The industry is full of sequels, but which franchises aren't getting their due for follow-ups? Chris Hawke looks at seven titles in need of new iterations.

Despite what you might have been led to believe, people like change. Change is new and fresh, fun and exciting; it brings out your inner-child and lets it romp through unique experiences and original delights. Move past the façade of peripheral details, and you'll see people are getting bored of Call of Duty, because it's been the same since 2007, whilst Battlefield 3 is bringing something sparklingly virginal to our eyes. Every now and again, a developer likes to take a dive into the crisp waters of innovation and swim with the dolphins of vicissitude; out of this comes stunning games that blow away the cobwebs with unseasoned ideas and exploratory themes.

But, for some reason, many of these IPs (intellectual properties) never get fully used. Perhaps people forgot about them. Perhaps they were too before-their-time. Perhaps one of the developers pissed in the pool, and the pool turned an odd and wholly-unappealing colour, and everyone got disgusted and left, and the dolphins swam away.

Or something.

Whatever the reason, these are a handful of unique and original IPs that are simply collecting dust.

Mirror's Edge

Listen; it wasn't great. EA finally shrugged off the title of 'Evilcorp' in 2008 by taking risks and trying newfangled concepts with Mirror's Edge and Dead Space, rather than just milking the same old sports titles. They still do that, of course, but at least those sports titles are now awesome. Mirror's Edge was cutting-edge, intriguing and exotic, but that doesn't mean it was any good. The horribly facile story did disgusting things to the original theme - a silently oppressive city with a dark cop at its centre - and the game became full of piano concertos and flying doves. Mirror's Edge had problems, and one central fault; it was unformed. It was full of brilliant ideas and motifs, hurriedly scrunched together and chucked onto a disc. Mirror's Edge, as a series, needs a bit of time and practice to mature, and a second game is vital to that. We'll just have to hope that Dice understand the goldmine they're sitting on.

The Chronicles of Riddick

Stealth is dead. Thief 4, Hitman: Absolution, the new Splinter Cell; these might just be able to revive the limp, lank and lifeless corpse of my favourite genre. But for now, there hasn't been a good stealth game in ages; one that really focusses on staying hidden, slipping between shadows and silencing some unfortunate soul before sneaking back to secrecy. Riddick was at the forefront of that. It may not have been as flashy as the Splinter Cell series, but it was stealth in its purest form; you, two Ulak blades, and a spaceship full of bad guys. Nothing else is so immersive and enjoyable as The Chronicles of Riddick for silent violence, with visceral combat and a truly dark tone to the plot. Whatever Starbreeze have planned next, I hope Vin Diesel is ready.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Yep, another article from me where I fawn over Eastern European games. By now, you should get the point; all those Ukrainian developers like 4a Games, or GSC Game World? They're brilliant. And S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is the most haunting, stunning, surprisingly dazzling and preposterously magnificent thing you can play on your PC. A multitude of problems are swept away by the sheer single-minded passion for post-apocalyptic beauty. So why the hell haven't we had a proper sequel?!

Even in 2007, Shadow Of Chernobyl looked old and tired, yet the same engine had to bear the brunt of two 'expansions'. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has been confirmed, but nothing's been seen of it thus far. Before it's too late, GSC - before someone else steals your essence - make the most of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Tom Clancy's EndWar

Whether or not you think EndWar's key distinguishing feature - the ability to control units with your voice - was a gimmick or a revolution, at its core the game was rock solid. The basic gameplay features were well-implemented, the story did enough to drive you forward, and it was just good fun to play. Then, factor in the voice commands, and EndWar becomes something special. Yes, it's only because of those childish fantasies that come bubbling up to the surface, but speaking into a mic and have the units on screen react? Hell yeah.

