Endlessly churning out Call Of Duty and Assassin's Creed games is all well and good: there's obviously an audience who will pump millions into those franchises even without massive variation, and they're the kind of gimmes that keep game studios in business. Like Hollywood chasing Transformers millions. But what of those hidden gems and forgotten favourites that are pushed aside by less imaginative focus on farming familiar content? What about the characters and franchise spin-offs who were unfairly moth-balled after leaving brilliant marks first time out? Isn't it time studios gave their fans what they've wanted for years and return most cult gems to the current generation of gamers? Of course it is, and it's not even hard to pick the most likely candidates...
6. Metroid Prime
First things first, Metroid Prime Federation Force is not a Metroid Prime sequel. Metroid Prime was about thoughtful exploration, about learning to adapt and survive in an inhospitable environment and using combat simply to redress the balance. It was eerily calm in places, frantically desperate in others and it perfectly captured the sense of progression and intrigue that the series was always known for. Instead of being a series of games sharing the same mechanics, Metroid Prime was actually a trilogy in the truest sense, escalating the plot and the threat over Metroid Prime, Echoes and Corruption before building to a thematic crescendo. After that? Well, the series was rebooted with Team Ninja's Other M, a step back that tried to mix 3D and 2D and ended up feeling very 1D for the most part. It's a shame, as it's hard to believe that team at Retro Studios didn't have more stories and innovation up the sleeves of their Varia suit. The trilogy gets a frequent airing on console-defining lists and has been released on virtual consoles a few times so there's still clearly demand for more next-level Metroid. Hopefully the Prime name making a comeback with Federation Force is Nintendo testing the waters for a return proper.