FPS Games That Need a Remake 518
kube00 writes "With the release and successful sales of Goldeneye 007 on the Wii, this opens the doors for other 90s FPS game remakes. Games like Jedi Knight, Red Rampage and Tribes could all use remakes and would look great with next-generation graphics. Nothing would be more satisfying than a remake of Jedi Knight that lets gamers slice Jar Jar to bits in multiplayer."
Summaries need copy-editing (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's get this right. (Score:5, Insightful)
Firstly, take Tribes 2. Take as many of the original team as possible, and make them replay their game.
Then, add to that. Improve the netcode and get 64x64 players running smoothly as a minimum. Play with some of the community-made enhancements and mods, perhaps integrate them.
Thirdly, more maps. Larger maps, open and with a great many routes.
Fourth, include a well-optimized in-game VoIP system.
Finally, upgrade the graphics. This is the LEAST important part, but it'd be nice.
Create this game for the PC and then port it to consoles if it will work well, and congratulations. You've just made the best FPS ever.
Re:Let's get this right. (Score:5, Insightful)
Rise of the triad (Score:5, Insightful)
Why remake just FPS titles? (Score:5, Insightful)
It seems like FPS are still alive and well, even if it isn't the same IP from the 90s. There are some genres from the 90s that completely died off.
What happened to the space flight simulators of the 90s? Lucasarts can't make a better X-Wing with modern technology nowadays? The last great space flight sim was Freelancer or HomeWorld and that was 10 years ago. That genre completely disappeared.
What about the great god games of the 90s? I still play populous the Beginning, partly because I like the game but mostly because there hasn't been any newer game that has the same kind of fun to it.
No System Shock? (Score:4, Insightful)
How disappointing.
The game was waaaay ahead of its time with a large variety of weapons, alternate ammo and power modes, gobs of explosives and grenades and landmines, upgrades for the player (jumpjet boots, powered skates, night/infrared vision, a camera for the back of your freaking head!), stat boosting drugs with side effects, objectives/tasks, cyberspace in that laughable 1990's 3d style... Oh, it's glorious. AND IT WAS RELEASED IN 1994!
I suppose I'll just have to keep hoping to interest in remaking the engine [sourceforge.net] or remaking the game using the System Shock 2 engine [ttlg.com] rekindles.
At least Thief got a decent remake of sorts on Doom 3 engine. http://www.thedarkmod.com/ [thedarkmod.com]
Shadow Warrior and other build games (Score:4, Insightful)
Shadow Warrior
Also doom needs a good remake and not the doom3 mess we got.
The game which really needs a remake (Score:5, Insightful)
Is Tie Fighter. All time greatest space shooty, it just needs to be able to run on modern hardware without messing around with emulators.
I've never understood why Lucasarts doesn't remake it. It did real well, fans love it and have wanted a remake forever, and it would be pretty cheap. Reason it would be cheap is that a lot of the development is done already. They already have high quality models and textures for all the Star Wars ships, and those are by far the largest amount of graphics assets in the game. Since it is a remake all the mission design can stay as is. Mostly you need a new engine, and some voice actors. Put it all together and you have a remake fans want. Still wouldn't be bargain basement to produce, but you'd get a AAA game on the price of a much lesser title.
I'm happy to see new properties as well, don't get me wrong. I don't think we should have nothing but game remakes, but sometimes a game comes along that is just great. It is extremely fun and worth playing. Those sort of things are good to remake every so often, to bring them to new technology and new gamers.
Tie Fighter is by far the most in need of that in my opinion, in particular since space shooties are so rare these days.
Controls (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd be happy with remakes of a lot of old games with simply better controls.
I have very, very fond memories of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Duke Nukem, but when I tried to replay them recently, I realized how horrible the controls were. Straging by itself makes a huge difference in a game.
Graphics are nice, but hardly reason enough to remake a game.
Very few (Score:5, Insightful)
One aspect of low tech level of a game is that the player fills out some of the details with their imagination, and in a way, viewed the game in a customized way that suits their tastes.
When a remake comes along, things will change. Presume that the original creative staff is involved and does the remake even without changing their minds about any existing details. They will still flesh out the material according to their original vision, bringing out details that may not work well with how your imagination filled in the blanks. It could be cosmetic, where conversion from 2D sprite or low-detail, untextured model to high-detail textured 3D model didn't present what you'd expect. It could be voice-actor work reading the original script completely not matching what you thought the character would sound like. It could even be entirely different dialog, as the developers didn't have time to write more content or didn't have the room, or it was written in a foreign language and different translations would be used.
