Why I hate "classic" games brought back to life, or indeed, most video game sequels period. *Sigh*

Why must game developers try to bring the past back to life? Dr. Frankenstien tried it, and it didn't work.....They've tried it in the movies, and generally, the sequels SUCK and have "We're out for a quick buck" written all over them... Why would it work any better for video games? If they're going to make a sequel, why not try to make something better than the original? Or at least EQUAL! (Preferably better. Rehashes suck.)

Frogger.... Centipede.... Lander.... Asteroids.... Prince of Persia 3D.... Pacman.... (Two of these made Game Spots 10 worse games of all time listings. Check it out HERE.)

I can remember hours and hours spent first, in front of arcade machines playing Frogger. A completely stupid and addictive little game. Then I spent hours playing said game on my c64 and finally on my PC. I'm not sure why, but the original game remains entertaining to this day. Just something fascinating about trying to get that stupid frog to safety. Add 3D and complicated camera+classic game get crap. Also get one of the best selling games of the year. ARGH! Likely the folks who rushed out and bought Deer Hunter. :)

How about Lander? Silly little game really. Your little moon lander module thingy is constantly moving down.. All you have to do is give it enough steering to boost it and get it where you want it, without any unfortunate "explosions" or "death" along the way. (Kinda like a real NASA space flight really.) It was easy to play hard to master. The new lander... Well.. Actually it didn't really suck that badly. But on the other hand, if you played the first one.. You played the second one. Nothing to see here, move along. :(

Asteroids 3D SUCKS.SUCKs SUCKS SUCKSSUCKSUCKs.... God. Play the original, forget the new one.

Same with the other games on my little list above. The one noticeable exception is Pacman. You somehow just can't get that little yellow guy wrong. I've played on my PC some of the coolest Pacman adaptations ever made. Nothing commercial (thank god) but lots of shareware and freeware versions that people have made up just for fun. Hopefully Hasbro never gets their hands on someone willing to sully the world with a sucky commercial version of this particular classic. If they do, surely the computer gods will descend upon their heads like a ravening horde of Star Trek fans at a convention, and rend them limb from limb.

Oh. No.. Wait... ION Storm is still standing... But they've likely been saved by the holy presence of one guy named Warren, who controls the one non-evil corner of their office. (It's Evil week here at FRAGtopia, so I had to mention ION Storm somewhere.)

One "classic" they've brought to life that I've not yet played is Lode Runner...... Oh wait, yes I played the demo and found it completely incomprehensible. I was just lost.... If anyone has actually figured this thing out, please let me know.

Honestly, I don't know if it's possible to bring older games back to life and improve them without screwing things up. We've all played Jumpman (Well, us old guys did anyhows.. Wayyy back in the day on our Commie 64s)... But would we be happy with a new 3D rendered Jumpman? Would it be the same amount of fun that we remember so well? I think part of the problem is that we remember how it was back then, and when they come out with a new game.. It's just not the same..... The developers have "improved" it... Usually by taking out the stuff that made it such a classic in the first place.. A serious error in my opinion.... On the other hand, why bother just rehashing something that's been done before. If you can't improve on the design and gameplay, you may as well just package the original game in a box with an emulator for whatever it ran on originally.

I'd really like to see a few of my favorite games brought back to life. Raid on Bungling Bay, Jumpman, Fort Apocalypse, The Last Ninja, Pirates!, Impossible Mission & Black Tiger come to mind. But I just know... It won't be the same ever again. Sad as it is, the old saying is true... You can never go home. I'd also have to kill the developers who dared to sully what I consider to by the best memories of my childhood.

While we're bitching about sequels, why can't companies actually come up with GOOD sequels? I mean, it can't be that hard, can it? If the original was good, why is the follow up not better? Just like most movie sequels, where they bring the original movie out featuring Mr. Big Star & billions of dollars worth of special effects... And the sequel seems to feature Mr. Bob the Janitor & whatever change the production team found behind the couch that morning as their funding, video game sequels usually suck. The notable exception is Deer Hunter, where it was the same as the original. :) Crap all the way around.

Anyhows, I'm loosing interest in this little rant. Let Classic Games lie where they have fallen. Do not rip them from the halls of Gaming Valhalla and resurrect them as grim zombies the destroy the memories of all that came before. Design a new game, and use your creative talents to make your own impact in gaming history. Don't try to ride on someone else's coat tails and sully their product by making crap or copying it.

Marauder out.