Remakes that Aren’t Remade

February 17th, 2009

I’ve noticed a bit of a trend in the past few years that’s slowly snowballed into a bit of an epidemic, that is the misuse of the term ‘remake’. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed it too. The misuse is most apparent on the portable platforms but the same applies for the consoles too. Take a look at this list of guilty suspects:

Valkyrie Profile Lenneth (PSP)
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP)
Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP)
Chrono Trigger DS (DS)
Okami (Wii)
New Play Control! Series (Wii)
House of the Dead: Return (Wii)
Resident Evil 4 (PS2, Wii)
Resident Evil GameCubes (GCN)
Super Mario ports (GBA)
Final Fantasy ports (GBA)
Banjo Kazooie (XBLA)

All games that are nothing more than reworked ports of previous titles with a few significant spruce ups. No doubt the changes are pretty significant like redone script, new areas or new controls. But a remake? Probably not. How can we classify these games as remakes in the same vein as:

Resident Evil (GCN)
 -overhauled graphics and sound
-new content added
-gameplay tweak
-redone script
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (GBA)
-remade into isometric perspective
-many element downgraded for GBA
Tales of Symphonia II (Wii)
-same game world
-new story, characters, environment
-many original areas remixed
Prince of Persia Classic (XBLA, PSN)
-overhauled graphics and sound
-new game modes
-high score boards

I honestly don’t think that it’s fair to group the two together. For marketing sake though I guess the word ‘remake’ has a better sound to it and as such -like fish to water- the games media have wrote about the first list of games under the guise of remakes. I’m not convinced, where do you guys stand?

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Capcom gets Narcy over Okami Flak

October 26th, 2007

When Capcom announced that they were bringing an Okami game to the Wii last week, I was really excited. Finally the rumours were true, goodie. Although my excitement quickly waned once I got past the news headline to discover that it was a direct port of last years PS2 game. I was even more disappointed after discovering that there was going to be no extra content, nothing. Just Wii controls and thats it.

Its not just me that is angry, plenty of people are angry. Enough people to warrant this post from Christian Svensson(Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Research) on the Capcom America forum:

“A few points here… I get the issues, I really do, but people seem to be missing a few things. We selected Ready at Dawn to do the port. These guys are all ex-Naughty Dog and ex-Blizzard, and they have already shipped their own titles that have ridiculously high review scores and sales (and have more on the way). Their attention to detail and technical prowess is among the best of any team I’ve ever worked with.

If we wanted a cheap and dirty port, I could have turned around and picked any one of 50 houses and gotten it done for less and perhaps more quickly. Clearly, that wasn’t the approach we sought for a variety of reasons (for the fans, for the reputation of our company, for the potential of the product, etc. okami artwork

Lastly, if this were a quick cash in, let’s face it, there’s TONS of other products that had higher sales on other platforms we could have chosen to port, quickly and cheaply. Okami, as great as it was, wasn’t a huge seller on PS2 such that its quick and dirty port would be assured “sales success” on a new platform. We picked a huge game (read: expensive, especially on testing costs), with a ton of moving parts.

So, on the contrary, we have a lot to prove with this game and I know we, and RAD are up to the task. I apologize if I bristle at the accusation that this is a cheap port, but I do.

Given that the only port we’ve done to date was RE4, which has a 90+ gamerankings score and provided AMAZING value for the platform, has this really been Capcom’s modus operendi such that this allegation should be leveled at us? Zack & Wiki is getting better reviews than just about anything you’ll see this year on Wii, except possibly Galaxy. Shovelware is not what we do.

As I’ve said in prior interviews, we’re getting the game up and running first. The game is enormous. If after we have everything working correctly, cleanly and as desired so as not to “break” the amazing experience that is Okami, we will worry about potential enhancements. As we are NOT at that point in the process yet, we are loathe to even mention any potential changes or enhancements for fear of disappointing the fans/media.

So for now, if you MUST assume the worst, assume that you will have an amazing 40-60 hour adventure that is one of gaming’s most impressive pieces of art to play in fantastic new ways. If you want to hope for the best, well, perhaps we’ll have more to say in a few months, but for now we’re going to have to ask for your patience.”

This whole topic is rather interesting because I think both sides are justified. This is a port of the original game, there should be some sort of benefit for people that have played it already. Resident Evil 4 players got a number of improvements over the Gamecube version:

Adas missions are enough to warrant another purchase of this title(they are extremely interesting). Don’t know what I’m talking about? Watch these if you have completed RE4 already: Part 1 – Part 2

Capcom also should not get so defensive when gamers expect more from them. They are one of best developers in the world(second only to Nintendo IMO), so a port like this really isn’t their style.

On the flipside, it really shouldn’t matter if there is little in the way of additional content as this game is already ace. Bringing it to the Wii only ensures that the title gets the attention that it deserved(like RE4). Capcom chose an excellent studio to work on the game, which was a wise choice as this one isn’t going to be so easy to port across. My final point is that Wii owners should feel content with what Capcom are doing for the Wii: Resident Evil 4, Umbrella Chronicles(new trailer here, it keeps looking better), Zack and Wiki, Monster Hunter and now Okami. Over half a year ago I was concerned about Capcoms commitment to the Wii but now I am completely satisfied. Its a pity that other gamers haven’t recognised this yet. :(

To conclude I think that the most interesting part of this kufuffle is this quote:

“Zack & Wiki is getting better reviews than just about anything you’ll see this year on Wii, except possibly Galaxy.”

Its not like Capcom to boast about themselves in such a way. So this is very interesting indeed.

So what do you think about this whole drama? Be sure to hit us up via the comment box.

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The Return of Boulder Dash

October 3rd, 2007

I remember back when I was in the 3rd grade on the old Toybox OS computers at school we had a remade version of the Commodore 64′s Boulder Dash titled Rockford(Rockford is the name of the main character). This game was dear to everyone at my school and it really hit home once the school updated to Windows 95. Even the internet couldn’t supplement the coolness of Rockford.

Unfortunately I had almost forgotten about this game entirely until a few days ago my brother loaded up the title in Dos Box. Talk about a hit of nostalgia! I was so apt to play this forgotten gem again. And yes, it was as awesome as it was back in the day.

But no, Rockford’s comeback hadn’t finished there folks. A few days ago I was cruising through my feeds only to discover that the series was making a come back on the PSP and DS. Forgot all of those other titles. This time its back. ^_^

Unfortunately as apt as RockFord was in the day, this new title doesn’t quite look to match the original’s prowess. Check out the new video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftp-W5EzSpE

There appear to be 3 main issues, judging by the video. Firstly, there is no Rockford(almost destroys the point of a rehash), the character moves too slowly and the map is so close you can hardly see where you are meant to move.

Despite this I am still anticipating the new Boulders Dash. Rock on!

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