Reboots you'd like to see

[Rumpy]

Been playing a lot of Heretic/Hexen these days, and it dawned on me that the last one in the series was in the late 90's. Seems like Id Software or Raven Software has neglected this one. I'd love to see a modern interpretation of this series. They could even make it into a first-person rogue-like.

[Skinypupy]

The Tenchu series was my favorite stealth game on the PS/PS2. I’d love to see a new entry that isn’t a Souls-like.

Would also really like to see either the Shadow Hearts or Xenosaga series get another look. The former was such ridiculous, absurd fun and the latter was one of the best sci-fi JRPGs of the PS2 era.

[Brian]

My two all-time favorite games are Privateer and Interstate '76.

One could argue that Star Citizen, if it ever fully releases, is the closest to a reboot we'll ever see. I mean, they are both Chris Roberts based games. However, Star Citizen isn't a single player game and never will be. Squadron 42, the single player portion of Star Citizen is the reboot (more or less) of Wing Commander and while I imagine I'll enjoy it when it (theoretically) gets released next year (I expect a release date announcement at the upcoming Citizen Con in a few weeks) it's not what I really want to play.

I feel Interstate '76 would be an excellent game for a updated remake. The problem I see would be that any developer would want to add on-foot shooting sections and we all know the rule..."Never get out of the car."

[TheMix]

No One Lives Forever

[dbt1949]

Star General

[Rumpy]

No One Lives Forever

Oh man, yeah.Nightdive I think were trying to get the rights to do a proper remaster several years ago but ran into issues with finding out who held what and in the end they gave up because it was too complicated.

[disarm]

Been playing a lot of Heretic/Hexen these days, and it dawned on me that the last one in the series was in the late 90's. Seems like Id Software or Raven Software has neglected this one. I'd love to see a modern interpretation of this series. They could even make it into a first-person rogue-like.

I haven't played it, but maybe Immortals of Aveum could scratch this itch...seems like a cool magic-shooter FPS, but might be lacking some of the puzzle elements of Hexen.

No One Lives Forever

Oh man, yeah.Nightdive I think were trying to get the rights to do a proper remaster several years ago but ran into issues with finding out who held what and in the end they gave up because it was too complicated.

This is the point that comes up every time NOLF is mentioned. There are a lot of people who would love to see it revived, but the rights are apparently in an impossible legal limbo. If that's the case though, maybe someone should just say screw it and go for a remake/remaster. If someone tries to come forward with a lawsuit, they'll either have a hard time proving their ownership or maybe a deal can be reached.

[Rumpy]

It's weird that it's more in limbo than actual James Bond. I guess the next best thing would be a spiritual successor following along the same lines.

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

I agree with Interstate 76, it had such an over-the-top story and style, it would definitely work. I'd love to see a new Autoduel game. I used to play that non-stop on my cousin's C64. It would translate easily into a modern open-world post-apocalyptic RPG/action game. I could see it working with either first person in car view, or third person from behind. It would be sweet to have to find my way from one place to the next via the broken highways of the US.

[Hipolito]

Roadwar 2000.

[$iljanus]

Ground Control. No pesky base building and I loved leveling up my units. Also my recon units were my special operators, quietly shadowing enemies and calling down deadly artillery strikes on them.

[Punisher]

I agree with Interstate 76, it had such an over-the-top story and style, it would definitely work. I'd love to see a new Autoduel game. I used to play that non-stop on my cousin's C64. It would translate easily into a modern open-world post-apocalyptic RPG/action game. I could see it working with either first person in car view, or third person from behind. It would be sweet to have to find my way from one place to the next via the broken highways of the US.

Plus 1 for this!
I played Autoduel right up until I got rid of my C64. I76 is close enough to it that I would except it as well but I still don't get why there hasn't been a Car Wars video game franchise.

[Daehawk]

So many great mentions in this thread.

id like to see someone take the Star Wars Squadrons engine and make a new Tie Fighter and or X-Wing sim. More serious than Squadrons and no multiplayer to bother with. Focus on single player and story.

A new Starflight with the SAME type mineral radar and mining in it. Not the crappy ones from all the Star Controls that had it or Mass effect.

[Jaymann]

I replayed Hexen II a few years ago, it holds up but I hate the final boss battle. Would definitely play an Arcanum reboot. Good news for reboot fans: Suikoden I & II coming in March, 2025.

