Games That Time Forgot

[300lb. Samoan]

Descent

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although Descent is one of the quintessential you-will-buy-a-Thrustmaster-joystick titles, can you imagine how AWESOME it would be playing it with an XBox controller? HEAVENLY MATCH. Indies, get to it!!!!!

 

[Snake Plissken]

I'm glad to see Star Control 2 getting some love on this thread. I didn't know people remembered that game. My first experience with it was on a *gasp* 3DO.

For those of you that are out of the loop, it was Mass Effect before Mass Effect existed. Except it was funnier. Imagine all of the dialogue coming from Mordin Solus. And I think it might've been bigger, too. Sort of...

 

[RuralGamer]

Whoops, double post

 

[RuralGamer]

May I suggest Republic Commando as a game that definitely should have got a sequel.

One word: Yep.

In my opinion, that was one of the last good games before LucasArts started stagnating. Basically anything that came out after 2005 (when Commando and Battlefront 2 were released) was, for me, somewhere between mediocre and crap. A good sequel could have easily brought LucasArts a considerable audience, but everything since 2005 hasn't really gelled with me. Pity, because some of their games from the late 90s and early 00s were really good.

 

[rayen020]

i miss my PS1 copy of descent. still have the strategy guide for it though. Those poor people drawing the 3d level maps. that game was great though.

also i miss joysticks...

 

[DragonChi]

I LOVED the magic carpet games, it was one of my all time favorites back in the day. I had always hoped there would be another..guess not. its a shame.

 

[SmileyBat]

So... Am I the only one who noticed that this was about games that don't get sequels/franchises, yet three of the four titles highlighted HAD SEQUELS?!?! Even several?? Bad writing, or at least bad titling. Bad show Escapist, we expect better.

It says 'games that time forgot', ie not titles that never had a sequel, it's entire sub-genres that have been abandoned with no spiritual successors. While we have a sickening amount of cover-hugging shooters, no one is tapping into the space voyager/carpet flier resource. And besides, those sequels you're pointing out are all things that happened quite a while ago. And fuck, even if Shamus made absolute nonsense, his ramblings would be worth listening to anyway. Take a second and think things out before posting.

I was beginning to write a well thought out response using quotes from the article to support my point and such, until I re-read your post. (Which I think you should do with the article and tell me that the tone and shunt of it didn't change midway. Which is bed writing, and my point.) Your statement that nonsensical ramblings should still be listened to just because of who said them proved you are beyond the reach of reason and understanding. Perhaps you should take a second and think things out before posting.

And by the way, Games That Time Forgot: Shamus wonders why some games don't get a franchise.

pwned

No bud, it's subgenres that don't get any more development that is the point. If a game has five sequels and is abandoned for ten years, a franchise it has not. And I reassert: it's Shamus Young dammit. What have you done with your life that makes you nearly as worth listening to?

(Middle finger.)

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

Oh how I want a Freelancer 2 and a Actraiser 3...Oh how I will not get them except in some bastardized form that make them more "mainstream appealing"...

 

[Alphalpha]

Digging the sacrifice love. I think I got that game when I was around 10 or 12 and it was crazy at the time: weird creatures; feuding gods; a world that consisted entirely of floating islands; third-person strategy; badass spells. I tried to play it again several years ago but it wouldn't run for some reason; probably going to try again soon.

Battlezone II was another cool one. That game was strangely eerie, driving/flying/hovering around desolate planets while organizing base and army construction.

The era of games after the early awkward 3d titles has aged surprisingly well. A lot of them have very distinct aesthetics and genres weren't so firmly entrenched then.

Of course, earlier gaming is gem-studded as well. Sometimes I wonder why I buy new games at all.

EDIT: Of course! Games like Mirror's Edge are why I buy new games! It met with a fair amount of criticism, which is common for innovative games like that but the only real problems I had with it were: it was too linear for a free-running game; mechanics were slightly off with move detection and easily lost momentum. Other than those quibbles I enjoyed the hell out of it. Plus, after considerable effort, I managed to attain a leaderboard position in one of the time trials of #44 in the world.

 

[Ankhwatcher]

Escape Velocity Nova was fantastic. I'd love to see it reborn as an add-supported browser-based game.

 

[brinvixen]

I am one of those people who are quite disappointed with EA in their "Mirror's Edge 2" charade. One minute, the game is in development, the next minute it's not, and then the very next minute it's being "looked at", but not being developed (whatever the hell that means). For whatever people had to say about Mirror's Edge, it was still an enjoyable experience and a pretty decent game. The issues were nothing that a little tweaking couldn't fix (where "tweaking" here can be substituted for "sequel"). So please EA, give ME2 a real chance. I would drop coin for a follow-up game, and I'm sure there are others that would as well.

 

[GothmogII]

I'm glad to see Star Control 2 getting some love on this thread. I didn't know people remembered that game. My first experience with it was on a *gasp* 3DO.

For those of you that are out of the loop, it was Mass Effect before Mass Effect existed. Except it was funnier. Imagine all of the dialogue coming from Mordin Solus. And I think it might've been bigger, too. Sort of...

Been playing The Ur-Quan Masters recently myself. You're dead on with the Mass Effect similarity. You know, even though you've gotta track back to earth most of the time to refuel and hand in your resources, so far it's never felt like a chore to me like Mass Effect 2's resource collection does. And this is odd, since you'll visit maybe three or four times the amount of planets in SCII than you would Mass Effect, considering you've got an entire galaxy to explore.

And the Ur-Quan and Kohr-Ah are an -awesome- enemy. They start off as just 'the big threat', sure, ala but I found myself becoming fascinated by them as I learned more about them and their motivations.

Seriously, this is a game that everybody needs to play. Wonder though, Stardock was making some murmurs about picking this series up. And they do that kind of game well, judging by Galactic Civilisations. Only thing is, if they -do- get it, will the original creators be involved, and would Stardock make it a hybrid strategy/arcade/adventure like SCII or more of a turn based strategy like Gal Civ?

Also, is it just me or do the Melnorme traders sound like the G-Man? xD

 

[Shieldage]

Well, if you want space action, Freespace 2 is on GoG.com for $6.99.

Not exactly Starflight, but its still really fun.

FreeSpace 2 went Open Source some years ago and has spawned tons of high-quality mods and total conversions. One of the more prominent examples is the Babylon 5 Project.
I'm still hoping for a successor to the series. The ending to the game was incredibly well done (I got blown to bits by the supernova while heroically defending a medical transport) and one of the rare occasions where mankind simply lost. In my opinion, this game is the pinnacle of space simulators up to this day.

Anyways, really nice article. If someone hasn't played UFO: Alien Invasion, I'd highly recommend it. The game runs very stable and offers lots of features in its current build. Only downside is that it's still in development.
Magic Carpet with a contemporary engine ... oh, sweet dreams ...

Magic Carpet is *now* out on GoG too