Unless you’re not a gamer or a gamer that’s been living under a rock the last few months, you’ll have seen the commotion that the recent The Last of Us: Part 1 remaster caused when it was announced and then released.
Considered nothing but a cash grab by many fans, it was another in a long series of remakes and remasters of older games, with most fans deriding the decision to bring it to the current generation. With news that it wasn’t just a graphical overhaul, but updated gameplay and performance to boot, it fetched the hefty full price tag brand new games are usually sold for, another decision fans were unhappy with. That said, it seems to have prevailed with a considerable amount of positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
Since the gaming industry is seemingly going full swing into their remakes and remasters much like Hollywood is focusing on sequels and franchises, it seems like a good time to discuss five other games that need similar treatment to bring yesteryear’s best games to the present with a fresh lick of paint and updated gameplay.
Fallout 3
Released in 2008 by Bethesda, Fallout 3 would have been a lot of people’s first foray into the post-apocalyptic world the series is set in. To this day, even with multiple sequels after it, it’s still considered by many to be the best of the series, and for good reason.
Leaving the safety of Vault 101 and seeing the wasteland for the first time was an awe-inspiring experience, one that has stuck with me some fourteen years later. Exploring the ruins of Washington D.C and unearthing all manner of different stories, characters, and missions to interact with never got boring, and the thought and detail put into the world was groundbreaking for its time.
Updated graphics and gameplay would allow a lot of people to experience the world in its best way, whether it’d be their first playthrough or their tenth. Plus, we’d all like to see a more realistic explosion when we choose to blow up Megaton.
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Metal Gear Solid
One of the few franchises that have been going for multiple console generations, the first Metal Gear Solid on the PS1, itself an update to the old side-scrolling version, would fill a huge hole in modern-day stealth gaming.
Released in 1998 by Konami and the brainchild of the brilliant Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid is equal parts stealth game and mind-bending cinematic game. The series as a whole is known for its long-cut scenes and out-of-time storytelling, with each entry to the series seemingly adding to the story of the previous, or starting something that’ll be filled in at a later date.
Unfortunately due to the issues between Kojima and Konami, it is incredibly unlikely we’ll ever be able to jump into a box before fighting Psycho Mantis again.
Super Mario 64
One of the best games on the Nintendo 64, if not the best, and arguably still the greatest iteration of a Mario game some twenty years later. It’s unfair to say the game hasn’t aged well, as it was pushing the N64 to the max at the time. Running around a variety of different worlds collecting those elusive gold stars was always fun, discussing strategies for hard-to-beat bosses or difficult levels with friends, that dopamine hit and getting the last star, etc. Why wouldn’t you want this to be remastered to the current gen, with similar gameplay and updated graphics? Let me relive my childhood!
The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Perhaps one of the most requested remasters of any generation, The Simpsons: Hit & Run brought together television’s most popular animated family with the gameplay of Grand Theft Auto. Driving around Springfield as one of the family causing family-friendly havoc was always a good time.
It’s been teased for years and fans have shown off their own concepts for what a remaster could be, but there’s still no official announcement regarding an updated version of the game. Perhaps it’ll never happen, but if it does, it’ll be a popular remaster, certainly compared to The Last of Us: Part I.
Silent Hill 1 & 2
One of the most terrifying games to have landed on the original Playstation, the first two Silent Hill games managed to keep its fans playing whilst continually scaring them out of their skin. The infamous Pyramid Head appeared in the second installment and quickly became a fan favorite, Using the technical limitations of the consoles they were on uniquely, they portrayed the fog in the town as its own character, oppressing and always hiding something much worse, it was always uncomfortable walking somewhere you couldn’t see, probably towards something you didn’t want to.
Resident Evil has proven to have great success with its remakes, as unsurprisingly horror games benefit from updated graphics and sound, and it’s fair to predict the same would happen with these two games as well.
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