[Rumpy]

I was actually surprised at how well Hexen held up. If anything, it's even more amazing now seeing what they had done with a modified version of the Doom engine. Heretic was was simple in comparison, but the complexity of the design and puzzles in Hexen is rather impressive. IMHO, out of all of them, I feel the original Hexen is the one that held up best, while the early-3Dness of the sequel hasn't aged nearly as well. This is where a reboot would with modern technology would really come in handy.

[YellowKing]

Reboots are hard because every one I come up with, I realize it would feel terribly old-fashioned in terms of gameplay for this day and age. But if you reimagined them to fit today's gameplay, they'd lose the charm that make me want to reboot them in the first place.

I spent many, many hours in Betrayal at Krondor, but the gameplay would be impossibly old-fashioned today. And if it was rebooted, it would probably wind up more like an Obsidian game with a Riftware theme.

I'd love a modern graphic version of EverQuest, but hardcore like the original. But that wouldn't fly today. And realistically, *would* I want corpse runs, or is that just rose-colored nostalgia talking?

Shooters, I think, hold the most promise for delivering a true reboot that wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel. A new Half-Life, a new Max Payne, etc. Though true single-player shooters have pretty much also gone extinct. Today everything seems to be multiplayer with a single-player campaign tacked on.

If it sounds like I'm a cranky old guy longing for the good old days, it's really not the case. I have more games than I can possibly play, and great stuff is coming out all the time. I do miss a lot of old games, but at the same time I understand the industry evolves and for every cool thing we lose, we gain something else.

[Isgrimnur]

true single-player shooters have pretty much also gone extinct. Today everything seems to be multiplayer with a single-player campaign tacked on.

Far Cry 6 would disagree.

[YellowKing]

I didn't really consider Far Cry 6 (and previous incarnations) since to me it's more of an open world game that happens to be in first person and has driving, etc. I was thinking more of level-based shooters. Which I guess the newer Doom iterations would be an exception. And the newer Castle Wolfensteins. But even those are based on classic FPS properties.

[Carpet_pissr]

XCOM
Unreal

[Unagi]

XCOM

I'd say that this is that, if you haven't seen it. They are almost done.

[Daehawk]

I wouldn't mind some co-op shooters like the old days had. Most shooters had co-op like the Doom games and Duke Nukem and Serious Sam. They claimed to have dropped them due to story..but that major BS there.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I have a nostalgic soft spot for Sid Meier's Covert Action, so I'd love to see a modern revival that incorporates updated and improved gameplay mechanics. Despite its age, the original game’s core gameplay is still engaging, though some minigame mechanics are undeniably outdated and clunky. A modern adaptation could revamp and refine those minigames, making them more polished and enjoyable. The procedurally generated cases were also a standout feature of the original, providing a strong sense of player agency, as characters within a given plot could be intercepted at any moment or go into hiding if their particular job was completed or rendered impossible by your actions. With today's technology, those elements could be further developed, offering richer and more complex narratives to further enhance the intrigue and overall experience.

[Max Peck]

I'll upvote Covert Action.

It's interesting that Sid Meier himself felt the game design was flawed:

Sid Meier was reportedly dissatisfied with the final product, because he believed that the disparate elements of the game, however good they were individually, detracted from game play. As a result, he developed what he called the "Covert Action Rule": "It's better to have one good game than two great games." He described the origins of this rule in an interview with GameSpot:

The mistake I think I made in Covert Action is actually having two games in there kind of competing with each other. There was kind of an action game where you break into a building and do all sorts of picking up clues and things like that, and then there was the story which involved a plot where you had to figure out who the mastermind was and the different roles and what cities they were in, and it was a kind of an involved mystery-type plot.

I think, individually, those each could have been good games. Together, they fought with each other. You would have this mystery that you were trying to solve, then you would be facing this action sequence, and you'd do this cool action thing, and you'd get on the building, and you'd say, "What was the mystery I was trying to solve?" Covert Action integrated a story and action poorly, because the action was actually too intense. In Pirates!, you would do a sword fight or a ship battle, and a minute or two later, you were kind of back on your way. In Covert Action, you'd spend ten minutes or so of real time in a mission, and by the time you got out of [the mission], you had no idea of what was going on in the world.

