Reboot or Re-imagineering that are drastically different from - and superior to - the original classics

[licketysplit]

Gizmo, you are wrong.  I am not going to argue over opinions, but I know for a fact that your opinion is in the minority and most people would disagree with you.  That's all I have to say.  I am not going to waste any  of my time arguing over  YOUR opinion with you.

 

Tomb Raider 2013 is overall a better GAME than the original Tomb Raider.  And I've played both.  I know for a fact that the majority of gamers agree with me.  I know because I have seen so many user reviews on YouTube and in various forums, users after users, reviews after reviews, all kept saying how the 2013 reboot was the best game in the entire franchise and superior to any and all of the previous Tomb Raider games.  It was after watching and hearing all those positive reviews that finally convinced me to give the Tomb Raider franchise another try, even though I hated the original game and had decided that I would not play another Tomb Raider game.  People kept telling me, "hey, this new one is the best one of the series," and, "I know you said you hate Tomb Raider, but this is completely different: they threw the old Tomb Raider out the window so this is a whole new animal.  This one is really good.  You really should try it."  So I finally did.  Man, the 2013 Tomb Raider blew me away.  So I know I am in the majority here who think the 2013 reboot is a superior game to the original because I know a lot of people agree with me, (i.e., the people who convinced me in the first place.)

 

After thoroughly enjoying the reboot I tried the older ones on GOG. After half an hour I was done. The controls and camera are simply terrible. 

[Fighter]

Tomb Raider isn't a genre. It's like saying WoW is not "a Warcraft game". New TR isn't a puzzle platformer but it is "a Tomb Raider game", it's called Tomb Raider. This is what it is now, that's just life.

[Hurlshort]

Tomb Raider was part of one genre, and now it is part of another.  

[GhostofAnakin]

The original Tomb Raider was one of my favorites back in the day.  It's one of the first games I can recall when I actually was anxious for a sequel.  But I generally suck at platforming games, so it also caused no end of frustration for me trying to achieve some of those combo jumps and ledge grabs.

 

The new Tomb Raider wasn't anywhere near as difficult -- and a part of me liked that.  I also liked the story in this one, so that combination allowed me to overlook any comparisons to the old Tomb Raider and just enjoy the new one for what it was.

[Hurlshort]

The original Tomb Raider was one of my favorites back in the day.  It's one of the first games I can recall when I actually was anxious for a sequel.  But I generally suck at platforming games, so it also caused no end of frustration for me trying to achieve some of those combo jumps and ledge grabs.

 

The new Tomb Raider wasn't anywhere near as difficult -- and a part of me liked that.  I also liked the story in this one, so that combination allowed me to overlook any comparisons to the old Tomb Raider and just enjoy the new one for what it was.

 

Be honest, you are in it for the bewbs.

[GhostofAnakin]

 

The original Tomb Raider was one of my favorites back in the day.  It's one of the first games I can recall when I actually was anxious for a sequel.  But I generally suck at platforming games, so it also caused no end of frustration for me trying to achieve some of those combo jumps and ledge grabs.

 

The new Tomb Raider wasn't anywhere near as difficult -- and a part of me liked that.  I also liked the story in this one, so that combination allowed me to overlook any comparisons to the old Tomb Raider and just enjoy the new one for what it was.

 

Be honest, you are in it for the bewbs.

 

 

Considering the reduction Lara got in the reboot, if I was in it for the boobs I'd list the original as much, much better than the new one.

[Humanoid]

 

 

The original Tomb Raider was one of my favorites back in the day.  It's one of the first games I can recall when I actually was anxious for a sequel.  But I generally suck at platforming games, so it also caused no end of frustration for me trying to achieve some of those combo jumps and ledge grabs.

 

The new Tomb Raider wasn't anywhere near as difficult -- and a part of me liked that.  I also liked the story in this one, so that combination allowed me to overlook any comparisons to the old Tomb Raider and just enjoy the new one for what it was.

 

Be honest, you are in it for the bewbs.

 

 

Considering the reduction Lara got in the reboot, if I was in it for the boobs I'd list the original as much, much better than the new one.

