Very Wanted Sequels

Tales of the Unknown

If you played games for many years, you surely felt that nostalgic urge to play "that special game" from your childhood that you never finished because it was the freakin' hardcore Bard's Tale. That's why you waited a couple of years for Bethesda to appear on the map and dumb down a little the CRPG genre with The Elder Scrolls: Arena. But you were very thankful, because you could finally beat the damn thing, unlike Ultima Underworld, which was filled with dialogues, and playing a game without knowing the universal language, which is English, is kind of harsh for a schoolboy educated in Soviet Union. But then they throw at you the lizardmen language to learn.

Bica sor'click, tosa sorra zekka, thepa yethe tosa. Sseth, sseth, sseth!

But it's not that bad actually, even Commander Keen games had language that aliens used to communicate among themselves. The point is, the industry exists in a bubble. That bubble represents isolation. Like a force of nature it always manages to occupy the void on a timeline as a confined ecosystem that always acknowledges only a couple of latest generations, somehow forgetting the past glorious deeds of the game industry, as a gargantuan whole. That confined mainstream spheroid moves forward and leaves the past behind, out of bubble's reach, leaving it to the ones that actually experienced it. The thing is, when you pass through many generations you accumulate expectations for the future - at some point you become bigger than the bubble. You look at it from up there, like that child from the famous 2001: A Space Odyssey scene, and wait patiently for some lunatics to resurrect your favourite games and release a sequel that will actually live up to your expectations. Can you freakin' imagine how many Assassins Creed games are out there. They are not bad of course, on the contrary, but seeing so many games that belong to just one recent franchise I wanted to remember what classic titles I would actually like to see resurrected today.

Hidden & Dangerous 3

At the end of the 90's Illusion Softworks made a very good tactical action shooter adventure in WW2 setting. You were able to choose soldiers with different skills, equip them with different weapons and tools for conducting sabotage operations behind enemy lines. It was like playing Commandos, but in a fully 3D rendered environment. Gamers had choice to play the game as they please - as a third person shooter controlling a one man army soldier that massacres whole nazi battalions before they say Achtung (but it was actually a bad idea because nazi were very efficient on filling you with holes before YOU could say "yellow submarine"), a third or first-person tactical squad based simulator with giving commands to every soldier and even directly controlling each one of them, or bringing the tactical map on screen to plan the whole operation and then sit and watch as events unfold. The last mode very much resembled Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon. The second game continued to build upon the mechanic of the first one, but it was done on a much bigger scale. The tactical view was upgraded, you had a lot more options to play with and it became more intuitive. Bigger maps allowed a more free use of vehicles, in comparison with the first game where you used them on rare occasions. Each map felt more like a pseudo openworld rather than a closed environment. It's kind of hard to explain why these kinds of games died. The last games of this kind that come to mind are 2006 PC version of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and it's sequel. Metal Gear Solid 5 reminds a little Hidden and Dangerous too. A new game in the franchise will surely fill the void in many hearts around the globe.

Condemned 3

Nowadays Monolith makes Lord of the Rings

for Warner Brothers. Can you believe it. I wouldn't believe this if i wouldn't see the page on Steam. But, they made Condemned, which is kind of, forgotten. Sega is making some moves by porting many franchises recently. There are rumours already that Yakuza and Persona series are coming to PC, so it's a great chance that we'll see at least Condemned 2 properly ported to our personalised computing systems. Condemned is a series of first person psychological horror / thriller games with focus on witnessing someone's teeth flying from a mighty fire axe punch to the face, rather than serving twelve gauge justice in a city gone to hell. It doesn't mean you'll never have a chance of role-playing a trigger happy hobo serial killer, on the contrary, there are a couple of handguns, shotguns and machineguns, but the ammo is scarce. You will only be able to use the round it already has, right after you empty the clip you can crush hobo's teeth with it's backside until you break it. Every weapon in this game has a couple of parameters - some break easily, others last longer, also you can perform a Jean Claude Van Damme kick, apparently all FBI agents know how to perform it. The story is quite intriguing too. It would be a shame to leave such great series to be sucked into the void of the past. So, Condemned 3 it is. I want it, how about you.

