Video Games that should be revived

As I play through the multitude of sequels and thirds this year, I can’t help but think of a few franchises that never really made it to this era of consoles. Maybe their sales weren’t up to the mark or their developers started working on new properties but either way here’s hoping that someone, someday brings them back from the dead.

Manhunt

This won’t hurt…. a lot!

The Manhunt series was primarily known for its over-the-top depiction of video game gore but beneath all the bloodshed was a very solid stealth game. The sequel couldn’t recreate the dread and magic whipped up by the original, concentrating more on gunplay and even more over-the-top executions. Now with the power of the RAGE engine as well as Natural Motion’s Euphoria engine at their fingertips, Rockstar could easily make Manhunt 3 the most disturbing game to grace this generation.

Black

Bringing down the house - literally

Criterion will go down in history as the Burnout guys or the guys who successfully rebooted the Need for Speed series, but in my mind they’ll also go down as the studio that came up with one of the most cathartic shooters ever, Black. Considering the insane environmental destruction they pulled off for this game on the older generation of consoles, it would have been a real treat to see them conjure up large scale mayhem on the PS3 and the Xbox360.

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Road Rash

Imagine a Road Rash that looked like this

There’s no dearth of car racing games on the block but it’s been ages since we played a good bike racer and what better franchise to cure that itch than Road Rash. I mean seriously, is there anything as satisfying as whipping your opponents with a steel chain while burning through the road at mach speeds on a bike? GTAIV’s The Lost and the Damned kind of allowed us to relive this experience with a few
multiplayer modes but EA should really consider bringing this franchise back with none other than Criterion at the helm.

The Suffering

Torque brings the pain

In recent times the Dead Space series has managed to tread the fine line between action and horror perfectly but long before Isaac Clarke began his ill fated adventure on the Ishimura, a badass by the name of Torque was messing up the hellish population of Cranate island in The Suffering, an action packed, survival horror game. And now even though Midway isn’t around anymore, it would be aces if a capable studio adept at that genre brought Torque and his hellish past back to the new generation of consoles.

Urban Chaos

Shocking

Long before Rocksteady Games became a household name with the Batman series, they were a small British developer who brought us an entertaining and satisfying shooter by the name of Urban Chaos: Riot Response. As an officer of an anti-riot squad, players were tasked with protecting a fictional American city against a nefarious gang that were inducing riots all over. We know Rocksteady are real busy with Batman: Arkham City right now, but maybe, just maybe, they’ll get back to rioting once the game’s completed.

The Legacy of Kain series

Come at me bro

Long before vampires twinkled in the sun or were content drinking artificial blood, they were pure, unadulterated badassses and the Legacy of Kain series was one of the few games that portrayed them in that light. The game was well received thanks to its mature and engaging plot as well as satisfying gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately the last few games were watered down attempts to cash in on the franchise after which it just vanished from the face of the earth. Here’s hoping Crystal Dynamics return to these creatures of the night once they wrap up work on the latest Tomb Raider game.

The Getaway

Call me a GTA clone again. I dare ya

If the Grand Theft Auto series is an ode to American gangster movies, The Getaway has Guy Ritchie’s stamp all over it. This open world action game and its sequel from Team Soho let players explore the seedy side of an authentically recreated London either on foot or by car. After a slight tease at E3 2005 it turns out the third iteration was cancelled but hey, if True Crime can come back from the grave after being picked up by a new publisher, you never know. 

Killer Instinct

Stone cold killa

I’m not huge on fighting games but Killer Instinct was one of the few brawlers out there that did grab my interest. It had some pretty cool characters, an in-depth fighting system and a totally bitching OST called Killer Cuts bundled with the game. Granted this series is not half as popular as the Mortal Kombat games but developer Rare has expressed interest in bringing Killer Instinct to the new generation of consoles. Here’s hoping they get their wish.

That’s about it from our side. Do let us know which games you’d like resurrected in the comments below.