Fans of the legendary Sega adventure game series Shenmue are planning a mass protest, asking Sega to reinstate the franchise. And that got the brains at Electric Pig whirring. What other ten game series need to be brought back?
Shenmue fans are using MySpace to organise a mailing of toy capsules to Sega’s head office between November 27th (the anniversary of the launch of Sega’s Dreamcast console) and December 29th (the anniversary of the launch of Shenmue). Here are ten other games that should be brought back. And now!
10. Thief – his crown’s been slightly stolen by Altair from Assassin’s Creed. But the medieval Thief sneak series clearly influenced everyone from Altair to Sam Fisher. Played brilliantly too.
9. Road Rash – although EA would probably be incapable of turning out a decent version that kept the spirit of the original!
8. D&D role-playing epics – Like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape Torment. And yes, Dragon Age: Origins could well be the fix for that one.
7. Hidden & Dangerous – classic stealth/squad WWII combat. Now Operation 6. Flashpoint is getting a reboot, how about H&D 3?
6. Ultima X – No, not another MMO doomed to failure in a market that’s overstuffed with WoW clones. But can we have a classic, single-player role-playing epic in the Ultima universe. You know, like Elder Scrolls IV, only better.
5. Day Of The Tentacle – Now that Sam & Max has turned up as a bunch of Webisodes, can we have Day Of The Tentacle II please? And we’re guessing that’s not going to come from LucasArts – who apparently hate their classic adventure games.
4. Syndicate – a dark future, terrifying future, corporate warfare – it was a great setting and great game series that would make a perfect fast-paced, action-strategy game now.
3. System Shock 3 – Supposedly EA have been developing this for ages. But really, since Bioshock came out, the hunger for a proper, eerily quiet space station role-playing/action sequel is even stronger.
2. Jet Set Radio – Sega’s most stylish game ever. Skating, graffiti, cel-shaded visuals, freeroaming action. It’s a classic, and definitely ripe for a sequel.
1. Elite – It’s been a long, long time since Elite graced the BBC Microcomputer. And yet, for many ageing gamers it remains the high water mark for deep space combat and freeroaming exploration in videogames. Failing Elite, can we have Freelancer 2 or X4?!
Think we’ve missed something off the list of the great and missing? Let us know!