No One Lives Forever 3

If you had a chance to experience NOLF series back in the day, then you're awesome. These games were very innovative for their time. If the first game can be enjoyed even today just like classic Half-Life or Gunman Chronicles, the second one feels so modern that it can be released today on Steam and no one will ever believe it was made in 2002. The series takes place during the Caribbean Crisis. Secret British agency UNITY sends their agents to remote corners if our planet to conduct investigations regarding the mega evil organization called HARM, that wants to dominate the world and is threatening humanity with a virus. In their ultimatum they demand the continent of Australia, or the virus will be spread. The gameplay felt like a lightweight Deus Ex. Every mission could be completed with stealth or straightforward assault rifle justice. The stealthy approach was very rewarding. You witnessed many dialogues between NPC's and enemies while you avoided unwanted attention. Although the game was funny it wasn't a comedy. It was a traditional Bondiana of the 70's with Roger Moore. The second game focused on a secret project Omega and also continued the plot of the first one. Nowadays we live in a beaurocratic world and nobody (I mean big companies and publishers) wants to resurrect NOLF franchise and maybe develop NOLF 3. Monolith, if you can hear me go and ask Warner Bros. about the series, maybe they'll let you make the new one. Nowadays people can't wait for a couple of months for a game to be released, NOLF gamers await the mirracle of Cate Archer's resurrection for 15 years.

Alpha Protocol 2

Dudes from Obsidian are my favourite creators of role-playing games today. Their team consists of some people from the legendary Black Isle, and it shows in their every game. All of those games just reek of old good role-play with deep story and not so obvious choices that you can make. Alpha Protocol was the first CRPG in existence about spies activity around the globe. Imagine Splinter Cell, Metal Gear, Tomorrow Never Dies, Bourne's Identification, wrapped in one package with CRPG game mechanic that plays exactly like Neverwinter Nights 2 or Mass Effect 1, of course changing the aesthetic feel to more "modern world just waiting to be blown to pieces by terrorists" using informational technologies and mole agents working undercover in some high position government agencies. This game the whole way maintains that techno thriller feel of a good Tom Clancy novel. The problem is that the game received some "mixed" reviews and was slammed by the press and by the players remaining only a cult game among "capable inner circles". There is a very little chance (if not zero) that we will see in the near future the next game about Michael Thorton. Maybe there is a slight chance, if only the new Torment: Tides of Numenera, Wasteland 2, Tyranny and Pillars of Eternity are selling well enough, then there's at least a little hope. The fans (including me) are also waiting the another impossible miracle from Obsidian, and that's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 and a new Fallout, maybe even New Vegas 2. At least i can play on more time Alpha Protocol which i bought from Steam for just 1 dollar. Thanks. I hope someone bought at least something with that dollar.

The Suffering 3

The first Suffering project was a unexpected masterpiece. Nobody knew how this can be any good. Some horror game about prison on old graphic engine, people thought. But in reality it turned out to be one of the best horror games in existence alongside Silent Hill. The game told us a story about the man named Torque, that one day was transferred to Abbot State Penitentiary located on Carnate Island. It was said that he killed his own family, but he doesn't remember. Of course this game somehow is copying the main story concept of Silent Hill 2, but it is doing it correctly. Torque in the course of the game descends into discovering the truth, by acting the good guy or the bad guy. In other words, the player decides, is he really a murderous killer or he is just dealing with the guilt, not being able to save his family. Progressing through the game we learn a deep and chilling story about the island, the prison, it's inhabitants and the ancient mysterious power that surrounds the island and has the ability to manifest island's dark past in the form of some gruesome bizzare monsters resembeling exactly the history of the island. Completing the game you will unlock the journal that was written by some journalist who stayed at the island. She is describing every location's history, the game that way gains additional "deepness". There is also a journal written by some mysterious man, describing island's bestiary. He explains why the creatures look exactly the way they look, or what the island was trying to manifest or show through that creature. The second part stayed true do the established rules and overall design of the game not breaking anything, changing Carnate Island for the city of Baltimore. The game not only had multiple endings like the first one, but also multiple beginnings. Importing your last savegame, you played further the good or the bad Torque. That game was great. It's also a great idea to watch some classic cult horror movies by which this dilogy was very inspired. Movies like Hellraiser, Green Mile, Re-Animator, Shocker, The Blair Witch Project or some similar modern movies like Shutter Island. The gameplay mechanic is not so simple too. You can play from the first person or third person, and Torque can transform into a big monster creature when he goes berserk, but all this is just in his head. We see the creature, but other people apparently only see how he goes very mad. The Suffering 3 would be great. Now that Silent Hill series almost died it's great to have at least some good succesor. And why it's again the third game? I can imagine myself a great Suferring 3 with modern graphics, very smooth animations, gameplay mechanic enhanced with some Dark Corners of the Earth elements, and maybe a lot of physics like in 2008 Alone in the Dark, but the most important - is the story.