 

Quality over quantity for mine, so I'd reverse that ranking personally. (Heck I'd go for another reduction in quantity personally)

 

 

(As for the games themselves though, I think both the original and the reboot are poor, so I guess it's neutral in terms of the question posed by this thread)

[Woldan]

I remember Need For Speed 2 being drastically better than NFS1. Also Mass Effect 2 and Turrican 2 were better than the first in the those series. 

Edited January 2, 2015 by Woldan

[Malcador]

The SWAT series got better with each game, though 3 and 4 weren't all that different. The first one was an FMV game, second was an isometric tactics game (never did play that beyond the demo).

 

Only really recall sequels being the same as or mostly worse (post RVS and Ghost Recon).

[Hassat Hunter]

New Tombraider is actually Uncharted with Lara Croft... also, tortureporn.

So wildly different that you can either

1) Love it, if you hate platformers

2) Hate it, if you love platformers

 

DX:HR is pathetic compared to the original DX. So many horrible design decisions... that it's still more fun to play than most other modern games is more akin to those games than a testemoy to HR's skill.

 

Mass Effect 2 is the game where "infinite ammo" got replaced with 'limited ammo, but atleast the gun doesn't overheat' and figured that was an 'improvement'... something a rational civilisation would never do. Infinite ammo? No more transportation of ammo putting the wareffort at risk... F that...

 

FO2 is a RPG, FO3 is, well, a Bethesda game... all looks, much exploring, no substance.

 

All in all, it's really all a matter of subjectivity, there's no objective discussion to be had here. If I like RPG's more and person B likes FPS for I like Deus Ex more and they may hate having to aim and love bulletsponges in Deus Ex: Invisible War. Away with inventories, ammotypes... I hate it, they love it. Does that make more right then them. Nope...

[Cultist]

I hated the original XCOM: UFO Defense that came out in 1994.  (I played it in 1998.)  However, the new reboot, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and its expansion, XCOM: Enemy Within, are one of my favorite games of all time. 

You disgust me.

[500MetricTonnes]

Mass Effect 2, which I consider greatly inferior to the preceding game.

 

"Now wait," you say, "ME2 isn't a reboot or a re-imagining, you dope!"

 

While it may not be as such, it's very different from the first game, to the point where the discontinuity between the two seems very jarring:

 

- The gameplay was drastically altered, going from being an action-RPG to a Gears of War-style third-person shooter. Exploration was greatly scaled back, reducing much of the game to a series of linear corridors filled with conveniently-placed bits of waist-high cover. The weapon cooldown mechanic was replaced by "thermal clips" which is little more than an ammo system.

 

- Shepard is busted back down to level 1, and the levelling system is much more superficial than in the first game as part of the genre-shift from RPG to shooter. Hell, I bet you could beat the final boss at level 1, if you could reach it.

 

- Cerberus goes from a rogue Alliance black-ops group to a fully independent, pro-human organisation with access to tremendous resources.

 

- The focus of the game underwent a shift from being about the ME universe to being about Shepard. Much of the first game was dedicated to exploration and learning about the game world, and while Shepard was depicted as being an extremely talented soldier, there was little sign of the "Shepard is Jesus in Space" approach that the next two games exhibited. In the second game, suddenly Shepard is the entire focus of the story, with nearly everyone gushing about he's the only hope for humanity, the galaxy, and so on. He's also the only who can solve his teammates' various personal problems, an element that was far less prominent in the first game.

 

- The whole tone of the game changed. The first was your classic space opera with a few nods to hard sci-fi thrown in. The second game threw that away, and what we were left with is a some gritty, Fireflye-esque sci-fi shooter, filled with scantily-clad female party members (something completely absent from the first game) and Shepard as some badass, one-liner spewing action hero.

 

TwentySided said it best: "But I’m not at all keen on the notion of a Shepard who is the only one who KICKS ENOUGH ASS to take on the Reapers. I’d like the game to maintain the pretense that they need him to do more than just hose the galaxy down with bullets until the problem goes away."

 

- Even the music differed noticeably. The first game has this great, Vangelis-like soundtrack, while the second game went with a more generic, orchestral fare.

[Hurlshort]

Cerberus is definitely a shady organization, even in ME2.  Did you believe all the bull that Charlie Sheen's dad was saying?  That's why you had all the skeptical conversation options.  

