Every now and then, Gamestyle looks at some of the games from years past, and wishes to play them again. Sometimes we do, on retro hardware, but feel that some areas could be improved upon with new technology. The recent re-imaginings of Prince of Persia (well the first one at least) and Ninja Gaiden are excellent examples of what happens when an ageing franchise is updated for the new millennium. Though admittedly some franchises are better left to memory (Altered Beast), we at Gamestyle are glad they at least get the chance to be updated. However, there are still plenty of franchises from the past that we would love to see given new life; plenty of old games that could be re-imagined into new ones, keeping the same style and playability intact, but with new avenues explored too. We would therefore like to present our list of most-wanted updates / sequels to our most fondly remembered titles...Blast Corps. - N64Blast Corps was a game whose premise was so simple, it couldn't help but be enjoyable. "Here's an indestructible vehicle, there's some buildings, have fun" - and thus we did. And what fun it was. Oh sure, there was a plot involving a nuclear missile carrying truck going haywire and it'll explode if it hits something, but frankly, once you started playing, it was easy enough to forget the story, as the destruction took centre stage. Somersaulting through factories, smashing down windmills with a dump truck, and - our personal favourite - using the rear end of a rocket powered Mech to literally (what we have affectionately dubbed) "butt-bomb" sky scrapers into oblivion. It was mindless destruction at its best. However, it also had some strategy to it: sometimes missions would require you to transport your vehicles by train or crane in order to complete them. Some missions allowed you to pick which vehicle(s) was the most suitable for the job, as well as providing the odd impassable obstacle to overcome.Sadly, looking back at the game now, the N64 does not do the wonderful premise justice. Sound effects were limited to bleeps and cartoony explosions; for example, when using the J-Bomb Mech, when activating the vehicles "power" (the previously mentioned "butt-bomb"), a loud laser firing sound was heard. Far be it from Gamestyle to be an expert on fictional robots, but we don't expect them to make laser noises when crunching a building under its rear end. Also, despite being impressive for its time, the game's graphics haven't aged well at all. Environments are bland, some of the vehicles look unconvincing and the sense of scale is constantly changing. And the music is just plain horrible.Now imagine if you will, the same game, but with all the power granted by today's modern consoles. Imagine a sprawling metropolis, teeming with life, the lights of a skyscraper twinkling like jewels in the night, cars and pedestrians moving, living out their lives. But unaware of the 20ft tall robot with two massive jet engines strapped to its back about to slam into the top of a skyscraper and reduce a 100ft square area to a memory. Or perhaps they were too busy trying to avoid the bulldozer careening through the nearby airport, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. Gamestyle also imagines a multiplayer mode, where players can either work together to destroy for destruction's sake, or compete to see who can win in the ultimate destruction derby.Unfortunately, Gamestyle has just realised that a Blast Corps remake will probably never surface into today's post 9/11 world. It's a shame that political correctness will stop a brilliant and damned fun game being made. Mind you, that never stopped Grand Theft Auto.Fur Fighters - DreamcastIt's a game, Jim, but not as we know it. Fur Fighters just won't let itself be bullied into being part of any one genre, nor does it even have the decency to be a kids' game after regaling us with cel-shaded graphics and fluffy animals.A port from the Dreamcast version, but now with character voices and a couple of extra levels, Fur Fighters is unapologetically silly and pleasantly challenging. You play as the gestalt entity that lends its name to the game: a squadron of elite animal warriors who look sweet and harmless but carry more than enough hardware to raze anyone who points this out to them. The six teamsters each have a unique skill that means you sometimes have to control a particular member, but otherwise you are free to play with your favourite. Rufus the dog can dig tunnels, Bungalow the kangaroo can leap higher than his comrades, Chang the firefox can squeeze into diminutive apertures, Juliet the cat can scale some vertical surfaces, Rico the penguin can swim underwater and little Tweek the baby Welsh dragon can glide. Tweek is filling in for his mother, who normally is the Fur Fighter on behalf of the land of the leeks but has been captured by evil mastermind General Viggo, along with Tweeks siblings and the babies and spouses of the other Fighters. Though the setup may be the generic 'rescue the fair princess or equivalent from the nasty man' so familiar to gamers, you'll learn pretty early on that this game is far from orthodox. This is immediately apparent from the fact that you are guided in your quest by the spirit of a walrus (who'll say things like "There are better outlets than me for all that aggression, you know" and "Do you want me to draw you a picture of what you should be shooting at?" should you accidentally bust a cap in him). Not long after that, you'll also encounter rocket-launching peac**ks and a flamingo who challenges you to a game of basketball. It's a safe wager that this is also the only game in which you have to arm-wrestle a beaver, fly out of a dinosaur's nose and play as one of your own fleas.Basically, this game is as much a shoot-'em-up as Grand Theft Auto is a driving game. You'll find yourself platforming and solving puzzles with gay abandon in between plugging enemies with increasingly colourful guns. When you pick up an upgraded weapon, you still keep the original one, because bigger isn't always better in this game. In exemplis, the pistol is your starting weapon and its recoil time is rather poor. However, its range is superior