Most classic games and franchises have been mined to death, with each iteration bringing more of the same. We’re all tired of the same first-person shooters being reskinned every year, and most of us agree that the lack of originality is one of the worst gaming trends.
After complaining about publishers milking IPs and the lack of original content, it seems contradictory to want remakes of the old games I cherish. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of happier times, but these eight forgotten games impressed me with their addictive gameplay, and I’d love to see how they’d perform with modern upgrades and graphics.
8
Gun
A Wild West thrill ride
Credit: Steam
The Red Dead Redemption franchise immediately comes to mind when people think of Western games, and Gun seems like a forgotten title that nobody talks about. However, Gun predates Rockstar’s classic by five years and offers a pulpier experience in a similar open-world landscape filled with outlaws and gamblers. It has everything you’d expect from a Western game, like dual-wield six-shooters, horse-riding, and the standard bounty hunter missions to keep you busy for hours.
Gun’s run-of-the-mill revenge tale was nothing special and just a vehicle for awesome action set pieces and satisfying gunplay. It was elevated by a stellar voice cast, with talents like Ron Perlman, Henriksen, Kris Kristofferson, and Brad Dourif chewing the scenery as the villains. Westerns are one of the most underrepresented game genres, and a fast-paced open-world Gun remake in the style of FarCry 3 would be the perfect counter to Red Dead 2‘s slow-burn adventure.
Gun
Gun is a third-person adventure game set in the Wild West with an open-world design and authentic weapons.
7
MDK
Battle the alien invasion with unlimited ammo
I played MDK to death and loved its originality and offbeat humor. The protagonist, Kurt Hectic, uses a special suit to thwart an alien invasion of Earth and is helped by a mad scientist, Dr Hawkins, and Max, his six-legged robotic dog. This 1997 third-person shooter has unlimited ammo to blast away at waves of enemies and a unique sniper system with various ammo types to bounce through windows or home in on targets. It was also one of the first games I played to include a wingsuit mechanic to glide around the level or catch updrafts to reach platforms.
MDK clocks in around five hours and mixes things up with unique level designs and mini-games so you never get bored. Most battles occur on vast enemy Minecrawlers, and you get some fun intermediary levels fighting baddies while riding a snowboard or sliding down chutes to get pickups. MDK 2 opened up the experience with the doctor and his dog becoming playable characters, each with unique weapons and abilities. The franchise has been dormant since 2000, and a Doom-style remake that’s faithful to the original could captivate a new generation of fans.
MDK
MDK is a 1997 third-person shooter in which the protagonist, Kurt Hectic, uses his special coil suit to thwart an alien invasion of Earth.
6
Blur
Stylish vehicular combat
Credit/Steam
Racing games are a dime a dozen, and 2010’s Blur differentiates itself by offering vehicular warfare à la Death Race to spice things up. The beauty of Blur is that it doesn’t rely on its gimmick and is an excellent racing game in its own right. It uses real cars and locations, and you can zoom around off road and urban tracks like the Coastal Cruise and the Barcelona Speedway in cars like the Audi R8, Dodge Viper ACR, and Ford Bronco. Each car has unique handling to mimic its real-life counterparts, so you can choose options for handling, drifting, or raw power, depending on your playing style.
Blur’s combat mechanic tests your skills by adding another dynamic to the racing formula. Pickups throughout each track offer different abilities, like blasting other cars, health, shields, and deploying explosive mines. You can have a maximum of three pickups at any given time, and the trick is to deploy them strategically to get the upper hand and win the race. Blur was a commercial flop that tanked its developer. However, it’s gone on to become something of a cult classic and deserves a remake that irons out the issues of the original.
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5
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Deleted Scenes
Tactical shooter single-player campaigns
Credit:Moddb
Counter-Strike is known for its multiplayer modes, and 2024’s Condition Zero is the only iteration with single-player campaigns. The 12 Deleted Scenes linear missions around the globe were lucky to make it into the finished game after developer Ritual Games was dropped for Value during production. They still offered an action-packed playing experience with the same movement, weapons, and equipment from the online game.
