2012 has been a great year for gaming. We have seen the return of old favorites Max Payne and Agent 47, rang in sick to shoot out lives away on Black Ops 2, lost ourselves in a deranged mad world in Far Cry 3, and dealt with homicidal maniacs in Borderlands 2. However, its not just the new games that have impressed this year, it’s the reincarnation of the old ones that have also helped us play the hours away. In the past 12 months we’ve been brought some all time favorites through the power of HD with collections such as Metal Gear Solid, Jak and Daxter, Silent Hill, and Killzone gracing us with their shiny new presence.
Nevertheless, even though this year has been pretty damn awesome for our old allies, here at Entertainment Fuse, we still think there are a few HD collections that need to be made and made soon. So without further ado, here’s the top ten collections that we want to see next year:
10. Panzer Dragoon
More an underground hit than a major crowd pleaser, Panzer Dragoon was first launched in 1995 on the Sega Saturn and spawned a lifespan of over eight years. The games were set in a distant future where humans and monsters were at loggerheads and your role in all of this was simple: don’t let the bad guys win. Sounds like a standard plot so far, but in the Panzer Dragoon saga you got to save the world on the back of a dragon. Pretty cool eh? The first game will undoubtedly now be seen as a relic, with its retro look and pre-determined path guiding you throughout the game, but the joy of setting fire to creatures will never go away. Putting this saga into a HD Collection would not only give the games a brand new refurbuish, it would breathe life into a classic series that should not be forgotten about.
9. Castlevania
Let’s be honest, no introduction is needed for this game. Around since 1986, Castlevania is a classic series of gaming that every serious button pusher will have come across at least once in their life. From the classic 2D NES version to the latest 3D offering Lords Of Shadow, Castlevania will never die, just like the blood sucking vampire you aim to beat in the first portion of the series. It seems only right then that Castlevania get the 5-star treatment but which games to include? Here at Entertainment Fuse we want to see Castlevania: Lament Of Innocence and Castlevania: Curse Of Darkness brought back from the vault and into our lives.
8. Max Payne
When the fellows over at Rockstar first announced that Max Payne would be making his way back to the small screen, it seemed only right that the first two games be re-visited first. Granted, the original Max Payne game can be bought on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, but the graphics of the original do, let’s be honest, look a little dated. Being that its over ten years old, that’s expected of course but how good would the old Payne look if he was given a nice graphical makeover? Pretty nice we reckon. As for Max Payne: The Fall Of Max Payne, this PlayStation 2 gem is nowhere to be seen. We would blame Rockstar for this series not getting a HD outing but its not their fault. So, Remedy Entertainment we know you’re busy what with the new Alan Wake game and all but if you could find it in your hearts to at make this happen one way or another, we would really appreciate it.
7. Legacy Of Kain
The music, the voice, the handy vampire tips, Legacy Of Kain had it all. First developed in 1996, you played the nobleman turned vampire Kain, a blood sucking fellow stuck in the eerie, gothic world of Nosgoth. The series spawned five titles over a seven year period, with the last one released in 2003. Next year then will be the tenth anniversary of Legacy Of Kain: Defiance and what a better way to celebrate the series than too re-release it all shiny and new. Granted, all of the games were beautifully crafted and designed back in the day but if they were visually pleasing then, imagine what they would look like in HD. Here at Entertainment Fuse, we think the whole series should be involved in a collection but since the first two are already available for download on the PS3 and Xbox 360, we would settle for the last three.
6. Kingdom Hearts
Why is this here, you might ask. Its already been announced that a HD collection will be happening. Yes, yes it has but only so far for Japan. As of yet North America and Europe have yet to be involved with Sqaure Enix’s plans for Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix, a fact that seems to be upsetting quite a lot of people over the world wide web. Announced in September this year, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix will feature Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain Of Memories plus cinematic scenes from 358/2 Days. Sounds like a pretty good collection to us, but when will we see it stateside? As of yet this question remains unanswered, but Square-Enix can not possibly cut everyone else on the planet off from this HD bag of goodies, not forever. We certainly hope not anyway, as this is one collection we can not wait to get our grubby little hands on.
