Staff Blog: Clones of Great Games That Need To Be Made

Clones of Great Games That Need To Be Made

On 06/09/2015 at 01:06 AM by Blake Turner

So you've read the title and are thinking about murdering my face for suggesting that we clone a video game. God forbid we clone a game when we could just make sequel after sequel of it. But here's the thing: licenses are tricky, and sometimes the games we want are on godawful consoles we don't want to buy. So without further ado, lets look at some games that should absolutely be cloned.

Metroid Prime

Why has no one done this before? Why isn't there a game like Metroid out on a console other than a Nintendo owned one? Why don't we see that kind of atmosphere and exploration in first person games? Seriously guys, even if you only make it half as good as Metroid Prime I'll still buy the shit out of it.

Timesplitters

So Timesplitters 4 got cancelled a while ago. That's a shame, since the fps multiplayer scene seems to favour reality over fun at the moment. Timesplitters could fix that. The Timesplitters games were all fantastic, featuring insanely varied singleplayer campaigns that took you all through time and space to give you fun setpieces. When you finished the campaign, you had challenges to do, and arcade modes which let you unlock more modes for single player and multiplayer, more characters, and more weapons. It was insane value for your buck, and even more fun. More please.

Resident Evil Remake

I recently played through the Resident Evil Remake, and it blew me away all over again. In gaming's attempts to become bigger and more epic, we seem to have forgotten how effective intimacy can be.

Resident Evil is tight, it wastes no space, and it forces you to become intimately aquainted with it's horrific design. Hell, even if you forget copying it's tension building expertise, please, just take note of its level design. It's utterly fantastic.

Although, I would love horror games to include combat again. I love/hate Amnesia: The Dark Descent as much as the next guy, but I miss my Silent Hills and Old School Resident Evils.

Shadow of the Collossus

Like Metroid Prime, I've never quite played anything like Shadow of the Collossus, and it's a shame, because the gameplay Shadow of the Collossus offers is so engaging and captivating I could play it again and again.

What I want is the sense of wonder. The atmosphere. The immaculate boss fights. The minimalis storytelling. Yes I know I just described Dark Souls to a tee, but I want it to be a bit closer.

S.W.A.T. 4

Whatever happened to the tactical FPS? I remember with great fondness titles like Rainbow 6 and Ghost Recon doing their awesome thing and people not being able to get enough. Now no one gives a shit. Now, we are getting a new Rainbow 6, and hopefully it's awesome. But that's not enough for me. I want SWAT. I want the tension of trying not to kill people. Of trying to apprehend people without my entire squad dying.

Also, I want someone to recreate the Fairfax level, because it's probably one of the creepiest levels of any game I've played.

Super Step Contributing Writer

06/09/2015 at 01:38 AM

Yeah, I'll be honest, the upcoming Zelda would be my only reason to buy a Wii U, so I kind of want someone to make a PS4 Zelda clone ... based on whatever they do with the new one.

But I would also love a new Prime game and might go back to finally beat the Gamecube original on Hard if I can. Only achievement I haven't unlocked there.

Beyond just FPS, I want more brightly colored, humorous games in general.

I never really played classic horror games aside from Eternal Darkness, so beyond wanting a remake of that, I have no idea.

I'm still considering buying Bloodborne as my entry into the Dark Souls series, but I might also get PS Now back to play some Shadow of the Colossus.

I remember not liking Rainbow Six, but my brother was all over those games.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/09/2015 at 01:49 AM

Eternal Darkness would be another great game to remake! As for Zelda, there are a lot of zelda clones on a lot of systems. There's Darksiders, there's Okami, There's Beyond Good and Evil, there's 3D Dot Game Heroes, Anodyne, and a ton of others.

Yeah you should probably get Bloodborne. It's not as good as Souls in my opinion, mainly because I enjoy the slow paced strategic combat whereas Bloodborne is like Devil May Cry but less silly.

"Beyond just FPS, I want more brightly colored, humorous games in general."
Me too. Whatever happened to 3D third person platformers that weren't made by nintendo?

06/09/2015 at 02:09 AM

There's definitely a lot of Zelda clones. I own Okamiden. But I want like .. whatever the new Zelda is. The "open world' that will probably be more along the lines of a giant Link to the Past than what we traditionally think of as open world.

I've been watching Game Grumps play Bloodborne and don't think it looks quite as unfair as people make it out to be, but still looks challenging and atmopspheric. Could also use more color there, but I get why it looks like it does. There is a lot of variety in enemy type it seems anyway.

I want more 3D platformers in general too.

06/09/2015 at 02:22 AM

With Bloodborne, it's opening is hard. Like, really hard. Once you get past the 3rd boss, it's a cakewalk. Whether that's because the game forced you "get good" or the game just legitimately isn't as challenging anymore is debatable. As a starting point, I think Dark Souls 2 eases players in a bit better than either Bloodborne or Dark Souls, but it is the worst of the series.