to that of the sub-machine gun and heavy machine gun you'll pick up later, so you'll still be grateful for it. You'll also pick up the obligatory shotgun, the (disappointingly rubbish) grenade-launcher, and rocket-launcher. This last boomstick is especially magnificent once you unlock the rocket-cam, which switches the camera's point of view to just behind the rocket as it chases the panicked enemy. Also to pick up are flamethrowers (wielded by deadly flying cows as well as by you), plasma lances and smartbombs, and so it quickly gets giggle-worthy.A fine, rare and original game indeed, despite its appalling lip-synch and strange controls (although hats off to the fact that you can choose between FPS-like controls and platformer-like controls), and one that is well-deserving of a sequel.Rocket: Robot on Wheels - N64While pondering over which games needed remaking, we didn't want to totally concentrate on big name franchises of yesteryear; instead we felt like slotting in a game that not everybody will be familiar with. So, amidst the more obvious choices, we decided that a sequel/remake to Rocket: Robot on Wheels, the largely overlooked N64 platformer, was needed. Gaining a Gamestyle 9/10, what other game lets you control a no-limbed robot who uses a wheel to navigate levels and a tractor beam for hands?Released in 1999 and From Sucker Punch (the guys who would be later known for Sly Racoon), Rocket was a marvel of platforming brilliance. From the zany worlds (the entire game took place in a futuristic theme park) and the innovative puzzles, to the excellent controls - it remains one of the N64's premier platform games; something that is all the more disheartening considering the fact that only about five people experienced its delights.That's the reason why a remake is necessary; the game never reached a large amount of people and, because of this, the only two N64 platformers people talk about are Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. No doubt, those are two great games, but Rocket deserves a mention alongside them. Maybe with the backing of a big name publisher it can get some recognition on the next generation of consoles. Sure, the original was published by Ubi Soft, but back then they were a long way away from the godlike gameplay of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, instead releasing the likes of Tonic Trouble (another platformer, but one that came without any redeeming qualities).With its unusual humour and great character style a sequel could only fall to the hands of Capcom. Imagine a game mixing the visual style of Viewtiful Joe and Killer 7, not to mention to superb gameplay of the original, and you have a recipe for success. Capcom have also proven that they're no stranger to producing unusual games that step away from the normality of other titles. Obviously Capcom is a company that won't care if a remake of Rocket doesn't set the charts on fire, after all they always have their well cemented franchises to fall back on. Without lots of guns, explosions and an EA badge of mainstream approval, it may still not reach the number 1 spot of the charts, but it sure won't be the financial disaster of the original. Unfortunately, a remake/sequel is unlikely, but never say never, and Gamestyle hopes that Rocket will roll again.Streets of Rage - Sega MegadriveThe side-scrolling beat 'em up: two players versus wave after wave of enemies; weapon pick-ups, end-of-level bosses, special attacks. If you've ever played such a game, images are no doubt running through your head now. Often a favourite at arcades, side-scrolling beat 'em ups also found a place in the home, too. Streets of Rage was one such game on Sega's Megadrive and, with two controllers firmly plugged in, it offered a thrilling dose of co-operative arcade action.But that was then, and this is now. "Side-scrolling" is a defunct term in the world of three dimensions, polygons and bump-mapping; and so the genre essentially died when the hardware did, taking Streets of Rage with it (though not before it fired off a couple of sequels - with varying success). Beat 'em ups continued, but with rotational cameras and lock-on combat, many examples simply lack the required form to be considered spiritual successors, which leaves Gamestyle with an empty void in its heart.What would a modern remake of Streets of Rage need to be creatively successful? For a start, it needs co-operative play; there's no reason why we can't have four players joining in simultaneously. This means that the viewpoint needs to be fixed; this in itself would be a blessing for Gamestyle (who, over the years, has had to put up with some truly terrible moving camera systems). A Streets of Rage remake would be modelled in 3D, but take place along a scrolling stage, with the view primarily looking at the characters from the side. In busier sections, the camera could zoom out to show incoming enemies. The next generation of consoles is already bragging about how many simultaneous characters it can render on screen at once - let's see what it could do here. We could have a truly lively brawling game - the likes of which 'The Bouncer' could only dream of.Equally important, though, is that the Streets of Rage character, music and style remain intact. Each new level would need its own sense of style and musical score to accompany it. Enemy characters would need to be instantly recognisable from their appearance alone (enabling you to predict what they will do before they attack), and the boss characters would need to portray that foreboding sense of imminent danger. New technology should also allow the destruction of surrounding props, and maybe even allow you to make your own weapons out of pieces of debris (pipes, metal shards, etc.). Finally, co-operative play should be given a boost: allow all four players to combine attacks, hold enemies down, swing each other around and push each other out of (or into, if you're so inclined) danger.Ultimately it doesn't matter if we get the continued adventures of Axel, Adam, Blaze and whoever... four characters sent to clean up the city scum, fist-fighting their way through gangs and thugs, is all we need and want. Whether