In recent years we’ve seen developers try something completely new and unproven in the form of entirely new intellectual properties (IPs), and while this is certainly advantageous to everyone involved within the industry when they succeed, sometimes you just can’t beat the classics.
Sometimes developers pick up on the increasing sentiment among the consumer base that there is a demand for the tried and tested to return with a sequel. However, other popular game series don’t seem to get the same treatment. Let’s run through some popular game series that we’re just not ready to see die just yet. We live in constant hope that someday we’ll see the return of these popular series in all of their former glory, and not go the same way that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 did.
Pokémon Snap
There is quite literally no other game that captures the excitement of taking photos of Pokémon in a variety of different poses quite like Pokémon Snap does (literally, like, there’s just one Pokémon picture taking simulator we’re pretty sure). Originally released on the Nintendo 64 back in 1999, Snap took advantage of the Pokémon hype of the 90s while also delivering a truly enjoyable experience completely different to that of the main series. While a sequel would be a godsend, what console a sequel could release on is, of course, uncertain.
A swan song for the Wii U would certainly make sense using the tablet controller’s gyro as your means of directing the camera’s viewfinder and activating the shutter with a click of a trigger, but with the Wii U’s low sale numbers, it may not be the best choice. A 3DS version could work equally as well, or perhaps the NX will be even better suited. All we really want is a roster of our favorite Pokémon, a ton of different stages, and a variety of different items to use in order to really bolster the replay value. Come on Nintendo, if there was ever a time to bring back the Pokémon Snap series from its deathbed, now would be the time!
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar Games’ alternative take on the open world genre was a huge success back in 2010. Putting us in the shoes of John Marston in the American West made us feel like we could live out those childhood fantasies of being a real life cowboy. Red Dead Redemption put us in a fully realized world with sprawling desert trails and bustling towns with tons of distractions from the main storyline. Wrangling wild horses didn’t feel like a chore and taking on the role of a bounty hunter and collecting your reward was incredibly satisfying. Heck, even just playing the numerous mini-games such as Five Finger Fillet were more than compelling enough for us to whittle away hours.
We’d love to see Rockstar go back to the American West and take on another chapter of Marston’s life or maybe even follow the story of someone completely new. Bringing the Wild West onto a scale even larger than that of Grand Theft Auto V, filling it with more quests, activities, and unforgettable characters sounds like the recipe for another smash hit, and one which we’re desperate for Rockstar to take on.
Ape Escape
Back in the early PlayStation years, Sony had a weird and wonderful game series in the form of Ape Escape. Tasking players with capturing a ton of escaped apes hidden through a variety of levels in increasingly difficult and trivial places, Ape Escape had charm and humor by the ton. With different types of apes having varying special abilities and requiring the use of different items in order to capture them, some of the later levels required a bit of thinking as to how to grab those pesky primates. When you wanted a break from capturing apes, there were always fun little mini-game distractions as well.
We’d love to see the series return with its unforgettable style, humor, and charm that each monkey perfectly encapsulated. Bringing the series to the modern day could provide for an even longer experience with more apes to catch and gadgets to help you with your task. Sometimes a sequel doesn’t need to change the basics too much. Simply reiterating from the previous games and adding on some new bells and whistles is the right thing to do, and the Ape Escape series is a prime example of this.  As long as they keep ‘Monkey Football’, and the other mini-games, we’d be a happy bunch.
Half-Life
Is there a game that has been so hotly anticipated for so long more than Half-Life 3? Probably not, considering the whole idea of Half-Life 3 being confirmed has become a pretty big joke in the video game community. Still, Valve’s sci-fi series is one of, if not, the definitive sci-fi gaming series. With it having been so long since we last saw Half-Life, it just feels about god damn time! With the innovations and developments made since Half-Life 2, Valve could make leaps and bounds in the series and finally give fans what they’ve been waiting for.
On the other hand, would the incredibly highly anticipated sequel be able to live up to the unrealistic expectations set by fans who have been waiting all these years for it? Maybe Valve will finally give in and we may finally see it in the next couple of years, but for now we’re not holding our breath until anything is confirmed.
Portal
Oh, how we long to hear the sarcastic voice of GLaDOS once more. We miss her telling us how much of a poor human specimen we are and just her generally hilarious comments about every single thing we do. Portal is a series with a basic premise but one that executes it perfectly. A perfect blend of puzzle gameplay and humor means that the past two Portal games have been standout, memorable titles.
This is another prime example of a series that doesn’t need any huge refinements to gameplay, all we need is more tricky puzzling stages, more cake-related jokes, and more GlaDOS. Although we’re not overly confident that we’ll ever see another Portal, or at least not in the near future, it’s certainly one of our top picks for a game series that we’re not ready to see die yet. It’s the epitome of puzzle gaming with buckets of charm and one of the most passionate fan bases around. Come on Valve, if not Half-Life 3, give us Portal 3!
Silent Hills
Konami giveth, Konami taketh away. That was the tragic story of the Silent Hills reboot by the most talked about man this year, Hideo Kojima. The P.T. download teased us with the terrifying direction that Kojima and Guillermo del Torro were looking to take the popular horror series. The P.T. demo was more than enough for us to know for sure that we wanted to see the Silent Hill franchise make a return.
If Konami is still intending to bring the series back we’d hope that they’ll take some inspiration from its former employee and bring back all the jump scares and twisted horror that we got a taste of earlier this year. However, whether or not it would be the same without the direction of Kojima is unknown.
Alternatively, Kojima may bring us something in the same vein as Silent Hills underneath a different title from the newly formed Kojima Productions. As of now, only time will tell what he’ll reveal, but we’ve got a pretty good feeling about the Metal Gear Solid creator continuing his venture into horror.
Have we missed the game series you’re desperate to see a new entry in? Let us know in the comments below.
Published: Dec 22, 2015 05:52 pm