Remakes and Remasters

[Riff Machine 2,105]

I'm curious as to what everyone feels about these types of games.  The past few releases, Diablo 2, Re 2 and 3, FF7, and WoW, have been really hit or miss.

 

I feel that both the RE 2 and 3 remakes are perfect examples of taking good games and vastly improving not just the visuals, but the gameplay as well.  Gone are the "tank" controls and with it, a fluid, 3rd person controls that closely resembled RE 4s perspective.  While I still think the RE 3 remake should have been DLC for RE 2, they were none the less a true remake.

 

FF7 is 50/50 IMO.  While the visuals, updated voice cast and music, and to an extent, the gameplay that switched from the tired and true turn based RPG style for a more action rpg system is ok, The lack of the rest of the game was a huge letdown.  It was enjoyable, but not worth the price considering the overall package.

 

Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 are examples of how NOT to do them.  With Diablo 3, Blizzard vastly improved the top down, isometric action rpg gameplay and style so much so that most other game released in that style are almost carbon copies of them.  If they had released this "resurrected" remake with the diablo 3 gameplay style, I feel it would've been a much better product overall.  Granted, I'm sure there are some that loved the original style of said game, but as i said, the formula has been so improved that going back to this feels archaic.  

 

We won't talk about the hot garbage that was warcraft 3.

 

What are your thoughts on this, folks? 

[slamminbones 1,785]

Resi 2 remake was pretty decent it was a shame they were charging for the original sound's of the game but that's how thing's are these day's but did love how it looked visually.

They could of made it harder as even on the hardest difficulty it was rather easy but I never got that nostalgia feeling from when I was younger 

 

Resi 3 remake again visually it looked great but was way to short as I did a speed run finishing it in 1 hour 2 minutes so should of been way longer and again way to easy on the hardest difficulty.

 

Resi 1.

Out of all the remakes this one was by far the best as it gave all the old feeling's from when I first played it not alot was changed from the original and it's not that easy to finish it on the hardest difficulty.

[phil bottle 9,755]

If a game is to be remade I think I prefer the controls etc to be updated as well as the looks. I'm the opposite of Bones, I found RE1 remake very annoying but i do get that it makes the remake more authentic. RE 2 is for me probably the best way to redo a game. They did a fantastic job.

But it depends...the Mafia remake redid the controls but I preferred the original rather than newer controls.

Males me wonder about the GoldenEye remake, that would be awful with the original controls, unless they sell the N64 controller with it😁

 

While part of me thinks remakes are a sign of lack of imagination, if done well, like RE2, then I'm happy enough.

 

The GTA remakes are the other side of the coin, just a shitty cash grab and have tarnished the franchise forever in my eyes.

[J4MES OX4D 10,033]

A faithful remake is always welcome as is a polished remaster however this angle of the industry is usually of the cash-grab nature and it's never usually results in a gesture to fans that they truly deserve.

 

The worst thing is when they remove the original games from sale and then replace them wholly with the new version aka remaster - Warcraft 3 Reforged did this whereby the removed staple features, applied a disgusting DRM layer and released a broken and disgraceful version in the process. GTA Trilogy Remasted also did this initially. Diablo 2 was also an excellent and incredibly faithful remaster futher ruined by publisher-made decisions and horrendous servers. Also the original is still available but Resurrected was supposed to offer users the best of both worlds yet within one week they destroyed almost everything and killed off a game that was going strong for 20 years. 

 

Other games like Demon Souls Remastered, Mafia Definitive Edition and the hugely impressive Resident Evil 2 are examples of games redone and done well particularly the latter. Others like Skyrim have been milked to death per generation but there's plenty of other worthy ones like Tony Hawk 1 and 2 along with Nightdive Studio's impressive range of old-school shooters they are rebuilding whilst retaining everything of the original titles. Those don't get the recognition they truly deserve. 

 

GTA Trilogy was one of the most disappointing, shameful and embarrassing releases ever though - such a prestigious range of games ruined by a mobile developer who used AI to recreate assets which resulted in significant amount of spelling errors and the games themselves didn't even go through Q&A testing! Even amateur modders have done better than multi-billionaires Rockstar with this and their work was DMCA'd to death as a result. 

 

There just isn't enough trust in the industry now from a consumer standpoint with these especially if games are being remade by people that were too young to even remember when the original came out. I love the prospect of a Max Payne remaster coming but I am not going to get 'hyped' or delude myself because of the problems above which prominent in this part of the industry across many developers and their respective publishers. 

 

Resorting to remakes or remasters is also a sign of no ambition, lack of creativity and developers/publishers being unwilling to take a risk on something original. That also rings alarm bells. 

