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Classic Games (Games)

10 Next-Generation Franchise Comebacks 195

Posted by Zonk from the i-want-another-sacrifice dept.
JamesO writes "Pro-G has posted an article which looks at their top ten most wanted next-generation comebacks. By this time next year there should be three next-generation consoles on store shelves. Games like Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, Super Mario and GTA are certain to appear at some point in the lifetime of these consoles, but what about older franchises we'd like to see again?" From the article: "Few games have scared people as much as System Shock 2. Developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios, it's another great game that was released by EA that hasn't seen a sequel in years. Set onboard the Tri-Optimum starship Von Braun, you played a UNN soldier who is part of the crew on the Rickenbacker....When Looking Glass studios went into liquidation the future of the series became very uncertain, with a true sequel now looking very unlikely. A spiritual successor, in the form of BioShock from Irrational Games, is due in 2006." Any games you want to see resurrected?
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10 Next-Generation Franchise Comebacks More

10 Next-Generation Franchise Comebacks

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  • Custers Revenge (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Gr33nNight ( 679837 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @03:26PM (#13400908)
    Yes I will take a sequel to one of the best games of all time: http://www.classicgaming.com/rotw/custer.shtml [classicgaming.com] Custers Revenge

  • Chrono Trigger (Score:5, Interesting)

    by n1ywb ( 555767 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @03:26PM (#13400916) Homepage Journal
    Nuff said.
    • While that sounds nice, remember ChronoCross for PlayStation? It was certainly an okay game, but it was no where near as good as ChronoTrigger. I peronally think that they should leave CT alone and let it bask in the limelight as the greatest RPG ever made, rather than cheapen its legacy by pushing out shoddy sequals.
      • The sequel to Chrono Trigger (amazing game) was never released in Europe to the sadness of many. Even then I don't think the playstation remake of chrono trigger was released either, despite all the please to Square at the time. They need to get this sorted first before any further sequels.
      • While that sounds nice, remember ChronoCross for PlayStation? It was certainly an okay game, but it was no where near as good as ChronoTrigger.

        If you think of Chrono Cross as a sort of side story, rather than a direct sequel, I find that it's really a pretty good game. If you're expecting "Chrono Trigger 2", then you need to modify your expectations a bit.

        I peronally think that they should leave CT alone and let it bask in the limelight as the greatest RPG ever made, rather than cheapen its legacy by pushin

  • Tomb Raider! God knows world needs another one!
    Would it be the seventh?

    Or another Mario. Mario 128!

    --
    Dreamhost [dreamhost.com] superb hosting.
    Kunowalls!!! [kunowalls.host.sk] Random sexy wallpapers (NSFW!).

  • fallout! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by hammeredpeon ( 572012 )
    i want fallout 3. plus, unlike probably everyone else, i want it to be a single player game because i can't have a mmorpg ruining my life :)

  • Final Fantasy Tactics? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by metroid composite ( 710698 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @03:30PM (#13400945) Homepage Journal
    Hmm...lots of PC and Sega games on that list....

    The one game I can think of which really needs a sequel is FFT. And no: FFTA doesn't count.

  • System Shock 2 was amazing (as was the original) but we need MORE THIEF!
    • I'll second the Thief series. And I'll argue until blue in the face that Deadly Shadows sucked. Of all the games I own, Thief I and II, System Shock and Shadowman (Acclaim) are the only ones getting replays.

      Looking Glass Studios were true artists. I'd like to see them recognized and reborn some day.
    • I fully agree that we need more "Thief". Without question one of the most immersive game series ever created. And -- horrors! -- rich with story! Imagine that! </sarcasm>

      But let's not get TOO hasty! "Thief: Deadly Shadows" was only released less than a year ago! (Contrary to what another poster says, I thought that "Thief: DS" was phenomenal! If someone was not totally freaked out out by the sanitarium level, then that person must be bereft of the ability to have an emotional reaction.)

      For

    • Deus Ex = SS spiritual successor (Score:4, Insightful)

      by caitsith01 ( 606117 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @09:51PM (#13403696) Journal
      Deus Ex (ONE, dear god not two) is as close as you'll ever get to a successor to System Shock 1 or 2. Similar themes, though perhaps more cyberpunk, less scifi-horror, and very similar immersive FPS/adventure gameplay. In my opinion nothing has yet bettered DX1 as an all-round great fps adventure, even Half Life 2.
      • Deus Ex (ONE, dear god not two) is as close as you'll ever get to a successor to System Shock 1 or 2.