Clive Barker's Jericho 2

Clive Barker is a good horror writer, you can give him that. His "Undying" universe is very phantasmagoric and at the same time very cosmic. Somehow it reminds you about Lovecraft's stories. Jericho was a new game written by Barker, released in 2006. It featured an original horror story about the firstborn that came from the place called Pyxis to take control over the earth. The special military force named Jericho is specializing in this kind of apocalyptical incidents and is sent by the government to Al-Khali desert to investigate the ancient bunker in which "all hell broke loose". I honestly don't want to spoil the story, because it's very intriguing and full of unexpected moments. I could say that this game possesses the atmosphere only Clive Barker could come with. And that's wonderful. I better tell something about the gameplay mechanic, but again i can't do that without spoiling a little detail. From the beginning you control the squad leader, and you can command your soldiers to do some basic stuff. Everyone has special abilities that can help you finish the game. And every one of them is a very charismatic person, talking and commenting all the time, leaving an impression of a very lively game, executed on a high level. But controlling the squad leader is just a prologue that leads you to a true gameplay mechanic. When the leader is killed (that little spoiler), his soul can possess every team member, and even talk to everybody. When you are in "someone's body" you can use all his abilities, and they differ very much. For example one charachter is a ninja specializing in blood magic and fighting with a sharp katana in her right hand and shooting using her automatic pistol in a left hand. A good team coordination is needed to progress through the game. The sniper woman can telephatically control the bullets she shots. There is even a big "artillery minigun guy" that has a pact with some fire demon that helps him become fire-proof. His left hand is always hidden in a metal container, only opening when he uses his ability. Other very charismatic person is the priest, that has two holy pistols, and a holy mission attitude. His pistols bear different names and can be adjusted in many ways, and many combinations. Also he is kinda "cleric of the party" that heals all soldiers and resurrects them after they become incapacitated. In fact everyone can resurrect fallen comrades, because the leader could do that and he's inside someone, but he must be in close proximity with the soldier (only the priest can resurrect from afar). The game is over only after all squad members are down, and the leader's soul can't possess them, after which they are eaten by flies. There are a couple more characters, but i think you got the idea that it's a highly original game in original setting, with original mechanic, and it's just one game in the franchise (if you don't count Undying) released already long ago. It must at least have a chance of resurrecting. I don't know why this game was slammed by the press when it was released, and not all the players liked it much, maybe it's because the occult stuff nobody likes, i don't know, but it's clear as day that nothing is wrong with this game. It's scary, disturbing, and the ending is one of the best too. If someday i'll write about the best endings in games, i'll surely include this one.

Commander Keen 3

Commander Keen is one of the best platformer games in existence. Much time was spent in my childhood on this one. This game deserves to be "remaked" and continued just like any Mario or Zelda games. Those last two series i mentioned are feeling good in today's industry, considering it's Call of Duty, David Cage, Assassins Creed and Uncharted domination. Nintendo is trying very hard, every single game to invent new mechanics true to the roots of the series never forgetting that their games show Nintendo's reputation and style in which they create. Commander Keen in it's day somehow was inspired by the Mario, but in reality this game stands on it's own, not being just some blatant copy of someone's success. Especially in my Soviet Russian country where nobody is playing Zelda or Mario (except me), Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, Metal Mutant were the most played games in the genre at the time. To bring this game in today's gaming, the ingenuity of the original team must resurrect it. I think back then John Romero or Tom Hall (don't know for sure) made this game like in a couple of weekends in their super hardcore "in the 80's" garage with dudes listening heavy metal and wearing long hair. And not long ago i found out that Tom Hall himself even had the idea of bringing back Commander Keen. He already had in mind some project proposed on Kickstarter, but nobody paid enough money, so the project died. The last Keen episode was released in 1993 i think (if not mistaken), and from then until now the community of fans released tons of fully playable content. There was actually only six episodes (with Lost Episode, seven), but the fans created more of them, i remember i saw the ninth episode somewhere, and wanted to play it badly after seeing the screenshots. There's actually the episode 58 called The Ruins of Roib released in 2013, about old, drunk and  smoking cigarettes Keen. The fans invented new gameplay mechanics, new plots, and overall new fully equipped adventures. It would be cool to develop a powerful editor that can help everyone create their own Commander Keen content. It must be fun not only to play the new Keen, but also to edit it, and then upload your creations to Steam Workshop, that would be great. It would be also great if the classic Keen receives it's own Steam Workshop too. So as i said Commander Keen is freaking heavy metal. Just grab your pogo and turn the volume of your record player with some Scorpions or Slayer and go and play at least the first six episodes. It's almost forgotten history.

Well, that's it folks. Now go and play some games. For starters try this one - Commander Keen: Ruins of Roib