It's more SingStar than Company of Heroes; you can feign panic in your trembling voice when under pressure, or triumphantly order everyone to move up. It's as much fun coldly telling troops to "leave no survivors" in monotone as it is to scream, "Hoorah! Great hit, Bravo Two!", imagining that, somehow, those little specks you survey are real and carrying out your every command with loving duty. EndWar gave you a God Complex, and it felt great. The sooner Ubisoft can pull EndWar 2 out of limbo, the better. My people need me.

Brothers in Arms

Yes, there's a Furious 4. And all the insipid bile that spilt from my mouth splatted on the keyboard and managed to turn into words. The long and short of it; Furious 4 isn't a true Brothers in Arms. No, BIA is a lot more than just mowing down cannon-fodder. Second World War may hardly be an original setting, but Gearbox's tactical first/third-person shooter hybrid gave an exhausted, weary and drab setting some much-needed life. The puzzle-like gameplay perfectly complemented a thrillingly mature, grown-up story - two things you won't find anywhere else on the market today. BIA is the very antithesis of cookie-cutter combat, and I can only hope it gets better soon.

SimCity

The idea of building, maintaining, sustaining and advancing a city may seem mundane in 2011; in the saturated world of Cities XL and Cities in Motion, SimCity is surely just another endless pit of time-waiting, fruitless architectural escapism, right?

Shut your mouth and rinse it with razor blades. SimCity is the original; the daddy of all your micro-managing desires. There's something oddly addictive about a birds-eye view of your whole creation, and SimCity nailed that element of ownership. Your city was your city, a Genesis and Revelations all rolled into one, starting with a single plot of land and unstoppably expanding to the all of the four corners of the Earth. I only hope that when SimCity makes its jubilant return, it moves with the times; better graphics, more choice, and maybe a bit of politics thrown in.

Road Rash

"You get to hit people, on bikes". Those were probably the only words spoken at the proposal meeting back in 1991, followed by a slow nod and a growing smile from EA then-boss Trip Hawkins. There are games that let your crash a bit, sure; Burnout even makes it the central focus of the gameplay. But, even with such violent racers drifting about the place, Road Rash still has that unique, resolute desire for speed and brutality. Instead of constant corners and backtracking, it's just one long stretch of road. The other racers aren't forced near you by an invisible elastic band - you progress, you see them, and you chain-whip them into oblivion. EA say they're trying to get Road Rash into the next generation, and with concepts like this, I can't see why they've taken seven years to reboot the franchise.




I can only hope all seven of these underused IPs get back onto our platforms soon. In the meantime, what series would you like to see return? Tell us in the comments below.

Labels: 2011, Brothers in Arms, Chris Hawke, Mirror's Edge, Road Rash, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., SimCity, The Chronicles of Riddick, Tom Clancy's EndWar

I'm still not quite sure how the rest of the world feels about Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. Maybe I'm just too afraid to ask, terrified of my blushing face sounding the alarm to others that I have poor taste in games, as they rip into Gearbox Software's 2008 shooter like a bullet through flesh. To many, I suspect, they were put off by overly-bright graphics; the hybrid first/thrid-person shooting mechanics; the tired old World War II setting. People don't hate the game, it's just one of those things that's passed them by without a care, and maybe they'll pick it up in the Steam sale for £3 then never really get into it. Maybe Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway isn't very good.

But I love it. I love it so much. I've completed it countless times, with gold medals on every level, on both console and PC. I adore the contrast between Eindhoven's watercolour scenery and the tossed, lank limbs of Nazi officers that drench the fields. I cherish the superbly-written dialogue between Sgt. Baker's squad; just on the right side of cliché to make you feel comfortable, but with some brilliant lines. I revere the emotional connection I have with the characters; the gameplay that's more like a puzzle than an FPS; the dark mood, creepy in the latter half of the game; the sublime, stunning, and surprisingly astounding twist as Baker descends into madness before your very eyes. In short, the shooting was great, the story was great, and the multiplayer was more pathetic than apathetic. But let's forget all about that.