        After playing the FEAR demo, I had flashbacks to System Shock 2. Maybe it will have less adventure type gameplay, but I found the mood of the game to be very similar
  • Is there really someone out there eager for Shenmue 3 on the XBox 360?!?!?
  • SS2 should just be re-released with new models and higher bit count textures.

    thats my 2 cents.

    My favorite mod of travel was invisible with a pyro sphere around me. The thing I would forget to look out for was falling debris from stuff getting burnt.

  • Old franchises (Score:4, Insightful)

    by RogueyWon ( 735973 ) * on Thursday August 25, 2005 @03:34PM (#13400989) Journal
    That's not a particularly bad list; System Shock, Magic Carpet, X-Com and maybe Syndicate are all ripe for a return. The others don't strike me as great choices, though. The series I'd really like to see return would be:

    X-Wing and Wing Commander series: Freespace was nothing more than an inferior knock-off of these. I'd particularly like to see the old X-Wing games resurrected. The Rogue Squadron games we have now are ok... they're among the few Cube games really worth playing... but they're far too arcadey for my tastes. A decent, tactical space-flight sim would make me very happy. On the Wing Commander front, I'd love to see a new Privateer.

    Aliens vs. Predator: The PS2/X-Box RTS was, quite frankly, shite. However, this is still a franchise that has a lot of potential. Imagine a version of this done on the Doom 3 engine. Hell, cut the Predator out if you want and just make it an Aliens game. With the technological capabilities of the next gen, this should be scary as hell.

    Star Control: Star Control 2 remains one of my favorite Sci-Fi RPGs of all time, not least because of the fantastic arcade-style combat. The third installment sucked, but that's no reason why we couldn't have a remake or another sequel on decent hardware.

    Streets of Rage: Don't get me wrong, the current generation of consoles has had some great action beat-em-ups, with God of War standing out as perhaps the best example, but I do miss the old side-scrollers. Feel free to substitute Final Fight instead if that was more your thing.

    Ultima: PLEASE can we have a new Ultima game (that isn't a MMORPG). We'll forgive you Ultima 9. Just bring back the vast game-worlds and complex ethical systems. Do this right, with a decent interface and combat system, and you could easily get something to rival the Final Fantasy series. Also, while we're at it, can we have a new Ultima Underworld please?

    Gunship: What ever happened to all the helicopter games? Gunship 2000 was one of my favorite fight-sims ever, but the genre just seems to have vanished. I wouldn't even mind seeing a more arcadey version of this.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Of course, if we can't have a new Star Control game, we could always hope for the next best thing. A sports-spinoff:

        Frungy-Bowl 2006!

        Man, the ZoqFotPik were cool :)
    • If you liked Streets of Rage, go search for Zombie Smashers X2. Its an absolutely awesome game of the same sort, except you get to maul zombies, vampires, ninjas, pirates, nazis, vampire nazis, robots, etc. Incredible game. Needs a gamepad to really play right though. I think the game is at www.totallyscrewed.net, but I'm not certain at the moment.

    • Re:Old franchises (Score:2, Informative)

      by martone66 ( 643104 )
      If you loved Star Control 2, check out The Ur-Quan Masters [sourceforge.net].
    • X-Wing and Wing Commander series: Freespace was nothing more than an inferior knock-off of these.

      Wing Commander was before I got into PC gaming (Apple IIe/Amiga Forever). I did play X-Wing/TIE Fighter though, and I thought exactly the opposite. Freespace was superior to them both. It had a better story (because it didn't have to fit in-between SW movies), it had better design (the ships designed specifically for the XW/TF games are AWFUL, and lack all of the artistry of the film designs), and it was more fu
    • I would like to see a MMORPG version for this. Something like Natural Selection [natural-selection.org] mod meets Alien Online [mobygames.com] (failed miserably). There would be classes, etc. who must keep win the battles from the other species.
    • 1. The AvP predator had a FPS released as recently as two years ago... hardly a forgotten franchise. And frankly, considering how terrible the movie was you'd have a hard time trying to convince a marketing department that this is a good idea.