[Antpool84 1,109]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:47 AM, phil bottle said:

While part of me thinks remakes are a sign of lack of imagination, if done well, like RE2, then I'm happy enough.

I have to agree with you, when a remake or remaster is done well it can be a joy to play. I've only recently played the Resi Evil 2 remake and although I never played the original, I really enjoyed it, and when they remastered Need for Speed Hot Pursuit that was a decent update. However, on the other side of that, I downloaded the remaster of Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning and it was so disappointing. The graphics and gameplay were pretty much identical as far as I could tell and added absolutely nothing to the experience, it seemed they just put the PS3 game straight to the new gen consoles without any changes. 

 

22 hours ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Resorting to remakes or remasters is also a sign of no ambition, lack of creativity and developers/publishers being unwilling to take a risk on something original

 

This is so true, there are so many remakes/remasters around now and it seems to be the norm for these rather than new IPs which is so disappointing, especially given the capabilities of the new gen of consoles. There are some which get announced and i then look forward to, like Dead Space (which i really hope they do a good job with), but I would rather have new games that give us a new experience that remakes

[J4MES OX4D 10,033]

Another example of a good 'remaster' is Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. The game was remade from the ground up but it retains everything from the 20 year old original and has many crucial improvements that bring it up to date and will ensure its sustainability for many years to come. The package includes all the old expansions including new content and is regularly supported which bolsters the stability of the multiplayer aspect. It really capitalised on the seemingly endless popularity of the original and 2013 HD release and will ensure it lasts for at least another two decades. A true love letter to old players and the constant flow of newcomers and sublime work from the developers too. 

 

In contrast, an example on the flip side would be Total War: Rome Remastered - a game that was developed by a studio known for mobile games and producing fringe DLC for other games to fill in personnel gaps. This was a once-iconic Real-Time and Turn-Based game made by Creative Assembly in the now long-running series and its remastering was given to people who probably didn't even knew it existed when it was commissioned to them. The end result was a mixed bag where it looked and felt like a mobile and everything else was just lifted. Although it wasn't a total disaster like some games developed like this (GTA Trilogy for one) it was still pretty insulting considering the prestige behind this brand and that game. It would be like Skoda being given the reigns to recreate a classic Lamborghini or something to that tune. 

[Riff Machine 2,105]

The Mass Effect trilogy remaster that just dropped is a decent one.  It improved on the first games combat mechanics to line it more with the other 2 games in the trilogy.

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

I'm with most on here. I do think its been overplayed over the recent years rather than new IPs but we all know now that culture is changing and we get them because the general consumer can't wait 7 years for a new IP game to be created, which then only allows for remakes and possible remasters on the same framework code the original was made on.

 

I'll always take a remaster over just a port to a current gen console.

 

I wish we could get back to those days where we would look forward to seeing what E3 had in store and what progress had been made on confirmed games and seeing them develop. Clearly though we can't crunch developers and get stuck in that horrible culture anymore so I think its just finding suitable games that can be remastered.

 

From the top of my head though, I really don't have any in mind that I'd spend full whack on to play in an 'enhanced' version. You can see why we get the AAA games of the past 5 years maintained for longer with updates and patches.

[Antpool84 1,109]

57 minutes ago, GazzaGarratt said:

 

I wish we could get back to those days where we would look forward to seeing what E3 had in store and what progress had been made on confirmed games and seeing them develop.

I used to love E3, even getting a glimpse at a new game was something special and it was such a big deal for all the major players and developers both big and small. Now we wait for a "showcase" that tells you what you already knew was coming.

 

59 minutes ago, GazzaGarratt said:

I really don't have any in mind that I'd spend full whack on to play in an 'enhanced' version. You can see why we get the AAA games of the past 5 years maintained for longer with updates and patches.

I totally agree, when the remakes/remasters come out I dont mind paying £20-£25 for them when they are done well, but that is a rarity. I think its why games are becoming so big now, they can keep adding to them in the huge gap between big releases. I think its become the norm now to expect remasters/remakes all the time, and I see so many articles about 'which game that you loved should be remastered' instead of about potential new ip's which is so disappointing. 

[phil bottle 9,755]

14 hours ago, Riff Machine said:

The Mass Effect trilogy remaster that just dropped is a decent one.  It improved on the first games combat mechanics to line it more with the other 2 games in the trilogy.

 

I loved the first game, definitely needed better combat mechanics, it's one of the reasons ME2 is cited as the better game.

I should get round to trying it out, I think I got a key from humble bundle.

 

Also, forgot to mention Skyrim didn't we. The ultimate ultimate version is on sale in the kiosk in Airplane 2: The Sequel, I believe. 😅

[Riff Machine 2,105]

I can't wait to play Skyrim on PS6...  😉