Weekend Slowdown: 90s PC game franchises we miss
I was bored last night. Not able to stand the monotony, I decided to go through my game shelf just to see if there was something that I could pop into my PlayStation 2 and enjoy. I eventually picked up and dusted off my copy of Clover Studio’s Viewtiful Joe 2.
I decided to play through the first stage mostly as Sylvia. While I was blasting through the stage with her pink guns of unrelenting joy and joyfulness, I suddenly got hit by a wave of nostalgia. I needed a 2D platforming high.
Why go with 2D you ask? Well, it’s because if there’s anything that Castlevania on the DS and Viewtiful Joe by Clover proves, it is that there’s still room for well-done 2D platforming games in this hyper defined, 1080p, next-gen world.
Dammit, I want to play Commander Keen again.
This isn’t really news. This is a long rant-ish post, and to save you the pain of having to read through a dinosaur’s gaming woes, you’re only going to have to read the rest of the post after click on that “Full Article” link below. Zerglings, cyberpunk hippies with mini-guns, and space-travelling pre-teens await after the Jump!
I was bored last night. Not able to stand the monotony, I decided to go through my game shelf just to see if there was something that I could pop into my PlayStation 2 and enjoy. I eventually picked up and dusted off my copy of Clover Studio’s Viewtiful Joe 2.
I decided to play through the first stage mostly as Sylvia. While I was blasting through the stage with her pink guns of unrelenting joy and joyfulness, I suddenly got hit by a wave of nostalgia. I needed a 2D platforming high.
Why go with 2D you ask? Well, it’s because if there’s anything that Castlevania on the DS and Viewtiful Joe by Clover proves, it is that there’s still room for well-done 2D platforming games in this hyper defined, 1080p, next-gen world.
Dammit, I want to play Commander Keen again.
Commander Keen – Tom Hall- id Software – 1990
For those who don’t know, Commander Keen is a series of games made by id Software in the early 90s. The cartoon-y game was notable for it’s then outstanding use of EGA graphics, and it’s proliferation through shareware distribution.
The last incarnation of Billy Blaze (the protagonist of the game) was seen last 2001 on the Game Boy Color. Unfortunately that was a bad, bad game. It was so iffy, that even Tom Hall, designer of the original series does not consider the GBC game to be a sequel.
Given that Keen references are made several and later id Software games like Doom and Quake, it would be really, really be apt if they revived it somehow, and then made references to id Software games over the years.
You know what? I don’t even care if the next Keen incarnation is a 2D platformer. They could turn it into a 3D platform action game, as long as they execute it well. I just want to see Keen again. I want to experience the game universe, the humor, and the fun of the world again. I just want to see the franchise alive again. I want to see it revived. Most importantly, I want to see it done right.
Syndicate – Peter Molyneux – Bullfrog Productions – 1993
Some folks here at QJ really enjoy playing Splinter Cell: Double Agent’s Spies of the Third Echelon vs Upsilon Force Mercenaries multiplayer. We particularly like using that almost magical wrist computer to break glass, open security doors, hack or whatever else some super-genius could accomplish without the use of guns and with only a Swiss-army knife to rely on.
Because of the massive popularity of the stealth genre, and all this espionage stuff saturating console video games, I’m really starting to miss Bullfrog Productions 1993 game Syndicate, and its all powerful Persuadertron.
I know that a lot of gameplay elements from this game have been redone, and executed better in more contemporary games. But still, it’s the cyberpunk world I miss. The most recent incarnation of the old franchise is via Electronic Arts’ EA Replay for the PlayStation Portable. It had the Sega Genesis version. Bad choice really. Aside from the clunky controls, it has seriously dumbed down graphics. Observe:
This was the first game that allowed to sorta micro/macro manage the AI of my units, it combined RTS elements, and it made me pause and think of ways to sneak my agents from point A to point B without being detected. It even got me running away from cops before GTA III did.
I miss the gameplay. I miss the cyberpunk, I miss the missions, I miss the chaos. They could turn it into a sandbox game ala GTA for all I care, I just want to see the franchise alive again. I want to see it revived. Most importantly, I want to see it done right.
Starcraft – Blizzard – 1998
The large World of Warcraft is fun and all but I really, really miss StarCraft. I need this to see the next chapter of this game because I want to know what happens next. If only the ending of Brood Wars didn’t leave a lot to the imagination.
I want to see Kerrigan again dammit. I want to see how Duran’s experiments turn out. I want to see if Zeratul manages to do anything with the information he knows. Azeroth is fun and all, but it’s getting old now. I want to hear the gurgles of zerglings, and the mechanized projectile fire from Terran Marines and Firebats.
We can’t live on just Snowflake Entertainment’s StarCraft mod of the Warcraft III engine. Moreover, we’re annoyed that all we’ve got to work with is Blizzard VP Business Development and International Itzik Ben Bassat’s teasing and StarCraft hints during the Burning Crusade Launch. We’ve been living on fan made StarCraft offerings and press-stuff for years now Blizzard. We need something concrete. We crave for something official.
Nine months from now it’ll be ten years since we’ve seen anything remotely StarCraft-esque from the folks at Blizzard. Since 2002, all we’ve seen of StarCraft: Ghost are basically just promo stuff and demos. Sadly, StarCraft: Ghost may turn out to be one of those games forever lost in development limbo.
Blizzard, as cute a Ghost as Nova is, she alone won’t cut it. You do know that you could have the power to end the world with an announcement that you’re going to make something like Worlds of Starcraft right? It could very well end the internet, given all the Korean cyber athletes that would simultaneously try to sign up for a closed beta account.
Other than the game’s universe, I miss the game balance, and RTS number crunching that until today – nine years later – still occupies you and gets you playing. Don’t let this game fade away Blizzard. I just want to see the franchise alive again. I want to see it revived. Most importantly, I want to see it done right.
90s Franchises I also wanted to mention
…but really can’t due to the existence of recent and decent incarnations/recent rumors.
 Duke Nukem The new Duke Nukem game is still in a perpetual state of “we’re working on it.” More on that rumor here. |
Wing Commander |  Master of Orion |  X-COM |
What about you folks? What other PC franchises from the 90s do you think needs a timely revival? Anything you miss? Anything you want to see make a return? Be sure to let us know.