very relaxing sense of freedom. Come on Sonic Team, release this as part of the new Sega Ages PS2 lineup.
Akumajo Dracula: Chi no Rondo (Konami) - This great game, better known as Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is probably the most popular game on eBay. It's follow up, the famous Symphony of the Night, is a fan favorite and both games could use a combined re-issue. Why not call it Castlevania: The Richter Belmont Saga.
Blast Corps (Rare) - To me, Rare has always been a "me too" company releasing some very average games that followed proven formulas. There have been two Rare gems though: Conker's Bad Fur Day and Blast Corps. Conker is getting an Xbox update, why not just do them both? Why Blast Corps never succeeded in the mainstream market, I'll never know. It has megatons of destruction as players pilot vehicles around to destroy obstacles in the way of an out-of-control nuclear missle carrier or it will explode. You can even hop out and get into another vehicle much like GTA. Doesn't this just scream remake? Please Rare, just do me a favor and don't concentrate too much on that cursed dump turck.
M.U.L.E. (EA) - Already mentioned above, why doesn't someone take this simple concept and run with it?
Super Metroid (Nintendo) - With the popularity of Metroid recently, why hasn't this been given it's due re-issue?
Next are a few of my picks. Your mileage may vary. Some of these are sleeper hits due to being released at the end of a platforms life or on an already dead platform.
"Shining in the Darkness" and "Shining the Holy Ark" (Sega, Camelot Software Planning) and "Legend of Oasis" (Ancient)
"Ristar" (Sega, Sonic Team) and "Gaurdian Heroes" (Treasure)
"Radiant Silvergun" (Treasure), "Lifeforce" (aka Salamander) (Konami), and "The Guardian Legend" (Compile)
"Snatcher" and "Policenauts" (Konami) - These have actually been updated a few times, no one outside of Japan gets to see them.
Mother and Mother II (Earthbound). I don't think gaming audiences really got Earthbound when it came around, but I think it's got potential to be pretty cool in a more updated environment, especially after the success of some of the more insane RPGs such as MGS2.
Or how about the Equinox/Solstice games -- Prince of Persia proved that jumping puzzle games don't have to suck. Although it's the kind of thing that would probably have the difficulty kind of gimped in a remake -- I remember my aunt and I used to play Equinox for hours on end on days when I was taking sick days in elementary school trying to figure out the insane puzzles. I think she played that game every day for an hour a day for around a year trying to figure out button mechanics. It bordered on self abuse.
By Chuckles and Lord British. Best game ever. Deathlord was cool too.
My all-time favourite arcade game would have to be Vanguard from 1981. A multi-directional scrolling shoot-em-up game with four fire buttons (up, down, left, right), an inventive development on Scramble. The game featured synthesized speech which in 1981 was way out. Another great idea was where you flew through a sprite labelled ENERGY and were then indestructible for a few seconds, much like the Berserker in Doom. My favourite bit was when you approached a dangerous section and it warned you to "Be careful!". Rocking music too. A sequel was made, but the graphics are lame compared to the cool and simple style of the original.
Co-operation beats competition
-- Simply one of the best, creative, and fun games ever made. This game was WAY ahead of its time, and was WONDERFUL.
If they had been able to expand upon the guild structure that evolved, it could have been even better.
http://games.activision.com/games/netstorm/
..the days of really simple game concepts. I miss the game 'Haunting' for the Sega Genesis. There were people in your house, you were poltergeists, and you were constantly setting little traps to spook them. Imagine playing the Sims where you can make the oven try to bite the occupants.
Wanna know what bugs me? This article suggested that everything be a '3d remake'. I must say, no, 3D does not make everything better. I just can't see Xenophobe being better for it. Part of the appeal of that game was the goofy artwork, and in 3D it's hard to make it stand out as a caricature.
I agree with their choices, but I don't necessarily agree with how they should be reborn. Personally, I wish they'd try to stay as faithfula as possible to the original in a lot of their choices.
"Derp de derp."
What do these games have in common? They were once classic games, that were re-released in a format that had nothing to do with the gameplay of it's original. Unlike, for example, the super mario franchise, a franchise that has evolved game by game over the past 20 years, these games have been completely abandoned, then basically repackaged with new fangled technology, creating a brand new game (one that sucks). Instead of letting this game sell itself, they've slapped an old classic name on it and have called it a sequel.
Do you really want this?. Basically some developer just has to to create a badly designed toon shaded alien shooter, with awful control and an unfunny storyline. Once the producers of this game realize that the game won't sell, they can simply, buy the rights to Xenophobe, and just call it a sequel. Please stop asking for this. This is not good for us.
I'm not even saying that we should let Xenophobe die. It was a great game. If they want to re-release it, GREAT! Remake it. Make the sprites cleaner. Make the control tighter. Make it playable on line. Shit, ad a few wacky cut-scenes. Just keep the original gameplay intact. Just don't make a brand new game and call it xenophobes, that would be an injustice. Don't make Raid on Bungling Bay a flight Sim. Don't make Splatterhouse or ESWAT a FPS. Don't make JB Murder Club another resident evil clone. These games are masterpieces and should be respected, not whored out because a game developer needs a hook.
