32 replies to this topic

[Gunstar]

I was texting a friend earlier today, who was spending the morning playing his Jaguar, which had been collecting dust for probably a couple of years. He pulled it out in anticipation of me sending him some of the newer homebrew releases on CDR.

He was playing Hoverstrike CD, commenting on how he forgot how much he liked the game and graphics, especially the night mission levels with the cool lighting effects. He said he wished someone would do a remake of it on a modern console like the 360.

It got me thinking about it, and though I'm a generation behind on consoles right now, I can't remember ever having played a game even remotely similiar to hover strike, or battlemorph, or I-war (3D shooters) on an Xbox, 360, PS2 or PS3. Are there any games on these systems remotely similiar?

It's a shame they don't make games like this anymore. What other genres of games have been left in the dust in this new century?

[Rex Dart]

What, vehicle combat?  They make a few of those still.  Vigilante 8 got a cool remake recently.  Blood Drive... um.. got made.  Wasn't great.
I do wish there were more worthwhile vehicle shooters being made, but they're still around.

[Lentzquest]

Not just vehicle combat, the games Gunstar mentioned have a really unique atmosphere to them. They're not the best games ever made, but there's nothing quite like them.

I was thinking maybe it's a side effect of how the Jag games had very small development teams, sometimes with just one primary programmer. That coupled with the rough development tools.

Edited by Lentzquest, Wed Jul 4, 2012 5:37 PM.

[Gunstar]

Lentzquest, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 5:34 PM, said:

I was thinking maybe it's a side effect of how the Jag games had very small development teams, sometimes with just one primary programmer. That coupled with the rough development tools.

Naw, it's not due to small dev teams, the 3DO, Saturn, PSX, N64 and even DC had games like the Jag ones I mentioned. It's a lost genre, for the most part. The the Vigilante games are a bit removed from what I'm refering too. never heard of Blood Drive, I'll look it up.

Edited by Gunstar, Wed Jul 4, 2012 5:56 PM.

[Lentzquest]

Hmm, so a lost sub-genre then? Maybe it just didn't have enough of a following for developers to wanna invest in taking it further.

[Gunstar]

There were plenty of hits, for the 3DO there were the Shockwave games, later ported to the PSX and Saturn and did well on all three, PSX had Assualt Rigs and others that were hits, Saturn had some good ones I don't recall the names of now, except for AMOK. I don't mean just the ones that are ground based either, Jag's Skyhammer fits the genre, and Decent hit the PC and every major platform after the Jaguar. Tons of hits i can't remember right now.

The problem I think is a total lack of imagination these days, they keep reproducing the same half a dozen genres over and over again, which doesn't seem to include 3D first and third-person vehicle shooters.

So are there nothing like these at all on current consoles (vigilante 8 aside).

And this isn't the only genre/sub-genre that are MIA these days.

Edited by Gunstar, Wed Jul 4, 2012 6:56 PM.

[Austin]

Hoverstrike I can do without, but it would have been interesting to see the evolution of something like Battlemorph. It implemented a lot of great ideas that I do not think had really been explored at that point in time.

[Gunstar]

Austin, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 7:13 PM, said:

Hoverstrike I can do without, but it would have been interesting to see the evolution of something like Battlemorph. It implemented a lot of great ideas that I do not think had really been explored by that point in time.

let me take a guess here and say you've only tried the pitifully inferior cartridge version of Hover Strike. If so, give the far superior in every way CD version a go. There are lots of differences in the two, including a choice of gameplay style like choosing hover craft like controls or car like controls and turning on and off some of the stuff that can disorient some people when getting nocked around by the enemies, not to mention far superior graphics and frame rate too. If you have tried the CD version, well, then, what don't you like about the CD version? Anyway, not everyone has to like a game, even if it is good.

Edited by Gunstar, Wed Jul 4, 2012 7:23 PM.

[Gunstar]

Rex Dart, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 5:13 PM, said:

What, vehicle combat?  They make a few of those still.  Vigilante 8 got a cool remake recently.  Blood Drive... um.. got made.  Wasn't great.
I do wish there were more worthwhile vehicle shooters being made, but they're still around.