That was 2008. Ever since the sly hint at the end of Hell's Highway that we'd be seeing a snowy sequel, we've waited with baited breath. In 2011, with the WWII scene deserted and the 'modern combat' scene becoming ever more crowded, could a new Brother's in Arms game pump new life into our favourite setting? Would the 1940s become the new heaven for gamers, and oasis of skillful shooting mechanics and a paramount emphasis on gripping story?

No. Instead, Gearbox laughed in my face, and punched me in the balls.



I could just imagine the Gearbox meeting now: "What are we going to do with our new BIA game? What new route could we take with such a stellar series?" And then Billy, all cloudy-eyed and smugly smiling, holds up a picture of Inglorious Basterds in one hand and a Left 4 Dead disc in the other, and wildly beats them together, like a demented child pushing two hamsters together to try and get them to do 'it'^[1]. Out of the broken, crunchy mess slithered Furious 4, born from evil.

Oh, look! He throws a tomahawk into a guy's face! That's new and exciting... Aren't those Nazis lovably incompetent? Ha! He shouted "Don't mess with Texas"! THAT'S PURE COMICAL GOLD BECAUSE IT SORT OF RHYMES!


...or not. Nothing in the trailer looks original or interesting. It looks like a tired and unapologetic scramble for attention; a once serious string of games now forced to wear a thong and prance about to hear those sweet sounds of applause again. Except, this time, people are clapping out of pity.

I'm being harsh, of course. I still love Gearbox; I can't forget the fun I had with Hell's Highway or Borderlands, and I know the team is a school of talented, intelligent developers who aim for the highest quality. Which is what makes the existence of Furious 4 even more disturbing and confusing. Furious 4 will not please anyone.

The hardcore fans - the ones who have followed the Brothers in Arms series through thick and thin - aren't happy. Having waited three long years for a squeak from Gearbox, they're met with a co-op spin-off that many feel shouldn't be using the Brothers in Arms name at all. The people who Gearbox are trying to appeal to, those who've been wary of the BIA name in the past and want more casual fun, see right through the marketing trick. They'd rather stick with the tried-and-tested Call of Duty-s, Battlefields, or might even jump ship to quieter titles like Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad. Even those who are roped in by this new breed of BIA romp will suddenly find the fun times they had with three Nazi-scalping friends abruptly cut short, as Gearbox return to Baker's story.


Fans annoyed and betrayed, mass market uninterested, and even those who might enjoy Furious 4 when it hits in March 2012 won't see a follow up for a very, very long time, as Gearbox take on new projects and return to the good, old, proper Brothers in Arms. At the recent Gearbox Community Day, Creative Director Mikey Neumann promised that fans would still see the final chapter in Matt Baker's story. So why delay what could be a genre-leading game from seeing daylight, and instead let childish fantasies take centre-stage?

Footnotes

[1] Whatever 'it' is. We don't claim to know. ^[BACK]

Labels: 2011, Brothers in Arms, Brothers in Arms: Furious 4, Chris Hawke, Feature, Gearbox, Opinon

It's that time of year again, when obligatory lists must be wheeled out and paraded in front of an audience, poked at with sticks and forced to do tricks for the laughing crowd, whilst salty tears streak down the list's face as it realises it could have been so much more, it could have done something with its life, and so forth. The Game Developer's Conference is always a happy time of year, and 2011 is very special due to Gamer's Guide to Life.com's list of games likely to be revealed. We've thunk real hard about these ones, to try and bring you the most realistically viable eight games that could see the light of day.

Assassin's Creed III

Well, this is a given. Ubisoft have confirmed that the final part of the trilogy will hit stores in 'fiscal 2011', but the developer also have Splinter Cell 6 in the wings, being developed by Jade Raymond and company. How do you balance two heavyweights like that? For our money, Desmond will swoop in late 2011, with Sam going back to basics in 2012. A good start to the decade for stealth, then.