I was kind of disappointed when I heard that the rereleases of classic Famicom (NES) games for the GBA in Japan was going to be unalter versions instead of graphically updated versions. I mean, just updates of Ice Climber and/or Legend of Zelda would have been enough to make me extremely pleased.
2) Kid Icarus
3) Blaster Master
4) Strider
"where words meet intent, lies rhetoric's lament"
Elevator Action already got an update in '94 as Elevator Action Returns . Unfortunately, it felt more like Rolling Thunder than Elevator Action.
Key requirements to be considered a remake:
I'd love to see an MMO of this. Some games come close, but they left out some of the more appealing aspects that Frontier had (i.e., some of the items mentioned at the top of the list).
Please consider making an automatic monthly recurring donation to the EFF
Or for that matter, any classic LucasFilm game (Rescue on Fractalus, Koronis Rift, Eidolon?).
But I would kill for an Xbox-Live enabled version of BallBlazer, maybe even adding 3 or 4 player options.
Dr. Wu
If you want to win, you have to go for the 3 points over-the-horizon shot
one of the most Underappreicated RPGS for SNES. They were working on one for n64 but it then fell into the devolpment blackhole never to be heard from agien.
So we've got the technology to make a hyper-realistic looking FPS version of Tron, but we can't have a modern version of Space Paranoids, the game Flynn programmed? I mean, just look at the original movie, for goodness sake. We've got better graphics than that now.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
From EGM:
Will Nights Fly Again?
It's been eight years since [Sonic] Heroes director [Takashi] Iizuka created Nights: Into Dreams, a Sega Saturn title that's legendary among hardcore gamers. Will its purple harlequin star ever return? 'I know that there are very strong, loyal Nights fans out there,' says Iizuka. 'I promise that as long as I'm with Sega, I will create Nights again...the more I hear from the fans about their love for the game, the more reasons I have to consider it as my next project.'
Circumcision is child abuse.
As another fellow said, Sundog was awesome. Also, Autoduel.
I'd also love to see someone remake Ikari Warriors with the Crimsonland engine.
Was recently remade and released on linux. It's fucking brilliant.
BUT - Most remakes suck. If you've got Amiga-era nostalgia and a >1.5GHz PC, then you're better off getting a recent UAE (one that does AGA) and some original disk images (no, amigas don't use TEH R0MZ for games), than wondering about remakes.
As the AGA Amiga was essentially the pinnacle of 2D gaming, you just can't do significantly better 2D (PCs have only improved in 3D gfx - like the way there's not much point getting better than 16-bit sound, there's little point in significantly better 2D than an AGA Amiga could do...), so a remake will only be roughly as good as the original, not much better, if the game was 2D to begin with.
3D amiga games, on the other hand, can benefit from remaking, as the amiga didn't really have the power for texture mapping (there were tonnes of great 3D polygon games, though - Zeewolf, Damocles, Midwinter (and sequel), FA-18 Interceptor, Thunderhawk...)
ET: The extraterrtestrial for atari 2600 would make a good rerelease. It would certainly weed out all the ADD kids who need their guns and violence fix. I mean, how many can tolerate that game enough to find all the peices of the telephone.
Jsut as I thought
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The site Retro Remakes catalogs remakes of classic games and games inspired by classic games that you probably never knew about. Most of them are free. Granted, most often it's not the original game company doing a full-blown 3d version of some classic 80's space shooter, but there's enough stuff on the site to keep anyone entertained for hours.
LifeForce (keep it a 2D shooter with 2 player co-op).
Gorilla Wars
Ikari Warriors (this and above must be co-op)
Blaster Master
Strider
Bionic commando (not the stupid gameboy poop)
River city Ransom
X-COM:UFO Defense (the first one, timeline should be present day)
Ultima 1-9 (in one engine)
Fallout 1
Jagged Alliance 2
Ultima Underworld 1
Remake Sinistar. Hire Doug Bradley or Robert Englund to be the voice of the Sinistar.
Another thought: Today's powerful hardware and cheap memory could enable classic games to be remade exactly as they were, but with tons of additional levels. What I really want are games like Donkey Kong, Crystal Castles, Ladybug, Ms. Pac Man, etc, with literally hundreds of unique levels. That was the major drawback of those games, the lack of levels.
Or maybe I'm just longing for my lost youth, spent mostly in arcades (late 70's - mid 80's).
Bush is a cylon.
Classic mode in Mac OS X, that is, is a tile game called Ishido: The Way of Stones. Looks great, plays even better.
Free download, BTW. Wish there were a native OS X version!
Every rule has an exception (except this one).
Sure, there's one from 1990 available for free download on the original programmer (Chris Crawford)'s website but it's for Macs only, so that doesn't help me play along.
