Old games getting the remastered treatment seems quite the trend nowadays, and it’s not surprising given we are being treated to some absolute gems.
The first time I really noticed remastered games sneaking into my life was while playing the PS3; I remember there being a bunch of PS2 games getting a new HD shine to them, games like the Devil May Cry collection, the Metal Gear Solid collection, ICO & The Shadow of Colossus collection, and many more along the same lines. Recently though we have seen developers take on older titles and rebuild them from the ground up instead of just going in and cleaning them up for HD. Some of these remakes have been nothing short of outstanding, and whenever I see an old PS1 game get remade to the quality of Resident Evil 2 or the Crash N. Sane Trilogy, I can’t help but smile. The remake hype train isn’t stopping there, though, with Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled just around the corner! So as is usually the case, I got thinking what other older games could benefit from being remade from the ground up? So here is my list of 5 classic games that need a remake…
A remake could really help bring this survival horror classic back to a new generation of gamers who might have missed it first time around. The clunky PS1 controls and outdated graphics are more than likely going to put most players off going back and playing this classic, so a remake would make a lot of sense. I think it’s obvious to draw comparisons to Resident Evil 2 with this one, but when you look at how good that remake looks and plays, it’s easy to see why. Capcom have shown what a brilliant remake can look like, and if Konami were to follow suit they would undoubtedly make a lot of survival horror game fans very very happy! And then we would surely see a Silent Hill 2 follow up right? Yeeeeah.
Oh the memories… Anyone who knows me will know that I’m not really a JRPG guy, but that didn’t stop me from loving every second of The Legend of Dragoon! It was the first game of this genre that I had ever tried, and I’ve never really gone back since. I like to tell myself that it’s because I know that no other JRPG will live up to this; my first love. But I have friends who will shoot that theory down and proceed to read off a list of games that do the same thing, just a lot better, and in truth I can’t really argue with that. It’s just that I’m not ready to move on, I want one more playthrough with Dart, Rose and the rest of the gang! The worst part is, here in the UK we don’t even have access to the original PS1 download that was made available on PS3 to our friends across the pond, so the only way to play it would be to track down an old copy of the game and buy a PS1. Wouldn’t it just be easier to rebuild the game for current gen consoles though (Well for me, not so much for SIE Japan)? It’s something I’ve always wanted, but have accepted that it may never happen… But with the current trend of remakes, a boy can dream!
Okay, technically this one has already had a remake with 2011’s GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, but for whatever reason it just never seemed to take off. In an era where online first person shooters seem to rule the market, and remakes are hotter than ever, now feels like a good time for Nintendo to give this another go. Whether or not it would work is a tough question though, as GoldenEye definitely has nostalgia value, but does it really have anything to offer in today’s modern market? I believe that if the development was handled right, and something new and fresh was brought to the table rather than a straight-up shot-for-shot remake, or something like Reloaded, then yes, this could work. Wouldn’t it be so great if Nintendo were able to recapture that feeling every one of us in our late twenties / early thirties have, of rushing home from school to your mates house for a quick game of 4 player split-screen 007? Anyone want to come round mine for a quick game of GoldenEye? Bagsy playing as Oddjob!
This remake would admittedly be in name only, as this expansion of the original GTA didn’t exactly take the gaming world by storm. What it did do though is put the idea in GTA players head of what a full fledged open world game in London could be like if done right. The idea of this game being made for current gen consoles really excites me, because I love exploring Rockstar’s re-imagining of cities like Los Angeles, New York and Miami (Vice City remake anyone?), so being able to do the same for a city I actually know well would make me a very happy little car jacker. I want to give a big honourable mention to The Getaway that almost took this spot in the list for being the only game to give us a true idea of what this sort of game could look like, but in 2019, my faith would lie with Rockstar to get this right.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane back to the year 2000, where it seemed everyone and their mother was not just into pro wrestling, but massively into pro wrestling video games. Ask most wrestling game fans and they will tell you that their cream of the crop was WWF: No Mercy for the N64.
Back to 2019 now and let’s face it, the only people still playing these games (WWE 2K19 being the latest) are the hardcore fans and a few old school gamers maybe looking for some fond memories of yesteryear… So why remake No Mercy when developer 2K Sports are still putting out annual releases? Nostalgia my friends. The power of nostalgia is a strong thing these days, and whether you love it or hate it, there are plenty of paying customers out there willing to hand over their hard earned cash for those sweet sweet member berries, and wrestling is certainly no exception. In fairness to 2K, they do still include a lot of old faces from the glory years in their games such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mankind and many more… But other than WWE 2K16 (Which featured Stone Cold on it’s cover and had an attitude era showcase mode), the focus is on modern day characters as it probably should be.
…So why not release a separate version where 100% of the focus is aimed at the the old glory years and attach the old No Mercy title to it to catch the attention of players who have drifted away from the series? Maybe they could even use it to test out a new game engine as many WWE 2K players will tell you; the current one has definitely outstayed its welcome.
So there you have it. Can you think of other suggestions for a ground-up remake for current generation consoles? Let me know in the comments below!