5. Mega Man
Of all the games on this list, the Mega Man franchise is something of an outsider here. Not because he’s a little blue robot man and not because the saga has more releases to its name than the Saw films (it has to be over now…). No the reason for MM’s outcast is because it has divided us here at Entertainment Fuse. Some want 1-6 to made into a HD collection and some want Legends 1 & 2 to be made instead. To say which one would be better is a difficult task but one things is for sure, if Mega Man Legends 1 & 2 were made into a HD Collection, the cry for number 3 would be even greater. However, with Capcom dragging their proverbial heels over a new Mega Man Legends game, we’re not going to get our hopes up any time soon with regards to that situation, but we what can hope for is a sparkly addition of everyone’s favourite robot boy in the new year.
4. Resident Evil
Capcom have already been pretty generous in the HD department for this franchise. Resident Evil has already undergone two HD Collections: Resident Evil 4 & Resident Evil: Code Veronica X was released last year, whilst Resident Evil Umbrella & Darkside Chronciles were released this year. For all their hard work though, we still think Capcom can pull another one out of the bag. What we want to see next on the HD line however, is tricky. You see we want the 2002 Resident Evil GameCube remake to go along side numbers 2 & 3. Nintendo however apparently own the rights to the GameCube remake so that idea is very, very, very unlikely to happen. So Capcom we have compromised. Give us a Wii U HD bundle of the 2002 remake and Resident Evil: Zero plus a HD bundle for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consisting of 2 and 3 and perhaps we will call it quits. In other words, we want to kill the spruced up zombies from before and we want to do it now.
3. Hitman
Despite being on the list, there is actually something coming out from the Hitman franchise. Hitman HD Trilogy will be entering a store near you early next year and we can’t wait. Very soon you will see old school Agent 47 with Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts, and Hitman: Blood Money all being included in the collection. Also included is a bonus Kane & Lynch: Dead Men disc, which is for you to destroy or leave be, a choice which is entirely up to you. So, save up that Christmas money boys and girls because come January the past of everyone’s favorite bald assassin could be yours to revisit once again. Please note: before the news broke that this HD collection was going to be released, the writers here at Entertainment Fuse had voted for it as something they wanted to see, hence its inclusion in this list. So yes we know the top ten is of what we want to see, not what we will see but instead of pointing this out, please can you just sit in awe of our magical voting skills and thank us for telepathically making this happen.
2. Grand Theft Auto
Ever since the HD collections have been possible this is the one that everyone has cried out for. How magical would it be to see Vice City looking better than ever before? Or play as Carl 2.0? Or see Mr Quiet looking even more tall, dark and handsome? All this could still be done and should at least be being thought about in the Rockstar camp but the possibility of it ever happening, seems to be getting further and further away. All except Vice City (the best one cough, cough) have now be made available to buy through both the Xbox 360 and PS3 stores with Vice City undoubtedly be next. So, even if they did release a HD collection of the games, if everyone has already bought them twice in their lifetime, will people splash out a third time? Rockstar would have to pull out some major stops to get people reaching
in the pockets again but we still think people would purchase a Grand Theft Auto HD collection. We certainly would.
1. Timesplitters
Why has this not been done before now?! Why wasn’t this done this year, to be more precise. The tenth anniversary of one of the greatest games to ever grace the PlayStation 2 (Timesplitters 2) and not one tiny flicker that this might happen…shame on you Crytek. This needs to happen and quickly, especially since Timesplitters 4 looks like it won’t either be made until the next generation of consoles come out or made at all. Inventive, witty, original and a pleasure to play, the Timesplitters series was always a source of enjoyment and to be able to re-live those times again is what this writer and quite a few other people across the globe, would like to do. So c’mon Crytek, get your head from under the sand and give the people what they want.
With our top ten out of the way, which HD collections/remakes do you want to see be released in 2013 that was not in this list? Let us know in the comments below.