Deleted Scenes didn’t waste time with plots or storylines and kept things simple without weapons or character upgrades. Instead, you started each mission with one of the iconic CS guns. You dropped straight into the action to rescue hostages from terrorists in the Philippines, take down drug dealers in the US, or battle rival factions taking over a nuclear facility in Russia. Adding a new Deleted Scenes mode to the current Counter-Strike 2 could give players a break from competition and help them hone their skills without pressure.
4
Prototype
Mutant madness in virus-infested New York
Prototype is a bonkers open-world game set in New York City, struggling to cope with a virus outbreak. You play as Alex, a human mutated by the virus, who’s gained shape-shifting abilities to move at incredible speeds, climb buildings, and glide in the air. He transforms his arms into blades, hammers, and other deadly weapons to fight the infected and the military as he tries to discover his past and end the epidemic. One of the more unique gameplay features that makes the game interesting is the ability to absorb NPC characters into his body to regenerate health or assume their identity for stealth missions.
This game is a blast because of its fluid movement and unique gameplay mechanics that create an unforgettable experience. The 2012 sequel upped the ante with a new protagonist and updated graphics, but underwhelming sales scrapped any plans for future projects. Prototype deserves a modern reimagining that honors the original while improving its storyline and repetitiveness.
Prototype
Prototype is a third-person action-adventure game in which you play as a virus-infected human with shape-shifting abilities who battles the military and mutants to end an epidemic.
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3
Unreal Tournament
Arena shooter mayhem
Unreal Tournament hasn’t been forgotten, but Epic Games has left it for dead, as it isn’t listed in its store. The original UT from 1999 and Quake 3 set off the arena shooter craze, giving players a massive arsenal of weapons to go berserk in multiplayer battles. Both games have a cult following, although UT stands out with quirky weapons like the infamous Biorifle and unforgettable maps like Facing Worlds.
The franchise received several sequels but arguably peaked with Unreal Tournament 2004, which upgraded the graphics and added larger vehicle-based maps for large-scale carnage. Players weren’t confined to the game’s standard maps and could easily add custom user-created alternatives to keep things interesting and fun. Unreal Tournament’s fast-paced gameplay still holds up today, and a modern reinterpretation could shake up the esports scene.
2
The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
Mordor must fall
Credit:BFME
The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth and its 2006 sequel delighted Tolkien fans with their authentic representation of the universe. Players control Elves, Goblins, and other factions in epic point-and-click battles that follow the lore and include immersive, detailed locations, like The Shire and Rivendell. The rival factions stay faithful to the source material with unique characteristics and abilities and are captained by characters like Saruman and Aragorn, who add some familiarity to the proceedings.
Each game is divided into good and evil campaigns that run parallel and provide different perspectives on the war. You also relive iconic moments in the franchise, like exploring the Mines of Moria and Shelob’s lair. The rights for The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth franchise switched from EA to Warner Bros, and the titles now rot in game limbo, unavailable to fans.
1
F.E.A.R.
Paranormal action and horror
F.E.A.R. is a mind-bending first-person shooter that combines horror with frenetic action set pieces elevated by an innovative bullet-time mechanic. You start the game as a paranormal operative on a mission to investigate a corporate facility that’s been taken over by a psychic and his army of clones. Things aren’t as they seem, and you soon start experiencing hallucinations and seeing creepy figures stalking the halls of the dark and oppressive environment. To make matters worse, the place crawls with enemy troops who can flank or take cover thanks to an innovative AI system.
The gunplay in F.E.A.R. is first-class because of the Max Payne-style slow-mo ability and destructive environments. Walls crumble, and windows shatter in satisfying style as you blast them with many available weapons. The atmosphere plays a part in the story, providing tension and dread punctuated by frequent jump-scares to keep you on your toes. F.E.A.R. had some of the best enemy AI and effects of its day, and it would be interesting to see how it could be improved with current technology.
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. is a first-person shooter that blends action and horror elements and includes a slow-motion mechanic to elevate the action.
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This list could be endless
We all have a deep personal connection to certain games and wish to relive the experience of playing them again for the first time. I can think of countless honorable mentions, like Dark Messiah of Might and Magic and Neverwinter Nights 2, which I’d like to see updated but never will. I still have hope because Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is getting the remake it deserves, with the new Origins title dropping around March.
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source: https://www.xda-developers.com/forgotten-games-deserve-remake/
