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10 CLASSIC GAME FRANCHISES WHICH NEED TO BE BROUGHT BACK

25/7/2018

29 Comments

 
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Nostalgia can be a powerful aphrodisiac. How many of us can say we have never attempted to woo a potential suitor by showing them a picture of an old puppet that used to be on telly? It's for this very reason that retrogaming exists - to propagate the human species through the medium of nostalgia. 

Indeed, the unquestionable success of Sonic Mania and Sonic Mania Plus has demonstrated that old/new games can breathe fresh life into previously dead franchises, and titillate the nostalgia gland while still doing something new.

But what other dormant franchises could be revived, while still holding onto everything that we all loved first time around? I'll tell you what ones: these 10 ones. 
ROAD RASH
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EA's Road Rash was always a bit try-hard, with its "Ooooh, illegal street racing! We so edgy, and we listen to heavy rock!" vibe, but it was also this: pretty great.

After half a dozen or so games, the series finally ran out of fuel (do you see?) in 2003, with the release Road Rash: Jailbreak for the Game Boy Advance. And yet... it remains a perennial good idea; it's racing... but it's also fighting. You could hit people in the mouth with chains! 

Why has it gone away? I don't know. But I do know this: one of the few times I suffered real road rage was after a cyclist called me a "Twat" through my open car window, and I had some satsumas on the passenger seat, and I turned the car around with the full intention of finding him and throwing a satsuma at him... but then I calmed down.

I'm cool!!!!!
DESERT STRIKE
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Helicopters - more commonly known as "whirlybois" - are like cars that defy all laws of gravity. Nobody knows how they can fly, and yet... somehow they do. They're the perfect video game vehicle, given that they can hover, and spin around on the spot - just like a weird dog!

A controversial release in 1992, given its proximity to the real-life Gulf War, Desert Strike kicked off a franchise which spawned a further four releases: Jungle, Urban, Soviet and Nuclear. The last of these was released in 2000, for the N64.

It was known that EA had been working on a sixth game - Future Strike - which evolved into Future Cop: LAPD. Since then... nothing. Bring this back, yeah? We're all numbed to the horrors of war now, so it probably wouldn't be contentious. And make sure you keep the isometric graphics. 
TIMESPLITTERS
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Three games strong, the Timesplitters franchise was due to get a fourth instalment... but it has yet to materialise, and all signs suggest it never will.

Developed by breakaway members of the team responsible for the groundbreaking Goldeneye on the N64 (hasn't aged well, mind), Timesplitters' stylised shooting wasn't to everyone's taste. Still, surely a more realistic, time-travelling, shooter could work? 

Think about it; each level set during a different era, but without the ugly visuals, and a slightly more considered style of play? Basically, do a Wolfenstein, but make sure you don't do a Wolfenstein 2, and pad out the game with hours and hours of being lost in a submarine, making meaningless small-talk with boring NPCs. 
BURNOUT
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Though I learned to drive 16 or so years ago, the thrill of it has never quite gone away. In that time, I've had a few "prangs" in the car, mostly through my own inability to avoid bollards. Get this: when we went to visit the potential studio for Digitiser The Show, I even slightly scraped the front of a car that was jutting halfway out of its parking space.

I had a quick look out of my window, and saw that I hadn't marked the car, but that didn't stop some busybody van driver telling me to leave a note, and not believing there hadn't been any damage. I told him that the damaged he'd spotted was just some dirt - which I proceeded to rub off with a tissue. He still told me to leave a note, and that if I didn't he was going to tell the owner of the car.

I was so livid that it's probably just as well I didn't have any satsumas on me. 

Anyway. What were we meant to be talking about? Oh yes: Burnout. The best racing game series ever? Potentially. Why? Because of the "prangs".

And yet there hasn't been a full Burnout game since Paradise - 10 years ago - despite everyone who ever played a Burnout game wanting a new one. It seems like a guaranteed money-maker. You know: like yo mama's butt!!!!!

LOL.
COMMAND & CONQUER
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It's hard to overstate just how popular the sprawling Command & Conquer series was, until EA ballsed it up with an ill-advised, free-to-play, browser-based, experiment.

Yes, real-time strategy has fallen out of fashion - along with jorts, Yo mama jokes, and cultural appropriation - and there is a new C&C game apparently in the works for phones, but... nobody wants that. They want this: a proper, brand new, Command & Conquer. Preferably for the Switch. Also: keep the 3D graphics to a minimum, yes? They always just made it harder to play FFS.
JAK & DAXTER
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One of my most harrowing gaming experiences relates to Jak & Daxter 2. I'd almost completed the game, and then my daughter wiped my memory card so that she could save her Digimon, or something. 
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Which, frankly, more than makes up for the time I played that joke on her where you get a carrot and pretend to take a goldfish out of the tank and eat it, except that I only had tinned carrots, and instead of eating it I threw it against the wall and it splattered everywhere, and she got all hysterical and that. 