You know what's really cool? He's a programmer who realizes that some of his older games are more-or-less worthless as a viable money-earning product as technology has moved ahead, so he has posted these old programs on his website for download, stating "For all you collectors of Macintosh antiquities, here is some old software from the dim past". I wish more programmers would do this, as there are tons of old programs that I'd like to see/try/reinstall if only I could find a relatively clean version from a reliable source... like the creator or publisher.
we've assembled the Games That Should Be Remade feature
Don't REMAKE the games, RE-RELEASE the original games.
Games like Asteroids and Pac-Man have a zen-like balance between controls and playability. The so-called "low tech" graphics actually reduce the game to its essential play-and-feel.
Has anyone seen those awful remakes of Pac-Man in 3D? Geez! Re-release the original and let people play.
Easily the best on the list for me. Truth is, though, that I'm not sure I'd want to see a remake. I'd have so many huge expectations of it...it would potentially never meet them.
Yes Sid Meier has made other games.. how is this relevant?
On the Apple II and (I believe) Commodore, and probably others.
That game kicked ass; I think I actually cried in frustration (shut up, I was 6 or so) when I accidentally overwrote Side 2 of the floppy.
..staaay forevah!
impossible mission. i. want. more.
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This game got lost when EA bought up Virgin, but anyoen who has played this on multiplayer will tell you that it has some of the best multiplayer action *ever*.
What a fantastic game that was. In fact, the time from when it came out until a couple of years later was the golden age of computer games to me. 16-bit machines like the Atari ST and Amiga were new and infinitely powerful compared to what we were used to, and developers embraced this wholeheartedly and brought out grandiose, innovative, imaginative games at a rate we haven't seen since.
For those that don't know, Carrier Command put you in charge of a futuristic aircraft carrier equipped with unmanned aircraft, amphibious tanks, and various other bits and pieces. It was set in a huge archipelago of 64 islands, and the object was to colonise these islands faster than the computer's carrier, which was trying to do the same as you starting from the opposite end of the archipelago. It combined combat (the enemy islands had defence systems which you could overcome and take command of the island, and eventually you might come into direct combat with the enemy carrier itself)and strategy (you had to decide whether the islands would produce raw materials, or equipment, or act as defence outposts, and build up supply networks to keep you in missiles, aircraft, fuel, etc) to brilliant effect, and managed not to be overblown or overcomplicated. Frankly, there's been nothing like it since.
And while we're at it, what about Starglider 2 (it had an entire solar system), Interphase, or the too-ambitious-for-its-own-good Midwinter 2? Let's get them remade, pronto. They'd be legendary.
Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe was a lot of fun too - I actually hired the XBox remake called Secret Weapons Over Normandy the other day, and then we were blacked out all night by a huge electrical storm... I decided it must be an air raid and went to bed. :)
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One of the best games of the early-mid nineties. It was a fun, first person game using voxel graphics. It was remarkably beautiful for it's time.
My cat can eat a whole watermelon
Marathon sucked. It was just a copy of Doom for the Mac, but because Mac had like, only 6 games available for it, every Mac-head raved about Marathon. Had it been put out on PC and had to compete with the PC FPS games of its time, it wouldn't have made much of an impact.
Anyone who owned a copy of Berkely Systems "After Dark" screen saver for Mac in the early 90's will remember this.... loved that one!
"Creativity is allowing ones self to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep" - Scott Adams
There is one for GTK called xscorch. Also, there is a Scorch 2000 that can be run within browser using Java runtime.
One of the original authors of Sundog has a very cool page with design docs of the original game. There is talk of a remake there, but it seems to have not been updated in 6 months.
http://www.bfwa.com/sundog/
Xenophobe was released for the NES and it is probably among the 10 worst games in my (about) 200 game collection.
Conserve Oil, Recycle, Boycott Walmart
I haven't been able to find another RPG that quite captures the mood and attention to detail of FTL's Dungeon Master games. There's several nice fan remakes of the first and its expansion pack, but I prefer the second, so I'm stuck with my good old Amiga emulator for the time being...
I'm working on an updated version of MoM. It's different, but will be very familiar to MoM players. Multiple races, 2 planes (surface and underworld), 200+ spells + spell research, a HoMM type tactical combat w/ 15+ units, heroes + magic item creation, etc. Hopefully done by XMAS. Here's the kicker: it will only be for Palm (OS 5+) and PPC.
Todd.
GoTactics
on the TG16/PCEngine: Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, Bonk 3
on SNES: Super Bonk, Super Bonk 2 (aka Super Genjin 2, only released in Japan AFAIK)
"I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
Ah good 'ole nes and dragon worrior kept me going all day.. i found it more addicting then zelda
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Nintendo needs to do another 2D Mario, but on disc media. Thousands of levels, tons of replay, sure to be the best game ever.
Best race game ever made (well except plain graphics [and midi music] :)
You have to race around a 3D track with objects like loops, ice, concrete blocks in the way.
Was easy to make your own tracks too
A remake has already been made but I just wanted to mention te game :)
Not that was a very addictive turn based space game! Too bad it was in DOS...
-------- Docrobot
Or, Streets of SimCity.
God, I loved that game.
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