Its sad to say, but Im not getting any younger. Mixed in with the sadness that I cant outrun The Grim Reaper forever (but I do continually flip him the bird from over my shoulder) is a cool compilation of great memories. Memories are an awesome aspect of existence in the sense that they can be sparked by all kinds of situations. Looking at an old photo of friends sitting around a Nintendo or Sega Genesis sparks memories of that day and that time, not to mention that era. Thinking about the games we played and the conversations we had are a great part of getting older and anticipating the good times to come, theres a lot to look forward to (especially since I plan to hang in there until I can be downloaded into an immortal killer cyborg that will eat planets). Thanks to technology and nostalgia we can have our cake and eat it too. Old school can be retrofitted for a new audience and a generation of gamers who often wonder what the fuss was all about. Here are 10 games I think are worthy of a new lease on life, so that they can spark fond memories for the younguns now.
10. General Chaos
EA games was well on their way to being known for Madden football and atrocious press by the time General Chaos hit the Genesis. A rare game that actually seemed better suited for the PC due to the point and click control scheme that would be used to great effect in the Diablo series and other RTS games. However the camera was set far closer to the action and the number of sprites to work with was never more than four. The character classes available determined what combination the player could work with. The game had a pretty serviceable single player experience but where it shined was in its one on one multi-player. The object of the game was to navigate the rather intimate map and eliminate the opposing players units. The presentation was very comical with cartoon representations of violence and explosions. The units were highly varied with demolition experts, guys with flame throwers, machine gunners and medics for starters. The units also had a limited AI as the game required the player to guide players and instruct them to behave outside of direct control. Being able to scroll through the squad and coordinate the group effort in real time made for some memorable battles.
Update: With the use of the voice command technology of the Xbox One and the PS4 General Chaos could really take advantage of the whole chaos aspect. The field of play doesnt need much of an update aside from expected graphic updates; making the maps any bigger wouldnt be exactly beneficial. The size of the maps really made EndWar a bit of a hassle in the end. Being able to issue verbal commands would allow for the player to eschew the complex button pressing and get right to the real strategy. The comedic style of the graphics and game play would also be a bit of fresh air as more and more games do away with skirting the lines between hyper realism and cartoon graphics. The strength of the next gen systems could allow for adding more players (factions) to the experience and add another worthy entry into the competitive party game. Currently the party usually ends when in my excitement I smash a friends guitar. No one said rocking was easy.