Three games, and a spin-off racer, strong, the Jak & Daxter franchise showed just how well an open world game could work, while its cartoonish graphics belied a deep, challenging, and addictive experience. Since the release of Jak 3 in 2004, Naughty Dog has focused on its Uncharted and The Last of Us series, which suggests their priority now lays elsewhere, but - for some of us - Jak & Daxter remains the best work they ever did.
DINO CRISIS
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Dinosaurs make no sense. How could things that big ever have existed? No wonder Christian fundamentalists think fossils are evidence of some sort of divine prank. Amen? They should end prayers by saying "We've been punk'd"!!!!!!!!

Basically Resident Evil with dinosaurs, Capcom's Dino Crisis sported three full games, but the series hit a brick wall when Dino Crisis 3 received mixed reviews. That's a real big shame, because the basic idea remains full of potential, and with the Jurassic Park/World movie franchise undergoing something of a renaissance, it's about time video games did dinosaurs properly.

And by "did" I don't mean... y'know.
NO ONE LIVES FOREVER 
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It is regrettable to note that first-person shoot 'em ups have rather slipped into rut of po-faced seriousness. A new game based upon The Operative: No Lives Forever and its sequel would be the perfect antidote - providing they kept the same blend of kitschy 60s humour and unique gadgets and psychedelic soundtrack.

Also: it boasted a strong female protagonist, which - again - would be a suitable counterpoint to the ongoing pervasiveness of unshaven male game characters. And Lara "The Grunter" Croft. 
STREETS OF RAGE
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Yeah, c'mon, Sega. Stop being stupid, and look at how well Sonic Mania has done. Surely, surely, after Sonic the Sega franchise everyone is most begging for to return would be Streets of Rage.

Admittedly, the third game in the series wasn't quite as good as the second, but it did have a kangaroo in it, and providing Sega stuck to the original 2D art style, and didn't get any ridiculous 3D ideas, a Streets of Rage Mania would be an massive hit.

And before you all tell me in the comments... yeah I know that Fighting Force started life as a Streets of Rage sequel. That's precisely why I mention the 3D.
HALF-LIFE
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The most achingly obvious choice on this list, but it couldn't be left out. Frankly, there are literally no good reasons why there has never been a Half-Life 3.

We know Valve has worked on it. There have been rumours about a Half-Life VR (no thanks). Valve has said it would only ever release "super classic" products, which is fair enough - they clearly suffer from some degree of performance anxiety - but c'mon... all any of us want is more of the same.  

Could somebody please slip Gabe Newell a cocktail of beta-blockers and viagra?

Now press reveal to see a satsuma, or "easy peeler".
REVEAL:
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COME ON, KIDS: SEND AN EMAIL TO THE DIGITISER FRIDAY LETTERS PAGE:
digitiser2000@gmail.com

29 Comments
MrPSB
25/7/2018 10:29:00 am

I want Bungo Bungo Cat Throw to come back :(

Reply
Johnny
25/7/2018 10:30:54 am

Excellent article, Mr Biffo!

I agree with most of the choices and I REALLY agree with Road Rash and Burnout - more please! I loved Road Rash Jailbreak, though reviewers seem to have thought it was 'average' (but what do they know??). Burnout 3 was also spectacular - the best of that series (I remember thinking Takedown was a bit more tedious - something to do with getting away with skittling nearly every vehicle in the game or something).

Anyway, once again, top work!

Reply
Random Reviewer
25/7/2018 09:09:57 pm

You might enjoy the recent indie release Road Revenge. A fairly decent game along the Road Rash style.

Reply
Stephen Botting
25/7/2018 10:45:15 am

I liked the Burnout games where you had to cause as much damage as possible at junctions rather than the ones with racing elements.

Anyway my list would include;
Destruction Derby
Twisted Metal
Streets of Rage
Dragon Force (although 1 was only released in the west)
Duke Nukem
Half Life
C&C
Advance Wars
Dragon Age (unless a sequel has been announced ive not heard about) and
Syphon Filter

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MENTALIST
25/7/2018 10:49:28 am

I keep hoping Advance Wars will be announced as one of Nintendo's mobile phone projects.

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foofly
26/7/2018 12:46:15 pm

I don't play mobile games really, but I'd play they heckings out of that.

Wrist Flapper
26/7/2018 05:25:06 am

For Duke Nukem related funtimes, you'll be wanting to take a look at Ion Maiden. Yes you will.

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MENTALIST
25/7/2018 10:46:37 am

No-One Lives Forever is a franchise apparently in legal limbo, since noone is able to identify who owns the rights to it.

Old franchise resurrection merchants Nightdive tried to get hold of it, but were forced to abandon the project.

Monoloth, the dev team behind it are now wholly owned by Warner Bros, and have been wrking exclusively on WB properties for the last few years, most notably the LOTR "Shadows of" games. Probably the best one could hope for was that they could create a new comedy spy game based on a high profile Warners property.