[NOK222]

Metroid Zero Mission 

[HoonDing]

Gabriel Knight 2 --- terrible FMV, but still a decent game.

Gabriel Knight 3 --- worst 3D adventure game of all time.

 

Broken Sword 3 fared much better in the 3D department.

[ktchong]

The new Lara Croft is bloodthirsty:

 

Edited January 2, 2015 by ktchong

[babaganoosh13]

From what I hear, the Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey remake is much better than the original.

[nipsen]

Battlezone 2 was another one of those games that somehow fell through the cracks, I guess. Throwaway licensed project, allegedly, not really worth the time. Actually a very good game that finally realized some of the things the earlier games couldn't because of hardware limitations.

 

Psygnosis had a few of those as well. Lander3d, WipeoutHD, that sort of thing.

 

TIE-Fighter. Improved on X-Wing in million ways. Sadly, the collector's cd-rom version (the 640x480 version, not the "3d"/polygon version that's commonly available) is nowhere to be found, more or less, and is difficult to get to run on new computers.

 

I-War 2 - simpler in some ways than the original, and not as immersive story. But altogether a better and more playable space-sim. Still has the same incredibly solid space-flight and 3d presentation. Actually feels like you're flying, unlike most space-sims, where you're rolling around the viewport on a solid globe. Freespace 2 came close, but arcade flight model hampers it a lot and limits how dynamic the engagements are. 

 

But imo, the times where a sequel turns out better than the original are few and far between. If you play Dungeon Keeper 1 now, for example, it's .. yeah, the graphics aren't as great as in DK2 - but the game is so well put together.

 

Disagree horribly with the idea that the new xcom game is better than the original as well. The original has elements of strategy and interactivity that went completely above the heads of the people at Firaxis - or maybe they just didn't have the time to figure it out. The game has a neat tactical scape, and so on. But the overworld and the way the aliens behave, how the tech advances, how the missions play out, how significant a loss is, and so on -- that's completely gone from the follow-up.

[Darkpriest]

 

TIE-Fighter. Improved on X-Wing in million ways. Sadly, the collector's cd-rom version (the 640x480 version, not the "3d"/polygon version that's commonly available) is nowhere to be found, more or less, and is difficult to get to run on new computers.

 

I hope that with the new Star Wars movies we will see some new good space combat sims here and tactical FPS too

[Mamoulian War]

I would love to see that too, but all I can see now is another mindless generic shooter with "RPG" Elements and ****loads Michael Bay XplushnZ^TM to cover the crap plot.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Mamoulian War

[nipsen]

..we're sort of seeing something like that right now. No Man's Sky, Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous. It's not like Stephen Robertson is coming back, but I'm pretty sure No Man's Sky will be memorable at least. Hopefully it will be a good game and a commercial success because of that..

[Darkpriest]

Well Star Citizen is a bit different, it's more of a space Persistent World, the combat will be there, but is it really the main selling point or rather the career of Freelancer/Privateer ?

 

No Man's Sky has odd graphics for me, and it does not have the climate of Star Wars TIE fighters squadron or imperial battlecrusiers. It seems to also lack a climate of a Wing Commander... ehh...

 

Give me some really nicely narrated SP campaign, with some Co-op possibilities and MP deathmatches. I do not need more Open Space persistent galaxies MMOs. Elite and Star Citizen will cover that part.

 

On the RPG / action RPG  I would not mind some game set up in StarTrek or Stargate universe... there are gazzilons of possibilities of good narratives and good RPGs or even action RPGs for these licenses. I would love to know adventures of some other SG units or other explorations spaceships. Bah, I could even dig a good Warhammer or WH40k game in those styles.

[Serrano]

In the early days of this board when the devs posted Fergus did say something about approaching GW about doing a Warhammer or 40k game. It was probably shot down, which is a shame because I agree both are interesting settings for a story-heavy rpg.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Serrano

[Mamoulian War]

Yeah that is sad. The only good W40k game I have played is Chaos Gate, the turn based strategy made by SSI. And it is really long time ago

[Serrano]

There have actualy been quite a few brilliant warhammer and 40k games. Chaos

Gate was one of them, the Space Hulk videogames from the 90's, Space Crusade, both Dawn of Wars and their expansions, Ultramarine, even the latest Space Hulk from Full Control.