we'll get such a thing is another matter, but the idea could at least be realised in a unique way that would stand out from the crowd, and the reputation of the name alone would be enough to secure it many sales.Panzer Dragoon Saga - SaturnPanzer Dragoon Saga is a game most people have heard of but few have played. Coming out late in the life of the Saturn it was mainly ignored by the buying public. It was common to see copies going cheap until mysteriously it disappeared from shelves only to reappear some time later at the now inflated prices we see on various auction sites. Since then somewhat of a gaming legend has formed around the game. However Panzer Dragoon Saga is a game that deserves all the admiration it now gets in abundance.Taking the silky smooth shooting elements from the previous two titles and replacing them with an RPG combat system may seem a strange idea. But the combat system implemented in Saga is the one of the most natural systems ever to be placed into the confines of a turn based RPG- at times it almost seems like real time combat due to the grace and elegance each battle presents. The fluidity is such that it often appears practically identical to its on rails shooting stable mates, except here there is no button hammering and combat occurs in the usual manner of random encounters.The games pedigrees is unquestionable, and were it not for a certain other turn based RPG that made its way onto the Playstation this would be the yard stick by which all others are judged. The only criticism that could be levelled at the title is that it is too ambitious for the technology of the time. The areas in Panzer Dragoon Saga are constructed in full 3D with a 360 degree field of vision. This means that draw distances are fairly short.Imagine the title running on the Panzer Dragoon Orta engine and the thought of a remake becomes almost jaw droopingly obvious. Truly with the power of the next generation of consoles a world full of dragons, valleys and beautiful landscapes stretching as far as the eye could see coupled with the all ready perfect combat system, could do nothing but produce the most glorious RPG the gaming world has ever seen.Contact Sam Cruise - SpectrumIt would be so easy and lazy to pluck an obvious remake contender from the wondrous Spectrum era. Elite, Manic Miner, Skool Daze or any number of Ultimate releases should join the next generation. However Contact Sam Cruise is arguably the finest title from the Microsphere vaults and certainly the most ambitious.The game was way ahead of its time and shunned the platform and shooting elements, that were so popular on the Spectrum. Instead it took its cue from Skool Daze and went in a totally different direction with the template. You took the role of a private eye (in classic film noir style) Sam Cruise, who had taken on the case of the Bali Budgie a case that soon goes wrong. The side-on viewpoint allowed you to see what was happening on the street, while you were searching an apartment, or avoiding the police or local mobster. This was one of the first games to portray a world (or in this case a town) within a computer game. Add on a splendid and funny storyline, some fiendish puzzles and you had a memorable game. Also unique was the the fact Sam had ten lives, allowing you to learn from your mistakes and engage situations again in an almost Groundhog Day style.What would a remake deliver if released on the next generation? Obviously the visuals would reinforce the virtual world, and allow for some more wonderful puzzles. It would be difficult to deliver such a wonderful and funny story, as so many releases are bland in this respect today, but the Broken Sword series shows it can be done. The good ideas in the original could be expanded, making use of more clues, the ability to earn and spend cash, along with more phone calls. Spending time in jail and the use of disguises were all in the original, and could again be expanded in a new version to great effect. The strength of the original would shine through on any new generation version.The Immortal - Sega MegadriveProbably one of the nastiest, scariest, goriest, hardest role playing games (RPGs) on the Sega Megadrive - and it was published by EA. How things change. From the moment you took control of your wizard (cut straight from the Gandalf crop) the game made it clear it wasnt going to ease you into things slowly. Take one step towards the exit of the tiny cell you find yourself in (your very first button press in fact) and the stone floor would erupt as a giant Dune-style worm rose from the depths to devour you. Game Over. Next attempt you gingerly pick your way around the outside of the cell to the exit, a lesson learned: this game was out to get you.The next surprise was the combat, which (rather than being a turn based affair popularised by Japanese RPGs) featured intricate control of your character allowing blocking, dodging and a variety of Mortal Kombat style gory finishing moves all in real time. Gamestyle will never forget the first time we saw our hunched old wizard rear up and bring his glowing staff down upon an Ork opponents head, causing skull fragments and brain giblets to fire in all directions. Awesome. Add to that the eerie music, intriguing plot, spell-casting and fiendishly difficult puzzles - and you have the recipe for a fine Western dungeon crawler.Bringing The Immortal kicking and screaming into the 21st century then would hopefully remove the control restrictions of a digital pad and replace the overhead grid based navigation with a fully realised 3D world. It would deliver those jump out of your seat moments in high definition widescreen with digital surround sound and embellish the characters with voice acting and facial animation. More than any of these things though, by sticking to its original design, a modern day Immortal would give console owners their Diablo, and then some. Hack and Slash horror, magic and item collection but with combat vastly improved on the point and click genre staple. Who in their right mind could resist that heady c**ktail? EA, are you listening?
You might also like to check out 2007 Disappointments for the Gamestyle.