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Top Five Atari Games that Deserve a Triple A Rehash |
However, as we revisit these games, we wonder: how truly awesome would these titles be if they were conceived in 2014? So, we begin our petition for AAA console producers to consider drawing inspiration from these Atari treasures for their future games.
Adventure (1979)
Considered as one of the forefathers of the action-adventure genre, Adventure isn't exactly what you would call 'epic' by today's standards. It lacked the usual elements of the massive adventure games -- no real graphics or complex mechanics. Just outsmart the enemies while traversing the map, get the key, and win.
All the good stuff is left to the player's imagination. With this, a modernized Adventure is very open to interpretation. In fact, thousands of titles after the game's release could be traced back to this very title's groundbreaking style. We can only imagine how fun a minimalist, dragon-infested maze-world would look like with today's technology.
Asteroids (1981)
Known for being the first to allow spaceships to traverse the screen instead of just sliding left and right, Asteroids have been the inspiration for some of the best titles today, including Geometry Wards, Super Stardust HD, even some elements of the highly successful Touhou series.
A spiffed up version of Asteroids, we imagine, could feature online connectivity, creating a whole growing universe and hundreds of thousands of spaceships simultaneously cleaning up space debris. Alternatively, an adventure mode with Battlestar Galactica-level arcs and plot twists will fulfill our geek fantasy. It could even integrate motion sensing from phones like the iPhone 5S (check out M7 technology on O2's spread for the smartphone). This would make piloting a rocket ship much more challenging and cool.
Pitfall! (1982)
For those of you who swear by the so-called grandfather of platform games, Mario, I strongly suggest you take a second look at your video game history books. Before the worldwide domination of Emperor Mario and his minion Luigi, Pitfall Harry was the side-scrolling master. Navigating jungle obstacles (which could either be rolling barrels, gnawing alligators, clueless scorpions, and surprise sinkholes) isn't as easy as it looks.
Mario and Contra were nice representations of the genre in the 90s, and we're yet to see an authentic re-envisioning of the silent game for this turn of the century.
Q*bert (1983)
What's cool about Q*bert isn't the fact that it's a puzzler splashed in with platforming goodness, it's the game's unique isometric design which unfortunately got lost when it got ported back in the day. Concepts such as non-Euclidean geometry, non-traditional points of views, and other wacky level designs are always breaths of fresh air for the tried and tested genre. Q*bert's isometrics could definitely be a great way to bring back the fun in puzzle games, especially during this era where Triple As aren't particularly fond of them.
Defender of the Crown (1986)
We stand by our stance that Defender of the Crown must be the most beautifully designed Atari game in the late 80s. Set in the time of knights and kingdoms, the game boasts of all the things we loved about Dungeons and Dragons, Risk, and Mule. It was a goldmine for hardcore geeks. And we loved it.
Shame, the game had missing pieces which should have been developed. A modern rehash of Defender of the Crown will bring in the nostalgia feels as well as provide great gameplay – two things that when combined, results into a cash cow of a game. Get on it, EA or Nintendo, or whoever really.
What's on your wish list for a souped-up reinterpretation? Star Raiders? Gauntlet? Populous? Tell us in the comments section.