It’s a sad fact of life that the beloved games of our various childhoods inevitably fall to newer generations of games. Times were that you’d be eternally content with a pack of AA batteries and Pokémon Blue. But with massive games like Metal Gear V: Phantom Pain and Minecraft to play around in, classic Pokémon seems like a losing formula. There’s still hope for some of our icons, though.
Remakes and remasters are bigger than ever right now, with even Final Fantasy VII getting a complete overhaul and dozens of graphics upgrade are coming to games from the PS3/Xbox 360 generation. Yet there are so many other games deserving of a new coat of HD paint. So, in no particular order, here are a handful of titles that could do with a quick touching up before coming back to consoles.
Battlefield 1942
This one is a particular favorite of mine. With Call of Duty and Battlefield vying for first place among FPS console players, to many long-time players the old copy of 1942 sitting on the shelf in the next room beats out both Infinite Warfare and Hardline with ease. Yes, the new games have motion blur and blood effects but not everyone wants lens flare everywhere and rain dripping down my screen all the time. Sometimes just a dose of biplane vs tank action is all you need. Given some new textures and a few more maps, 1942 could take the place of any new 2018 Battlefield title.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2
Huzzah for the modders, because thanks to them you can now play a nicer looking and more complete version of Knights of the Old Republic on your PC! But the engine is still quite outdated and showing it’s age more and more. Despite the ‘gone but not forgotten’ vibe they give, KOTOR was still some of the best work done by BioWare (tying with Mass Effect & Mass Effect 2 – why don’t we just ignore the third game?). EA and Disney are working together on so many upcoming Star Wars games to coincide with all the films on the way, making this the perfect time to reintroduce something like KOTOR to a brand new audience via a snazzy remake. Just imagine recreating either – if not both – Knights of the Old Republic games with all the cut content and selling it for $40. I’d buy that.
X-Wing V TIE Fighter
Use the Force! Failing that, bomb the hell out of the other players. Racing games are a big thing right now but what could be better than a racing game with lasers? Or how about if those racers were in space? And the last person still alive was crowned the winner? On second thoughts, forget the racing. X-Wing V TIE Fighter may not be as graphically pleasing as some of the newer generation but the feel of actually flying a Star Wars ship easily makes up for it when you boot up an older copy of the game. Still, if it had new graphics AND the same gameplay… you see where I’m going with this by now, right?
James Bond 007 – Nightfire
Remember the good old days of Goldeneye? Well, that’s been remade to less than great effect, and to a certain audience, it was Nightfire that really introduced Bond to the gaming world. Despite a less than stellar performance on the PC, Nightfire had an interesting plot and even took the proper actors from the films along to voice their characters, including Pierce Brosnan as James. All Nightfire needs is some new textures and a slight adjustment to the gameplay and this underrated gem could come back from the digital beyond with style.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Sure, there’s already a remake of Skyrim coming soon, but let’s look to one of the earlier Elder Scrolls games. And thankfully, at least one item on this list actually looks like it has a shot at coming back better than ever. Called Skywind, a team of modders are hard at work incorporating Morrowind into the Skyrim engine and game. Much like Solstheim, the player will access Morrowind through a marker on the global map. The group has even recorded lines for characters who originally had no voice and are rebuilding the old textures into new. Progress is slow but – despite no concrete release date – the team has pulled any downloadable versions from the internet because they almost have a working copy.