So I call it the "Covert Action Rule". Don't try to do too many games in one package. And that's actually done me a lot of good. You can look at the games I've done since Civilization, and there's always opportunities to throw in more stuff. When two units get together in Civilization and have a battle, why don't we drop out to a war game and spend ten minutes or so in duking out this battle? Well, the Covert Action Rule. Focus on what the game is.

Imagine if Chris Roberts had ever heard of the Covert Action Rule and taken it to heart...

[Unagi]

Yeah, I'm a +1 for Covert Action and also for Auto Duel and Interstate 76. All three of them - huge on my 'please re-make' list.

[Mandeville]

Mail Order Monsters. This could even work on consoles, but I'd like to see a PC version with more support for the world around the fights.

[Max Peck]

I never played Mail Order Monsters, but I did enjoy Crush, Crumble and Chomp. On the TRS-80. Now I feel old.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I'll upvote Covert Action.

It's interesting that Sid Meier himself felt the game design was flawed:

Indeed, this was specifically referenced within the RPS review I linked to, headlined "Why Sid Meier Is Wrong About Sid Meier's Covert Action".

[Max Peck]

That'll teach me not to click through all the links.

[Blackhawk]

Ground Control. No pesky base building and I loved leveling up my units. Also my recon units were my special operators, quietly shadowing enemies and calling down deadly artillery strikes on them.

Great suggestion. I love base building, but this series was a lot of fun without it.

No One Lives Forever

That was the first thing that popped into my head, although I'd prefer a late continuation or 'spiritual successor' rather than a true reboot.

My own contributions:

Soldier of Fortune
Alpha Centauri
Lords of the Realm

[Hyena]

So many great mentions in this thread.

id like to see someone take the Star Wars Squadrons engine and make a new Tie Fighter and or X-Wing sim. More serious than Squadrons and no multiplayer to bother with. Focus on single player and story.

A new Starflight with the SAME type mineral radar and mining in it. Not the crappy ones from all the Star Controls that had it or Mass effect.

Man I loved me some Starflight. First video game I ever finished. I remember getting so excited when I actually found the Sol system and saw that familiar land mass in all it's glorious 16-bit clarity.

[Rumpy]

If it sounds like I'm a cranky old guy longing for the good old days, it's really not the case. I have more games than I can possibly play, and great stuff is coming out all the time. I do miss a lot of old games, but at the same time I understand the industry evolves and for every cool thing we lose, we gain something else.

Nah, I totally get it. For me, I'm mostly thinking in terms of technology. If a franchise has been out of the sun for decades, then I sometimes think about what it could be done via new technology. For me, that's stuff like Hexen where it technically has good bones, and in Hexen II's case, an engine that hasn't aged that well that brings it down some. And I do think there's some space in the market for what a new Hexen could bring to the table and strengthen its best aspects at tbe same time. Push forward its rpg elements, tie its puzzles to quests, maybe throw in a bit of rogue-like randomization into the mix, and I think you could have a pretty good reboot that stays true to its roots.

[Daehawk]

So many great mentions in this thread.

id like to see someone take the Star Wars Squadrons engine and make a new Tie Fighter and or X-Wing sim. More serious than Squadrons and no multiplayer to bother with. Focus on single player and story.

A new Starflight with the SAME type mineral radar and mining in it. Not the crappy ones from all the Star Controls that had it or Mass effect.

Man I loved me some Starflight. First video game I ever finished. I remember getting so excited when I actually found the Sol system and saw that familiar land mass in all it's glorious 16-bit clarity.

haha ya ya..When you noticed the continents matched Africa and such. Was cool.

[hepcat]

Freedom Force, Temple of Elemental Evil, Syndicate.

[RM2]

Crimson Skies

[hepcat]

I’d like to add Crimson Skies to my list.

[Brian]

I’d like to add Crimson Skies to my list.

Mine too.

[Daehawk]

Another vote fro Crimson Skies.

[Zarathud]

Mail Order Monsters -or- Crush, Crumble and Chomp!
Little Computer People
Wasteland
Broadsides
Seven Cities of Gold
Roadwar 2000
Alternate Reality

[Max Peck]

Wasteland

Wasteland has 2 modern sequels as well as a 2020 remaster of the original game. That's probably as rebooted as it's going to get.

[Lordnine]

Alpha Centauri

I would love a real modern update of this and not just Civ in space. Alpha Centauri was a really special mix of the genre with tons of personality and some unique mechanics that I still don't think have been replicated in quite the same way.