10 Video Game Remakes & Remasters That Surpassed Expectations
Saints Row 3 just set the bar.
These days, you can't go one week without someone, somewhere remastering or remaking a classic game.
Granted, the closer you get to the end of a console generation, the more likely big name publishers will cash-in on a quick re-release just to keep investors happy. But just like Hollywood and their obsession with the past, more and more studios are out to bottle classic experiences and ship them out with a shiny new wrapper.
Not every re-release hits a home run, yet as technology continually improves, many past ideas and stories have been reborn to even better critical acclaim than their original endeavours. This year alone we've returned to Midgar, rekindled our hatred for Nemesis and seen the revival of some names that haven't graced our presence in many years, with care and attention to detail of paramount importance to their success.
With the next generation of consoles ahead of us, even more classic titles will get the remastered treatment or be completely rebuilt with a modern sensibility. They'd do well to follow in the footsteps of the following games on this list, if they want to avoid the dangerous fate of being left in the bargain bin.
10. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Looking back at the GameCube, it's amazing to consider some of the high profile exclusives Nintendo were able to bring together, but one of the biggest was the complete remake of the espionage classic, Metal Gear Solid.
Subtitled 'The Twin Snakes', Nintendo and Konami (who were knee deep developing Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater at the time) brought in Silicon Knights to oversee the production along with original creator Hideo Kojima and Mr Nintendo himself, Shigeru Miyamoto.
Silicon Knights would completely overhaul the visuals and some of the key game play mechanicsg to fit more in line with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, whilst also beefing up the enemy AI and the ability to choose a first person view during certain combat sequences. The entire voice cast was also brought back in to re-record their lines too, including the original Solid Snake himself, David Hayter.
Twin Snakes' success (along with fellow big name remake, Resident Evil) proved there was a market for completely remade games if left in the right hands, something that would become less a gimmick and more a mainstream success story as consoles progressed.