Make more old games new

Everyone complains that there is nothing original happening in movies. It’s just remaking old films with bigger budgets and better special effects. The same can be said for video games, but remakes aren’t a bad idea…if they’re done right.

Ever since I got my Xbox 360 a little over a year ago and discovered the awesomeness that is the Xbox Live Arcade, the console has pretty much become an download-only arcade machine. I have 45 games living on my Xbox as downloadables compared to less than a dozen retail box games. The download games are usually cheap, well put together, and fun to play…albeit short lived. And some of my favorite titles are remakes of classic titles I love or even just outright ports from one platform to another.

I don’t need new if the old is still fun

Some of my most frequently played games are rethinkings of classics…like Pac-Man CE, Galaga Legions, and Alien Breed. Others are just direct ports of games, like OutRun, Tron, and others now found in the Game Room. All of them were less than $15 and provide me with bite-sized arcade fun…but I want more.

Galaga Legions, a beautiful update to a classic

I’m a big fan of the “update a classic” treatment games get, where they take a classic, add a few new features, add on-line play, and jack the graphics up to the 21st century. It’s like playing the games they way they were “supposed” to be way back then. Kind of like all the superhero movies out now…technology has finally caught up with imagination. Spider-Man and Iron Man have never looked better on film…same goes for Galaga and 1942 that have never looked better either.

The short list of choices

There is a short list of games I would love to see reborn on the 360 and made available and small, affordable DLC games. And I don’t want just ports of these games, some titles just don’t work when taken out of their original arcade environment. For these games I want updates. New graphics, new features, new imagining…make it awesome. And if you know your games, you’ll go through this list and instantly have a vision in your head of how they could be made awesome.

• 

  Trap Gunner, Bomberman tricked out

  Road Rash
  This is motorcycle racing with weapons. It (and its sequels) was released several times on several different consoles but most of those were even just ports. Someone needs to bring back the pain of Mad Max style motorcycle fighting. Make it on-line 4-player and lets get it on!

• Trap Gunner
  This is the game you probably haven’t heard of. It was a Playstation title that I copied from a local gaming hut. It took the premise of Bomberman and turned it up a notch with character types and various bombs (traps) that you could set for the other player. Even defusing a bomb turned into a quick button sequence mini-game. An update of Trap Gunner would be insane on-line fun with a herd of people.
• Smash TV
  This is already on XBLA as a direct arcade port, which has its charms but how about we upgrade this sucker? Yes, the 2-player, dual-stick, kill everything game has been done to death…but this is Smash TV! Dress this up a bit even more along the lines of The Running Man and Rollerball and you have a nice little action game. Introduce some challenges with kill sequences and chains or something. A redo of Smash TV is more about the little things.
• Daytona USA
  

  Captain Skyhawk, ripe for a remake

  I’m surprised this isn’t already in the Arcade as a straight port. Sega arcade games are some of the best, and frankly, I’d be happy if they were all ported…but if you’re going to go to the trouble, why not give it new life? Update the looks and increase multiplayer madness. Make it even faster! Just keep it an arcade game and avoid any sort of “simulation” mode…we have Forza and Gran Turismo for that stuff.

• Captain Skyhawk. Maybe I’m the only one that loved this game on the NES, but it was harder than it looked. It was basic but a lot of fun. Jack this title up with some 3D goodness, some speed, achievements, and an on-line race mode…or maybe co-op? Another “generic” game that could be dressed up and be a lot of fun.

The possibilities are endless

Do I wish there would be more new, original games? Sure, but if the industry is going to continue to look back for inspiration, why not just repaint the shed? It’ll be cheaper to develop and it can introduce a whole library of games time has forgotten. The Xbox 360 is the best arcade around, so lets get some new arcade games…even if they’re just old games. Fun is fun.

Word from the wise

“You see? TV audiences don’t want anything original. They wanna see the same thing they’ve seen a thousand times before… Trust me on this. While other people were out living their lives, I wasted mine watching TV, because deep down I knew it might one day help me save the world. Plus, I would have lost my Workman’s Comp if I hadd gone outside.”