Far Cry 3

It's been three years since games took to the plains of Africa and found nothing bit bitter disappointment. Don't let ridiculously high review scores fool you; Far Cry 2 was ham-fisted, broken and unfinished, despite the wonderful graphics. Antarctica has been suggested as a new setting, while others claim the series is staying in Africa (because you can't get enough of that sweet, sweet malaria), but expect a headline-grabbing feature to blind you with beauty - last time it was realistic flames, so maybe for the third outing it's... really awesome water?

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

PC gamers, rejoice! Fans of the Soviet era, rejoice! People who like mutants, rejoice! Finally, after three whole spin-offs, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is getting a proper sequel, and this time Dualshocks and Gamepads are invited to the party. GSC Game World announced the title last year, but all's been quiet on the Eastern Front. What are they hiding? Well, after seeing the graphical prowess of Metro 2033, worked on by various ex-GSC employees, expect Chernobyl to look lovely. Albeit in that post-apocalyptic way. Think terrifying mutants; think atmosphere and new locations like the monstrous 'Russian Woodpecker'. The announcement could get shouted down in the busy booths of E3, so GDC is the perfect time to unleash the first gameplay.

Brothers in Arms: Savage Seven

Ousted by GAME last year, it's about time the ace Hell's Highway got a follow up. For those who want their killing a little more refined, Brothers in Arms not only has gameplay that's half-FPS and half-puzzle, but a superb story reminiscent of Band of Brothers. The 'Savage Seven' has prompted a lot of speculation, but the seven roads coming together in Bastogne is the best guess so far. It was also hinted in Hell's Highway (by a ghost, no less) that the series is headed for a snowy setting. Just so long as we're popping Nazis, then we're happy.

a Rainbow Six reboot

The Rainbow Six series burned brightly and then fizzled out in Vegas (twice), with its raffish charm the only thing working in its favour. Expect a Medal of Honor-style reboot, complete with gritty realism involving shady terrorists and a greater focus on online co-op, all in a near-future dystopia of corruption and crime. Ubisoft have a strong line-up anyway, so it might be shelved for E3 or even Spike, but no doubt they're itching to get the hype-train rolling. Down a hill. Full of hostages you must rescue.

Burnout 8

Criterion have been oddly quiet for a studio the makes games about really loud cars, so they must have something up their sleeves. With Shift 2: Unleashed gearing up for release, and Gran Turismo 5 an almost distant memory, it's the perfect time for Burnout to reclaim its crown and sit on the throne of racers that have it all: looks, speed and destructive power. Don't expect a gritty reboot - just lightning fast vehicles, beautiful visuals and the ability to T-bone anything stupid enough to get in your way.

Resident Evil 6

After that quick trip to Africa produced mixed results (bit of a theme, no?), Resisdent Evil needs to go back to basics; namely, shooting the faces off badass zombies. Go back to the dead of night, stop being so racist, and just let me shoot things that bleed! A European, urban setting seems right on the books, and Capcom have a thing for bringing back old characters, especially if they're emo (oh, hey, Leon), and with the Wii versions turning out to be a success, expect Move and Kinect compatibility.

The Chronicles Of Riddick 3

Have you noticed how stealth is pretty much dead? Some games ask you to stay in the shadows, but it's only until you burst out and gun everyone down. Riddick not only provided valuable work for Vin Diesel (the man has a family to feed), but was also incredibly empowering: stalking an unlucky soul in the hallowed corridors of Butchers Bay or Dark Athena before jumping out, slicing his throat and retreating back into darkness was uniquely moreish, and despite the lack of a film to go with, gamers would snap it up regardless.

GDC 11 starts tomorrow, so get ready for reveals galore. Follow our Twitter for more delicious content from our Michelin-star writers.

Labels: 2011, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed III, Brothers in Arms, Burnout, Chris, Chris Hawke, Far Cry 3, GDC, GDC 2011, Rainbow Six, Resident Evil, STALKER, The Chronicles of Riddick