There are exceptions of course. X-Wing/TIE-Fighter represent a sufficiently detailed universe that it would take a lot of screwing around to create a remake that would disagree with players' previous experience. Some games had detailed cut scenes laying out pretty well how things should look, and these could probably do an ok job with a remake.
please don't (Score:5, Insightful)
if "remake" means "slow it and dumb it down so that people can play it with console controllers" then please don't do it
Daggerfall (Score:3, Insightful)
Carmageddon (Score:1, Insightful)
and Postal 2 would be great with updated graphics and expanded multiplayer.
Re:Eduke32, HRP etc. (Score:4, Insightful)
A source port with added features is exactly what you want from a "remake". If you're going to change anything substantial, make it a whole new game.
Descent and Ultima Underworld (Score:3, Insightful)
Both are nearly forgotten but both were fundamental in establishing the genre.
Re:No System Shock? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No System Shock? (Score:3, Insightful)
Wait, I have a better idea. (Score:2, Insightful)
Make new games that are awesome instead of rehashing old stuff.
If we want a first-person remake. (Score:4, Insightful)
DESCENT.
I think that would be the shit.
Re:Why remake just FPS titles? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Let's get this right. (Score:4, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:MW2 (Score:3, Insightful)
MechWarrior 2? Yeah, that was a good one.
Re:Let's get this right. (Score:2, Insightful)
A little off-topic, but for those of you who are unaware, Tribes 2 is free and community-run now. http://www.tribesnext.com/ [tribesnext.com]
Also (and please feel free to correct me or add your own opinions), Tribes 2 was mostly disdained in comparison to the original for its speed and physics; this was changed in the Classic mod (http://www.tribes2wiki.com/wiki/Classic/ [tribes2wiki.com]), which changed the feel of the game to mirror the original. I always thought it did a pretty good job, but I enjoyed both Tribes immensely anyways.
At least no one mentioned Vengeance, lol.
Re:please don't (Score:5, Insightful)
No, please, we need more FPS with 30 MPH soldiers on cocaine that absorb bullets like paintballs and can hit a mellon with a revolver at two football field lengths.
Yes, please!
Based on your logic, UT would be an "intelligent" game while MAG or L4D are "dumbed down" because the gameplay doesn't revolve entirely around how fast you can aim?
No, both of those are good action games. L4D has some slower moments, but then I guess you amateurs need a moment to collect yourselves :p
I'm sorry, what is the reason that all FPS should move at unrealistically high speed & accuracy or make use of a bazillion keys?
Because it's more fun than watching a movie and occasionally pressing X.
Do you know what it's like to fire a rifle at a moving target?
Nope. Don't care. I've played games that try and simulate that and I don't like them. I prefer the simple responsiveness of an old school shooter (e.g. Quake) than the sluggish wobbly mess of Modern Warfare. Give me a fixed cross hair and no view bob and I'll be happy.
Go play paintball for Christ's sake.
You go play paintball if you love it so much. I want to play computer games.
What's intelligent about two people with mice in a knife fight?
I now have an image of two men holding (live) mice trying to get them to bite the other guy. But seriously, maybe a late night DoD session when everyone decides to put the guns away and have a knife v spade battle isn't intelligent but it is fun!
Is all the frustrating high speed turning supposed to simulate sophisticated ninja like parry skills?
Frustration, you say? Maybe you're just not very good.
Re:Eduke32, HRP etc. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Summaries need copy-editing (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:No System Shock? (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, I know of OpenDarkEngine but OPDE doesn't look like it'll get to a playable state in appreciable time.
Heretic (Score:1, Insightful)
Please remake Heretic! It's an high fantasy FPS game with beautiful pixel art graphics, that you can jump into and start fighting right away, with no puzzles, exp points, or classes to weigh it down. Playing deathmatch in it is also a load of fun. There's no modern equivalent for it, so one would be great.
Interstate '76 (Score:3, Insightful)
Ok, this is not exactly a FPS but I've never managed to play it with other than software rendering.
I'll vote for NOLF 1 & 2 as well.
Re:Eduke32, HRP etc. (Score:3, Insightful)
You just mentioned the beauty of how the game evolved.
Then they made a sequel where by the end of it, you never fucking picked up another weapon again.
It was great, you started out with only weapons, which you had to learn to use all of them pretty well. Then you acquired the light saber, but you couldn't rely on using it all the time, you definitely had to still mix in some weapons. You also had force powers which increased in ability over time, so you could mix in weapons, force power, and light sabre when you weren't too powerful yet. And then you got to the point near then end that you are a Jedi Knight (or didn't you read the title of the game?) and you could get by without having to use weapons (although I have to say, weapons were still useful, it's not as if there was no reason at all to use them and it was "easy" with just a lightsaber, unless you played on easy mode I presume).
So the problem lies where....? Jedi Knight was an excellent game that mixed in weapons, force powers, and the light sabre in which your use of weapons/powers changed throughout the game as your character evolved. Yeah, sounds like crap.