Generations Of Change

This month, if you have a PS+ subscription, you are able to download the new Strider reboot for free. Reboots are a funny thing: Sometimes people blast them because they are a little too far from the source material, and sometimes they only add a little flare to the reboot but it doesn't add anything really new to the mix. I think it takes a delicate balance of updated visuals, changes in the source material (but nothing drastic like a huge sweeping change in lore), and a consistent theme with the original to make a good reboot. 

We started seeing the "reboot" trend take off hard in the movie scene—Robocop, Total Recall, TMNT, Godzilla, Carrie, Batman...the list goes on—and a lot of this is attributed to the stigma that "everything has been done, and nothing is original anymore". And to an extent I can agree. There is just so much stuff out there now that no matter what someone thinks up, it is without a doubt influenced by something already created. So with such a huge backlog of licenses, people just delve into them and re-hash something old for a new generation.

The same thing can easily be said about video games. I think you can split remakes into a few different camps, at least in regards to video games. Here are a few I've played recently, all split into their specific type.

The "True To The Feeling"

Games like the recent Thief and Strider come to mind when I think about remakes that got the feeling just right, just like the originals. When I say "feeling", I'm talking about what's going through the players mind while playing.

I thoroughly enjoyed both Thief and Strider, partly due to having a history with their predecessors. I played both series a good decade ago, and my memory of those games is lined up perfectly with their new installments. Maybe less so for Strider, but for Thief, if you want to try n' play one of the older games nowadays, it's virtually unplayable...Which is funny because when I played the new one, it felt like I was playing the original, just the controls worked.

For me, nailing that feeling is the most important part. Sure the story might be changed, characters could be a little different, but the feeling is there. This is my personal favourite type of remake.

The "Refresher"

This would be more of a reboot than a remake, but the new Tomb Raider is the perfect example. I played some of the older Tomb Raiders, and they were fun but I never played a lot of them. They were adventure games with a bigger emphasis on environment puzzles. I would guess that is the best way to put it. In any case the new one is phenomenal and really helped refresh the franchise. The main thing to focus on is that you can't stray too far away from the original. Yes it's different, but the things they changed work together, and it's for the better.

On a side note, I always enjoyed the round-a-bout way this came to be. Uncharted stems from some heavy Tomb Raider influences, then, Tomb Raider comes back and emulates Uncharted. I just really like how it went full circle.

The "Change For Change"

The one thing you have to worry about whenever working on a reboot or remake is when someone tries to change something just for the sake of changing it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! This is how I feel when I think about the new SimCity. I'm sure some people must have enjoyed it, but I really disliked the forced multiplayer...At least it was practically forced. They changed the design of the game to accentuate it; at least that's why I say it's forced. Basically, instead of having one giant map to work with, the regions are broken up into smaller maps. Each map has access to different resources and luxuries (beach front property and what not), making it so that each city has to work "together".

All that sounds fine on paper, but what I loved about SimCity was making a gigantic city, and with the smaller maps having to work together, you just couldn't do it. All the feeling was gone. I can see what they were trying to do, but I just can't get on board.

Final Thoughts

There is nothing wrong with reboots or remakes when done right. Three out of the four games I mentioned I enjoyed immensely. More are to come for sure; at this point in time there are a lot of licenses developers can lean on.

But I want to know, what's a series you would like to see breathe new life? Not as a sequel, but a fresh experience on better hardware. Let me know in the comments below!