Remake My Heart

For many years now, PC gamers have urged ye beloved developer of olde LucasArts to return to their pristine form. Their form that developed such games as Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, LOOM, and many others. By outsourcing development to Telltale Games, they have done exactly that, with Tales of Monkey Island. They did it themselves moreso with Monkey Island: Special Edition, a direct remake of their classic Secret of Monkey Island.

I’ve been part of Internet gaming communities for a little over ten years now. I began around the time that LucasArts “abandoned” their classic adventure game franchises for the ever-popular Star Wars. Ever since that time, I’ve seen literally hundreds, maybe even thousands of pleas from fans to revisit their old games. Ten years later, they finally did.

This got me thinking. If LucasArts can be persuaded by their fans… why can’t other developers be the same? Blizzard hopped on the “remake” train last summer when they announced sequels for StarCraft and Diablo. Just two years ago, EA revisited their Command & Conquer franchise and brought us four new games in that short timespan, with another confirmed one on the way. It seems like this train is just getting started.

Gobliiins 4, unfortunately, suffered from “bad remakeitis.”

So far I’ve melded two definitions together, “remake” and “sequel.” And while there’s clearly two common denotations applied to each, I feel the two should be intertwined. This can be justified when we take into account older games; while this supposed new game in the series is an addition to that series, it’s, in essence, a remake of the previous games. This may be confusing to most, as the common rationale to gamers regarding remakes is a “direct remake” of a game. Taking that game and basically updating it. While that is true, if you look at the semantics behind game development, sequels are actually “remakes” in their own right. The point of a sequel is to build upon an already established game. So, this sequel “remakes” what’s best about that game, and arguably, betters it.

A fairly recent example of a game-sequel-gone-wrong comes from Société Pollene; the fourth game in the revered Gobliiins series. Back in the day, the Gobliiins games were top-notch adventure games, with a unique (at the time) mechanic of controlling more than one character, each with special abilities. The first two games were staples of my young gaming childhood in 1993, and are ones I continually replay over the years. The aforementioned fourth game in the series is abysmal: it does everything wrong; outdated graphics, lackluster puzzles, and overall game production reminiscent of the early 2000s.

I feel Gobliiins 4 could have been a good game if it stayed true to its predecessors utilizing the characteristics I’ve previously mentioned; so, in essence, a remake. It’s rather unfortunate that this game mishandled the factors that made the previous games so great, and it’s very likely we’ll never see a fifth game in the series. A fantastic sequel that I consider a remake is one I previously noted: Command & Conquer 3. This game did everything right in terms of a proper sequel; retaining the core gameplay from its predecessors, while applying modern gaming standards onto that core gameplay. Which made for a fantastic sequel to the long running series. The same can’t be said of Gobliiins 4.

So what are the keys to a successful remake? I feel it’s relative to the series to which the remake/sequel belongs. Each game series has their own special points. For example, System Shock has its Gibson-esque cyberpunk universe, and Master of Orion has unique and balanced races to play as. Leisure Suit Larry has crude humor, and Neverwinter Nights has Dungeons & Dragons as its backbone. I think it’s down to these key distinctions between games. What those key distinctions are, as said, are dependent upon the individual games. Crysis depends on graphics, while F.E.A.R depends on non-player character artificial intelligence.

Now with all that said, let me share with you what I feel would be the best games (that I’ve had the privilege of playing, of course) to be remade.

Bring me updated demonic settings!

HeXen

Name the last time we had a game even remotely close in nature to HeXen. Excluding HeXen 2, it’s a very hard question to answer now, isn’t it? I think the only game that can be classified as HeXen-like as of late is Painkiller. And even that’s really pushing it. The combination of the atmosphere and first-person shooter/puzzle gameplay I think would mend well to today’s gaming. HeXen 3 would probably win my Game of the Year award if it was ever to be made.

Outlaws

Wild West FPS games are such an unexpected niche sub-genre that it’s very surprising. I’d assume games based off the precedent of spaghetti western films involving extreme violence and killing would make for one fantastic game. LucasArts set their mind on that when they made Outlaws. It’d be awesome to see another cel-shaded PC game, especially when it’s set in the Old West.

Wing Commander

I miss space games. With DirectX 10-era graphics, and this renaissance of FMV games, it’d be totally appropriate to see a new WC game. And Mark Hamill needs work.

Let us hope that LucasArts is the beginning of a beautiful reunion with all the games that made our hearts of yesteryear. Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.