      2. Freespace was easily the best space combat sim of its time. The latter X-Wing games couldn't compare and by that time Wing Commander had bit the dust. It was Freespace that continued to innovate the genre when the other two lost their way.

      3. Let Ultima be con
  • Console systems can now be connected to the internet. How long before I can get a good MUD client for my X-box? I'd even settle for raw telnet if I could program the controller buttons. If anything needs to be "resurrected" its MUDs.

    (Proudly NOT playing graphical MMORPGs since 1975)

  • Jagged Alliance 3 and 3D are supposedly in the works.
  • I can't WAIT for Shenmue III. If you haven't played the first 2, you've missed great games. They give it a 60% chance of happening. But I saw a link from Penny-Arcade saying that they've had it ready for this generation, but they are holding it for the next gen consoles and may even release the thing as one big game with all 12 chapters (which would include the first and second games).

    Other than that, it's been a while, so how 'bout a new Adventures of LoLo game.

    • That game put sega over the budget single handedly. It costed them millions to make Shenmue.

      Yet only a small handful or people even played it. The shenmue mp3 available on overclock remix is great. If they released a 12 chapter, I'll be interested even for the actual game music alone.

  • I was beginning to think everyone had forgotten about Shenmue, Pro-G's prediction that it has a 60% chance of returning is encouraging too. I know there's Shenmue Online but that sounds like it's China only and it's not really a "proper" Shenmue game. I've stopped replaying Shenmue I + II as it's so sad to get to the end of II and know there's every chance I won't find out how the story ends...

    I'd also add that NiGHTS is begging for a sequel too, personally I think a DS version could work really well using
  • As far as Shenmue III is concerned, look no further [kikizo.com].

    It's complete and ready for a system.

  • with every generation, our pleas get weaker (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Alzheimers ( 467217 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @03:45PM (#13401114)
    ...but we still ask...

    Please, Nintendo, give us a Kid Icarus sequel! Look what it's sister silver label game, Metroid, has become

    Give Pit a chance! Let us wage war against the evil Medusa and her army of Eggplant Wizards and Grim Reapers again! Let us seek treasure and avoid the God of Poverty in our quest for mallets, hearts, feathers, wallets and bottles barrels!

    You can do it!
  • Well, the people who made Ecco the Dolphin are making a Jaws [gamespot.com] game that I think will play sort of similar to what an Ecco game would, except of course you are Jaws the shark rather than a dolphin.

    As to Syndicate, I'd like to see a next gen successor to Shadowrun which I really liked on the Genesis, they sound sort of similar in concept.

    I'm taking a wait and see attitude toward Bio-Shock, maybe Call of Cthuhlu:Dark Corners of the Earth will be better. Either way it won't fill the void left by the absen

  • I haven't seen its equal since the day it came out.

    Three others that I remember fondly..

    Wing Commander

    Privateer (subsequent versions weren't)

    XCOM : TFTD

  • XCOM (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Thalin ( 130318 )
    A true XCOM, in the style of UFO and TFTD. None of that shooter stuff, turn/squad based strategy FTW.

    • XCOM truly is the king of kings (Score:4, Insightful)

      by caitsith01 ( 606117 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @09:59PM (#13403736) Journal
      Anyone who has never played X-Com will really not see the attraction - weird low-res graphics, turn based gameplay... but it truly is one of the best games ever written. It combines the addictiveness of a management/strategy game like Civilisation with freakishly atmospheric sci-fi combat sequences. This game running at 320x240 has scared me silly more times than Doom III ever could cranking along in glorious hi-res 3D. I also marvel constantly at how such a phenominal game could weigh in at around 2MB when game companies today routinely crank out 3-4 disc turds of games.

      And they've been screwing up X-Com sequels ever since Apocalypse - we don't WANT real time combat, we don't WANT to fly an interceptor or run around in the first person. We want a new, bigger, higher-res, polygon-driven version of X-Com 1 with more alien and UFO types, bigger, more varied levels, and an even more intricately linked and immersive gameworld. Oh, and soldiers with more individual variation.

  • Nintendo (Score:2, Interesting)

    by MajikMan ( 453619 )
    Maybe it's just me, but several of the games they listed aren't really in comeback position, as they've already done so. I'd love to see a new Punhcout game made...I loved the first two.