I don't understand what the new Open World Zelda is going to be like. Hasn't Zelda always been open world?

06/10/2015 at 03:02 AM

Not necessarily, because you tackle dungeons in a very linear order.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

06/09/2015 at 02:14 AM

I want more games copying Ratchet and Clank. Specifically it's weapon upgrade system. Why every shooter doesn't use that baffles me

06/09/2015 at 02:19 AM

Oh yeah. There's a new Ratchet and Clank coming this year, which is the only reson it's not on this list. Didn't Resistance 3 do something similar in the upgrade system? You are right though, it's a fucking awesome system.

06/09/2015 at 02:30 AM

Resistance 3 did it but only to level 3. Works best with 5-10 levels and just as many on New Game Plus. And the originals getting remade with the later games' mechanics but got pushed back to 2016.

mothman

06/09/2015 at 08:46 AM

Other than S.W.A.T. which of course I haven't played that's a great bunch of games for someone to lunch off. I don't play FPS's much but the Timesplitters series was fun because is was a little bit zany.

I loved the Gamecube remake of RE because it was the first RE I was actually able to get anywhere in. They hadn't added full analog control at that point but there was an option that made more sense to my brain than pushing forward to move left.

I need to start over again on the HD version because my save died with my old PS3. More games like that, the first three Silent Hill games or Eternal Darkness would be greatly appreciated. Too bad the ED spiritual sequel died a painful kickstarter death.

goaztecs

06/09/2015 at 10:54 AM

I haven't heard of SWAT 4 until reading this, and after checking out the description I'd like to see a new or clone version of it. Having the point of view where you are trying to not use violence and not just shoot everything in a room adds to the tension and something I'd play.

06/09/2015 at 11:31 PM

Get on it. It's lot of fun! Especially with friends, but it's pretty decent on your own too.

jgusw

06/09/2015 at 12:27 PM

Old school Resident Evil is where it's at.

06/09/2015 at 11:32 PM

Damn straight.

transmet2033

06/09/2015 at 01:22 PM

Jak and Daxter, the first one.

I am always looking forward to a clone to any Metroid game, not just Prime. The only issue is that I am usually disappointed. What makes Metroid great is the mixture of gameplay, atmosphere, minimal storytelling... there are more, I know it. Point, most of the homages focus on one or two of the many things that make a Metroid game and forget about the rest. Leaving you with an imperfect clone.

Have you played Axiom Verge yet? As far as I'm concerned, it nails the Super Metroid clone thing.

And yeah I'd love to see another game like Jak and Daxter. That game blew me away when I first played it.

06/10/2015 at 08:07 AM

I have a copy of Axiom Verge, but I would prefer to play it on my indiestation(Vita). So i have been holding off.

I have been playing Jak and Daxter again on the Vita, which is not the best place to play it, but it still holds up very well. I am shocked at how well the game plays 14 years out.

asrealasitgets

06/09/2015 at 03:10 PM

As for a Resident Evil 1-like, you should check out "White Night" on Steam. It is a monochrome, black/white 3D exploration game that looks like Sin City and you investigate a mansion similar to the spencer mansion in RE. I'd wait for a Steam Sale for a price drop, but it is worth checking out.

As for Metroid Prime, I think that at the time it released it was compared to Halo and because it wasn't online/multiplayer/action heavy, it was basically trashed, thus there only seem to be Nintendo fanboys who really appreciated the game and preferred the slower exploration and atmospheric emphasis.

Shadow of Colossus really needs a sequel dammit! OMG imagine next gen visuals, or at least a remake. I think God of War has some awesome giant ass monster battles, but yeah, need a Shadow of Colossus sequel.

06/09/2015 at 11:37 PM

Huh. I've heard the name of that game mentioned, but never checked it out since Adventure Games aren't really my jam.

Yeah, there are a lot of games that borrow heavily from Shadow of the Collossus. God of War has the spectacle, Dragons Dogma has the climbable enemies, Dark Souls has the exploration and atmosphere, and Titan Souls steals the basic premise. None deliver the full Shadow of the Collossus package though.

And man, that sucks, especially as someone who isn't really a fan of that Halo.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

06/10/2015 at 10:34 AM

I want more clones of PSONE era FF games. Why isn't that a style people make games in? Goddammit!!!!!!

Alex-C25

06/11/2015 at 01:14 AM

Because it seems only Nintendo give a damn, I would really like a modern renaissance of 3D Plataformers. Luckily, Yooka-Layle could be the one that brings that if it succeds.

KnightDriver

06/11/2015 at 02:38 AM

Just 25 and you are already a dinosaur. Things change and they never seem like the games we grew up on. I see elements of all these games in the new ones. It's not quite the same, I know. I'm still wanting a Road Rash or Destruction Derby 2 clone. Maybe this Mad Max game will have some elements of those games in it.

PixlBit