GregHowley.com

Game Franchises that Need to Make a Comeback

May 1, 2008 -

Game franchises have become like movie sequels, and more often than not, hearing about a game sequel gets a groan out of me. I don't need Cooking Mama 3, Postal 3, or Twisted Metal 6 any more than I needed Scary Movie 4, Mission Impossible 3, or Leprechaun 5. But even though many sequels are terrible, there are some I'd like to see.

Of course I'm looking forward quite a bit to Starcraft 2 and Fallout 3, and I'll be happy once details are announced about Resident Evil 5 and Final Fantasy XIII. But these are titles we know are coming. On the other side of the coin are Psychonauts 2 or Beyond Good and Evil 2, which may never happen. The games on my list below are probable, but I've heard nothing solid about any of them.

  1. Thief - Although I could never get into the original Thief or Thief 2: The Metal Age, I absolutely loved Thief: Deadly Shadows, which was the third game in the franchise. They'd be insane to not put out a fourth title in the series. At this point, I'd expect it to be released on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. There have been a lot of rumors, but nothing solid.
  2. Mechwarrior - It's been a long time now since the release of the latest Mechwarrior title back in 2002, and the series dates back to 1989. Although there's been a long gap, I'd be surprised if there was never a fifth game in the series. Googling tells me that the latest news is from 2003, where IGN tells us that Mechwarrior 5 is canceled. But the Mechwarrior series was so much better than games like Battlefield 2142 and Chrome Hounds. The customization process was brilliant - the chassis you purchased would only allow a certain amount of space and weight, and you had to add heat sinks to counteract the heat produced by the weapons you'd bought. Energy weapons didn't need ammo, but created a lot of heat, and thus you used your weight on extra heat sinks. Autoguns and other mass driver weapons needed a lot of space and weight for ammo, which could explode if hit by enemy fire. Plus - you can run out of ammo. And missiles were great, but weighed a lot for what you got. I loved configuring mechs.
  3. Fatal Frame - I've never even played any of the Fatal Frame games, but I do like survival horror. As I understand it, the premise of these games is essentially that you enter a haunted house with a camera. A magic camera. It can kill ghosts. Your film is your ammo, and better film does more damage. Anyway, I'd like to give the games a try, but Fatal Frame 2 is rare, and is currently selling for more than my car is worth.
  4. Castlevania - I've been a fan of the Castlevania series ever since I saw Castlevania 3 on the NES over my cousin's house when we were kids. But other than handheld versions, it's been a long time since I've seen a true Castlevania title. Just recently, Konami has registered the name "Order of Ecclesia". A new Castlevania would likely be released on either Playstation 3 or Wii, and I've got both consoles, so bring it on.
  5. Diablo - Blizzard has just acquired the Diablo3.com domain name, but there's been no official announcement. I played through the original Diablo on the Playstation 1, and while I enjoyed it, if I'm going to play action hack-em-up games, I'd rather play Dungeon Siege or Champions of Norrath. Perhaps that's just because those games are newer. Diablo 3 could change that. Hopefully Diablo 3 isn't a MMO - I think that since Blizzard already has World of Warcraft, there's less of a chance of it being an actual MMO. It would work much better as an online multiplayer co-op game that allows up to 32 (or more?) players. Personally, I'd likely be playing 2 player with Linda.
Comments on Game Franchises that Need to Make a Comeback
 
Comment Thu, May 1 - 5:03 PM by Frank
Hey, Techmo Bowl is making a comeback on the DS! That's got to make you all warm and fuzzy inside! Right?
 
Comment Thu, May 1 - 6:13 PM by Greg
Well, I played Tecmo Bowl over my friend Eric's house when we were kids, but I was never a huge fan of sports games, so... meh.
 
Comment Fri, May 2 - 7:58 AM by Brandon
I think that Fatal Frame is supposed to be coming to the Wii.
 
Comment Fri, May 2 - 10:09 AM by Greg
That would be awesome.
 
Comment Sun, May 4 - 3:23 PM by Ngewo
I am actually able to post something about video games. The new Castlevania game's story is being written by Warren Ellis, who is one of my favorite comic book writers...and that is all I really know.
 
Comment Mon, May 5 - 3:05 PM by styxzy
1. Thief - A series (2 games) that I truly wish I had tried.
2. MechWarrior - Isn't this like Armored Core which is still running? oooh Dynasty Warriors Gundam lol
3. I don't like horror movies or games.
4. Castlevania - never got into the series. Last one I played was like Prince of Persia and I got stuck and wasn't invested enough to care to figure it out.
5. Agreed. Others have tried and failed. They just can't capture that essence of making a click click click game so enthralling.
 
Comment Mon, May 5 - 3:47 PM by Jason
I've played Mechwarrior 2.. over and over and over. After beating it I even used a trainer to boost the speeds up to 3000Km/h which ends up making you crash into the side of a mountain. Which other Mechwars were good in the series?
 
Comment Mon, May 5 - 3:50 PM by Greg
Jason-
I'd definitely check out Mechwarrior 4.
 
Comment Wed, May 14 - 9:14 AM by The Dock
"I am Fritz and I am Blitz and ve arr CRUSH!!!"
 
Comment Wed, May 14 - 10:24 AM by Greg
OMG Glenn - I'd totally forgotten about that. For everyone else, the two of us played through Diablo as two crazy barbarian brothers and actually role played. It was hilarious.
 
Comment Thu, May 15 - 7:05 AM by The Dock
Yes, our mediaeval analogs of "Hanz and Franz" ala Diablo, they were called the Kreig brothers, Fritz and Blitz. With such wonderful catch phrases as "Ve VILL CRUSH you into BONE POWDuR." I seem to recall that all comments made by the brothers had to have the word "CRUSH" in them, or end with "VE ARR CRUSH!"(note this was often the brothers reply to questions that were beyond the brothers' mental capacities, they were big, dumb brutes and we played them as such. If there were audio tapes of those sessions, many people would have called our "collective" sanity into question.