    Also - I want another Earthbound! I'm not an RPG player generally, but I spent hours playing Earthbound.
    • I'd love to get a chance to play earthbound - I didn't hear about it til the past couple of years, and I just can't bring myself to shell out $30-50 for a SNES game. And of course, the one place I've found that still rents out SNES games didn't have it.

      I'm hoping they include the original in the download options for Revolution, but a sequel would rock too! (Well, I assume it would, having never actually played the original...)

      • I've seen copies of Earthbound selling for around $25-$30, but never as high as $50. It's definitely worth the money though. If you can find it, pick up a copy of the original guide book that shipped with the game, it's invaluable the first time you play through for a couple of the areas.
        For anyone who's never had the chance to play Earthbound, it's really one of the most clever RPGs to have ever been released. It takes place in a modern setting, like the 1990's. It's sort of a sci-fi spoof, it's humor
  • Parasite Eve.
  • <BR>Elite/Elite Plus -- The greatest game(s) ever written.<BR><BR>

    P.S. This should be a poll.<BR>

  • Dungeon Master and Ultima Underworld.

    I think DM had the greatest spellcasting system ever, and Underworld (except for the typically Ultima-an "run an errand for the lackey" storyline) was a blast, too.
  • And why does everything have to be 3D now? Why can't we just have a good side scroller?

  • Loom. (Score:2)

    by tepp ( 131345 )
    Loom.

    I really want a sequel to Loom. I'm not kidding.

    After you turn into a swan and fly past the remains of the shattered world into the constellation, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WORLD??? WHAT HAPPENS TO THE GHOST OF YOUR DEAD FRIEND!!!!

    LucasArts, you let me down.
  • I want to see Septera Core 2. I doubt too many people here have even played it, much less beat the game, but the ending leaves the entire thing wide open for a sequel and the story was extremely intesting.

    I loved the fact that it had a semi-fantasy element, but a slight future punk side to it as well. It's almost like Gotham City in Batman, where you can never really tell (unless you're watching the later series') whether the whole timeline is supposed to be in the past or the future. Sure, some of the voic
  • Gunstar Heroes. Greatest game ever.

  • MDK (Score:2)

    by Eil ( 82413 )

    One of my favorite PC games of all time was MDK [wikipedia.org]. It's one of those games that wasn't really revolutionary in any one particular way. The graphics weren't the prettiest even by the standards of the time, but they were still rather slick.

    After you play through the first few levels, you sit back and think to youself, "Wow, that was fun. Gimme more." I downloaded the demo one morning before going to school and played about 30 minutes of it. The rest of the day was spent reliving those excellent 30 minutes over
    • Too bad it was EXTREMELY short. Only 6 levels?
      I finished it the day I bought it, twice.

      Great game tho, except for being far too short.

  • Fallout 3 (Score:3, Informative)

    by PIPBoy3000 ( 619296 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @04:55PM (#13401775)
    Fortunately, they've already begun pre-production on it [nma-fallout.com]. I'm guessing that Bethesda will start seriously working on it after Oblivion.

    And yes, this is the reason my nick is PIPBoy3000.
  • 1.Ultima. Beloved world and franchise.
    2.Freespace. I agree with TFA on all counts.
    3.Deus Ex. Let's just forget about Invisible War, okay?
    4.Crimson Skies. Get the original (PC) team back. The sequel had none of the character and charm of the original.
    5.Disciples [google.com]. Great turn-based strategy franchise with some beautiful 2d art.

  • MDK (Score:2)

    by tcd004 ( 134130 ) *
    Gaming nirvana. Everything just fits together perfectly.

    MDK2 wasn't bad either.
  • The frosting side of my brain wants a Dungeon Keeper sequel that makes DK2 forgivable. But the shredded wheat side wants to rant about how there's no creativity in the games market anymore!

    Then both sides agree to play Evil Genius. Everybody's happy.
  • I've been waiting for a current-gen Wizards & Warriors game for years. The NES games were great. I want another.

  • Balloon Fever (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tepples ( 727027 ) <tepples AT gmail DOT com> on Thursday August 25, 2005 @06:33PM (#13402614) Homepage Journal

    I want to see a 3D Joust or Balloon Fight game.

