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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
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.
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
Syndicate
Syndicate Wars
Fountain of Dreams
Bionic Commando
Elevator Action
but, but ... thats tuxracer, no?
... wouldn't be hard to finish the Penguin Adventure maps in Tuxracer format, anyway ...
close enough
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Spoken like someone who hasn't been to EB in a while.
"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."
They re-vamped the English translation when FF IV was re-released for PSX as 1/2 of Final Fantasy Chronicles. They still kept certain flubs for nostalgia's sake ("You spoony bard!"), but we now have a game where Cecil and Rosa aren't afraid to do anything more than hold hands.
"Or maybe just great games that never made it over here. Things like Fire Emblem"
Released for GBA a few months back.
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.
2) Kid Icarus
3) Blaster Master
4) Strider
"where words meet intent, lies rhetoric's lament"
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
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.
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.
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