A quick search would reveal Get Smart, The Man from UNCLE and The Avengers (the Diana Rigg one) as potential franchises. The latter is supposedly being revived as a TV series by Shane Black, so lets all keep our fingers crossed for a bit of corporate synergy that works in our favour.

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Ste Pickford
25/7/2018 10:50:36 am

A lot of EA games in that list!

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Chris
26/7/2018 04:29:33 pm

From the days when EA used to release decent games, rather than just FIFA 83632 or whatever they're up to now.

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Mark M
25/7/2018 10:50:44 am

Helicopters don't fly; they just beat the air into submission.

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RG
25/7/2018 11:04:41 am

Somebody is going to mention Road Redemption being a spiritual successor to Road Rash. They'll probably also mention that it's apparently being ported onto the PS4, Xbox and Switch. So I won't bother.

What I will say is that EA own at least 4 of those franchises. You'd think they didn't like money. Or that they really like money and can't think of a way to excessively fleece punters with these titles.

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Evil Picard link
25/7/2018 11:06:35 am

A new PC version of Crimson Skies with lots of multiplayer dogfighting and barnstorming please.

Reply
Mark M
25/7/2018 11:21:49 am

Ahhh that was fun on the MSN Gaming Zone. Fun times along with MechWarrior 4.

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John
25/7/2018 11:16:10 am

We need a sequel to Desert Strike set in Thatcher’s Britain... Miner’s Strike.

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bozo
25/7/2018 11:28:55 am

Ive been waiting for Hired Guns to make a comeback as an on-rails FPS since day

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Lummox60N
25/7/2018 11:51:40 am

WHERE'S HORACE?
Render him in 3D, shamelessly rip-off popular games of the moment, job's a good un.
"Horace's Uncharted Grand Theft Assassin's Bioshock vs. Halo Zombies" for instance.

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Trevor Cod
25/7/2018 12:15:42 pm

I do know that helicopters don't use any petrol when they fly over water.

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DD
25/7/2018 01:26:25 pm

C&C yes, but first we need another DUNE game.
Emperor was such a long time ago and Dune 2 was my childhood.

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Marro
27/7/2018 05:09:13 am

Dune 2 was a RTS milestone. But I loved the first Dune game on Amiga. It was an ambitious mix of point and click adventure and strategy that stayed very close to the steampunk David Lynch film (which I've always been obsessed with - never read the book).
Apparently Denis Villeneuve is making a new film of Dune so you never know...

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Bryan
25/7/2018 01:35:08 pm

Hahaha biffo buys satsumas in nets! Sad!

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Nick
25/7/2018 05:54:40 pm

I'm not sure one game constitutes a franchise but, as ever, Skies of Arcadia, Skies of Arcadia, Skies of Arcadia, Skies of Arcadia.

And... I think of got a way round Sega being mainly shit now. Get whoever is doing the Yakuza remakes on the job, they seem pretty good.

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Terry Fuckwitt link
25/7/2018 07:28:46 pm

Can't stop laughing at the carrots. Thought I'd share that with you all.

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Matty link
25/7/2018 08:46:06 pm

Still waiting for the next two games in the Siege of Earth trilogy

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James Walker link
25/7/2018 11:42:29 pm

It's kinda a game franchise, but I'd love to see a proper fps Robocop game, or just a current gen Robocop game.

I heard the last one was crap. I wouldn't even consider playing the game of the remake.
You idiots.

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Fruit fibs
27/7/2018 09:31:49 am

'Easy-peel satsumas' must be the biggest lie since the time I bought a 'Two Ball Screwball' from the local scoopy and it had only one Ball and when I complained the scoopy he told me to fuck off, adding that I was "a little fucker".

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evilscrappydoo link
27/7/2018 11:36:16 am

Chuckie Egg, Chase HQ, Paradroid and Uridium.

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Kelvin Green link
27/7/2018 12:56:46 pm

TURRICAN!

There is Gun Lord on the Dreamcast, but that doesn't really help.

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Bonedancer
30/7/2018 12:55:31 pm

My Streets of Rage itch has been scratched by:

Streets of Rage Remake - a fan project taking SOR 1, 2 and 3 and... smushing them together. All the characters, all the levels, all the music lovingly recreated. Feels and plays almost exactly like the originals, but bigger and better. You can unlock new characters, play as the bosses, change the rules on super moves, etc etc. SAY-GARRR hit it with a cease and desist about a week after it was finished, but you can probably find it if you have a look around the internets.

Fight'N'Rage - Explicitly inspired by Final Fight and Streets of Rage, as the name might suggest, it features three characters (a fast weak one, a strong slow one, and - spoilers - a medium one) with an extensive moveset; specials, parrying, air attacks, grappling, throwing as part of a combo, etc etc. I'm not completely crazy about the art style - large pixel sprites, anthropomorphic animal enemies, and DoA style heaving bosoms on all the female characters - but control is tight and whilst it's initially unforgiving as you start to grasp it you can pull off some really impressive combos.
It's on Steam, and is probably on other game stores as well if you do not care for Gaben's diabolical construct.

Reply



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