leech Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 So with the statement from current Atari about the ataribox being talked about supporting old games and modern ones, if you could think of some games that weren't quite what they could have been by Atari, and get them updated so they meet modern expectations, what would they be? We could all say E.T. of course, give it more than a few months to bake this time.. But my favorite 'almost there' game was Club Drive on the Jaguar. Loved the game, but it needed more levels and better control, with a higher frame rate. I recently bought the new Micromachines game, and thought it'd be similar, but it's all about online racing, and doesn't have any sort of free roam mode like Club Drive did. It was remembered as a terrible game but a lot of people, but it always felt like one that could have been much more enjoyable had the game had more time to develop, and the Jag wasn't so hard to develop for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Great idea for a thread! This should be in classic gaming general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Absolutely, can anyone move it there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 I always thought it would be great if they could take the ideas behind SwordQuest and turn it into a game that wasn't random guesswork nonsense. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireStar Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Berzerk isn't a bad game, but I think it could make a good sci-fi horror game (dead space-ish maybe?) if modernized. Imagine walking around in the dark maze of Berzerk and getting jumpscared everytime you touch a wall, and hoping evil otto doesn't show up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 I always thought it would be great if they could take the ideas behind SwordQuest and turn it into a game that wasn't random guesswork nonsense. I've thought this too! Would be interesting to see it remade with an engine similar to Baldur's Gate, or even something like Divine Divinity. Knowing our luck though, they'd get Fireworld, Earthworld and Waterworld done, then a video game crash would happen before Airworld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Berzerk isn't a bad game, but I think it could make a good sci-fi horror game (dead space-ish maybe?) if modernized. Imagine walking around in the dark maze of Berzerk and getting jumpscared everytime you touch a wall, and hoping evil otto doesn't show up. You might like to check out the Stealth option in Frantic. After Draconian's finished I plan to reboot Frantic to use the new CDF bankswitch/coprocessor scheme that we've developed. Amongst other things, that'll let me add back in the speech samples. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Battlesphere is a fun game but it really deserves better distribution. Scarcity is dumb. Also, Star Raiders on VCS could really use some "quality of life" enhancements. I'd love a do-over, maybe stealing ideas from Starmaster and Solaris. Pitfall could be tweaked to be more fun and less repetitive, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Battlesphere is a fun game but it really deserves better distribution. Scarcity is dumb. Also, Star Raiders on VCS could really use some "quality of life" enhancements. I'd love a do-over, maybe stealing ideas from Starmaster and Solaris. Pitfall could be tweaked to be more fun and less repetitive, IMHO. Agreed. I had forgotten they'd done a 'reboot' of Star Raiders, but I heard it was terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Agreed. I had forgotten they'd done a 'reboot' of Star Raiders, but I heard it was terrible. Ugh, I forgot about that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Raiders_(2011_video_game) It's down the memory hole with "Sinistar Unleashed." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinistar:_Unleashed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KaeruYojimbo Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Yeah, Q*Bert Rebooted is pretty terrible too. Maybe we should leave the old games as they are. Video game companies have a pretty bad track record when it comes to "modernizing." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Fire Fighter is a good premise, but the execution falls flat on it's face. I think you could make a much better fire fighting game in the vein of Activision classics like Spider Fighter or Oink! where you must constantly battle the flames while rescuing innocents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 But my favorite 'almost there' game was Club Drive on the Jaguar. Loved the game, but it needed more levels and better control, with a higher frame rate. I recently bought the new Micromachines game, and thought it'd be similar, but it's all about online racing, and doesn't have any sort of free roam mode like Club Drive did. I thought Toy Commander on the Dreamcast (which I've played through and enjoyed) was widely seen as a kind of spiritual successor to Club Drive. If you've played it, does it do the trick for you? Back on topic, and speaking of toys, I thought Toys on the SNES/Genesis had some neat ideas that didn't get realized as fully as they could have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 20, 2017 Author Share Posted July 20, 2017 Fire Fighter is a good premise, but the execution falls flat on it's face. I think you could make a much better fire fighting game in the vein of Activision classics like Spider Fighter or Oink! where you must constantly battle the flames while rescuing innocents. I always loved Towering Inferno. Done right, that could be a cool 'uplifted' game. I thought Toy Commander on the Dreamcast (which I've played through and enjoyed) was widely seen as a kind of spiritual successor to Club Drive. If you've played it, does it do the trick for you? Back on topic, and speaking of toys, I thought Toys on the SNES/Genesis had some neat ideas that didn't get realized as fully as they could have been. I have not. That game looks amazing... may have to pick up a dreamcast, or see if I can emulate it to try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 That game looks amazing... may have to pick up a dreamcast, or see if I can emulate it to try it out. Toy Commander is the reason to own a dreamcast. Although some of the levels are frustratingly annoying -- difficult not because they are well designed, but because of flaws in their design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Toy Commander is the reason to own a dreamcast. Although some of the levels are frustratingly annoying -- difficult not because they are well designed, but because of flaws in their design. For me that's definitely been the case, i.e. Toy Commander has been my "killer app" on the console so far. It doesn't make a good first impression, unfortunately -- I seem to remember starting out with two missions involving cooking an egg and driving on walls that weren't much fun -- but once you get past the initial hump it's mostly a pleasure to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauauu Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 For me that's definitely been the case, i.e. Toy Commander has been my "killer app" on the console so far. It doesn't make a good first impression, unfortunately -- I seem to remember starting out with two missions involving cooking an egg and driving on walls that weren't much fun -- but once you get past the initial hump it's mostly a pleasure to play. Oh man, yes, that stupid egg level is a giant pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 But my favorite 'almost there' game was Club Drive on the Jaguar. Loved the game, but it needed more levels and better control, with a higher frame rate. I recently bought the new Micromachines game, and thought it'd be similar, but it's all about online racing, and doesn't have any sort of free roam mode like Club Drive did. It was remembered as a terrible game but a lot of people, but it always felt like one that could have been much more enjoyable had the game had more time to develop, and the Jag wasn't so hard to develop for. The default response for this thread can be "almost any game in the Jag library!". There's just so many chances (and choices )for improvement in it. Surely something should be done with 7800 Jinks. The concept of a side-scrolling paddle game is pretty neat, but the execution of the core idea was bungled horribly. The XE version is -- almost -- playable (but still not fun), but the 7800 port is just a complete disaster, from the horrible opening screen through the crappy grameplay and disappointing graphics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 20, 2017 Author Share Posted July 20, 2017 Ha, that's pretty close to true for the jag library. Though some were perfect conversions, like Syndicate and Cannon Fodder. I probably should have specified for 'Atari' owned licenses. Though I'm not even sure if Club Drive was owned by them or if it transferred to somewhere else. But I think the generalized 'it was on an Atari platform and could have been better' works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 I'd redo Stargate, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Space Shuttle, and Space Attack to use the Video Touch Pad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) I'd redo Stargate, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Space Shuttle, and Space Attack to use the Video Touch Pad And also Blackjack, Casino, and Stellar Track. And Crossbow and Gangster Alley to use the XE Lightgun. Edited July 24, 2017 by BassGuitari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 What would be nice is an updated light gun that would work on LCDs. Not sure if that exists though, or if it is even possible. I started looking it up once upon a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicdan Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Miner 2049er. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 Miner 2049er was pretty good for what it was, a modernized one would be great. Another thread I'm talking in about the ST and using a split medium/low resolution mentioned the Pawn, and it reminded me that The Quest and Lucifer's Realm on the 8bits could use a good modernization. Hell, graphical text adventures should make a comeback in general. The closest thing we have now are those terrible Japanese dating sims... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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