  • Duke Nuke 'Em (Score:2, Funny)

    by mopslik ( 688435 )
    I hear a sequel is already in the works, and is due anytime now...
    • If duke4ever is going to be as good as duke3D is, then it is worth the wait. I'm only worried that I might have died of old age before it's released. I mean I'm 23 now, I've got at most 80 years left so it's going to be tight.

  • Magic Carpet, Freespace, and my additions (Score:3, Interesting)

    by WidescreenFreak ( 830043 ) on Thursday August 25, 2005 @07:17PM (#13402904) Homepage Journal
    "Magic Carpet" is still one of the best games around. Fully-deformable terrain with terrain morphing, topology that was actually made of rolling hills and valleys, instead of boring polygonal plains with suddenly-jutting mountains, full 640x480 resolution (which was astounding for its time since there was no 3D acceleration), almost totally dynamic gameplay, difficult puzzles, reasonable AI particularly when your opponents decide to gang up on you ... even the fun of the hokey "Magic Eye" 3D stereo effects and the red/blue anaglyph 3D effects. My God, that game was just incredible. And sadly, there really has not been any game like it. I specifically built a 350 MHz system running PC-DOS 7.0 and SloMo earlier this year in order to play the game again. (Windows 3.1 with Netscape 4.07 and full TCP/IP connectivity with DHCP just for the hell of it, too. Laugh all you want, but it's f**king FAST!!)

    I don't understand why the Bullfrog team, who went to other projects after EA dissolved the company, didn't try to continue their game series, even if they were under different names to avoid copyright issues. Bullfrog was to the 486/Pentium gaming world what Epyx and Activision were to the C64 world - almost every game could be considered an instant classic.

    I also have to agree with "Freespace". "Freespace 2" did have its weaknesses, but when it came to graphics and gameplay, it was a great game to play, especially over a LAN.

    A few that were left off the list:
    • "Sam and Max". Okay, game companies. Lucas doesn't own the rights to it any more. Will someone PLEASE talk to Steve Purcell about getting a "Sam and Max" sequel out?!
    • "Max Payne". I confess -- "Max Payne 2" isn't all that old, but I loved both games. Even of there are no extra functionalities to a third release, I'll still buy it in a heartbeat.
    • "No One Lives Forever". Fun to play. Great level design. Babe who has no problems kicking ass. A hell of a lot of funny lines. What more needs to be said?
  • Space Quest
    Transport Tycoon
    Afterburner (the sega flight sim)
    Sentinel Worlds Future Magic
    Kid Icarus
  • I definitely agree on the Freespaces. I got review copies (university paper) of both and they both passed the "dressing gown" test - I would play review games saturday morning, and if it got to late afternoon and I was still in my dressing gown and playing the game, then it was a good game.

    Unfortunately, both copies were pre-release code and I can't even get them to install any more. Anyone know of good PS2/GC alternatives?
  • I miss light gun games. The only place you can find them is arcades/movie theatres/etc, if you are lucky.

    However, they are so expensive to play at those places. I really would like to see some home games again.

    I hope with the Nintendo Revolution, they will bring back the Zapper to play with some of those classic games like Gumshoe, Hogan's Alley, Wild Gunman, and Duckhunt. :-)
  • I'd actually be a little surprised if nintendo allows another generation go by without bringing back Kid Icarus.
  • Damnit! I hate days out of the shop, I always miss the fun stuff!

    Okay, here's my list (yeah, I know, I'm talking to myself in here. Nothing new there.). ;)

    1. Below the Root
    2. Castle Wolfenstein/Beyond Castle Wolfenstein (non first person, adventure/stealth based -- thank you very much).
    3. Starflight (as mentioned below)
    4. Shenmue III (as mentioned below)
    5. Gemstone Warrior
    6. Moebius
    7. SunDog
    8. Karateka
    9. Alternate Reality
    10. Rescue Raiders

    Most of these are games from my childhood (Apple ][ and C64) that I
  • Master of Magic was a great game, and I know many people have longed for a sequel. It was a cross between Magic the Gathering and Civilization.
  • Both of these were trailblazers in polygon-based graphics. Very immersive and well thought out for their time. I wonder if their essence would be ruined by today's 3D madness.

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