I looked up Blood Drive, seems to be a variation of Vigilante games, neither of which is close enough to the genre/sub-genre I'm refering too.

[Austin]

Gunstar, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 7:17 PM, said:

let me take a guess here and say you've only tried the pitifully inferior cartridge version of Hover Strike. If so, give the far superior in every way CD version a go. If you have tried the CD version, well, then, what don't you like about the CD version?

Yes, I used to own the CD version. It's all right.. Nothing special in my opinion. Iron Soldier and Battlemorph are the proper ways to do mission-oriented games like this. But that's just me.

[Gunstar]

Austin, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 7:19 PM, said:

Gunstar, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 7:17 PM, said:

let me take a guess here and say you've only tried the pitifully inferior cartridge version of Hover Strike. If so, give the far superior in every way CD version a go. If you have tried the CD version, well, then, what don't you like about the CD version?

Yes, I used to own the CD version. It's all right.. Nothing special in my opinion. Iron Soldier and Battlemorph are the proper ways to do mission-oriented games like this. But that's just me.

I agree that I.S. and B.M. are superior games too H.S., slightly, IMHO.

[Willard]

certain elements of these hovercraft games still appear in current-gen releases like halo, but I agree it'd be nice to see a new one where that type of gameplay is the focus. I'd include Battlemorph (Jaguar CD), Bulk Slash (Saturn) and Shockwave 2 (3DO) as games worth revisiting obsolete consoles for.

in regard to hoverstrike I think it's an okay game but nothing that really stands out. I played all the way through it hoping to see some imaginative landscapes or something that really impressed me but all I saw were fairly basic looking landscapes with extremly blocky architecture. Doubt it would've killed them to add a few trees or some distinct looking buildings. Too bad they didn't use that engine for skyhammer though, then they prbly would've completed skyhammer and what's out there would've been more than an example of what could've been.

Edited by Willard, Wed Jul 4, 2012 11:12 PM.

[CyranoJ]

I think the reason we're all here, at AtariAge, is because they don't make games like they used to :-)

[masematte]

@CyranoJ 100 % Agree !!!!!

[Gunstar]

Another sub-genre I miss on the new consoles are the cross-country racing games like Road Rash and The Need for Speed. All the non-track racers these days are all the same old underground racing crap with big cities/areas to roam around and challenge racers, etc., and I'm sick to death of them. I want a good cross-country racing game where you pick your car or bike, and then just race one or more opponents from point to point with cops chasing you, etc. I never cared for all that "get money and slowly modify your vehicle into something that is actually good." I want the best to start with and just race and chase! I don't mind a progression where new vehicles and courses are unlocked as you go, I just have grown weary of all the modifying crap, and running around the same old areas over and over...and over...

Edited by Gunstar, Thu Jul 5, 2012 7:36 AM.

[Rex Dart]

Gunstar, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 5:56 PM, said:

...even DC had games like the Jag ones I mentioned.

Yeah, Alien Front Online, I gotcha.  Loved that game.  I still wish they'd make a new one for XBLA or something.  

Maybe we're seeing less of these arcade-y games because arcades are pretty dead, so developers think there's little/no demand?  Maybe that IS the case, too... very little demand.  Tell your friend to scour Kickstarter & see if there are any arcade-style tank shooters tryin' to get made.

Edited by Rex Dart, Thu Jul 5, 2012 8:07 AM.

[MAYAman]

AFO was awesome!

[SoulBlazer]

CyranoJ, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 11:37 PM, said:

I think the reason we're all here, at AtariAge, is because they don't make games like they used to :-)

Of course you also have people like me -- read my sig.  Believe it, learn it, live it.

[Gunstar]

SoulBlazer, on Thu Jul 5, 2012 1:46 PM, said:

CyranoJ, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 11:37 PM, said:

I think the reason we're all here, at AtariAge, is because they don't make games like they used to :-)

Of course you also have people like me -- read my sig.  Believe it, learn it, live it.

Exactly. Although I'll be upgrading to the 360 late in it's period (getting one from my brother as soon as he can find time to ship it), and I am generally a generation behind, or get into it late (the last new console I bought was the DC back in the 90's), I too, own/play everything from pong until today.

[theloon]

CyranoJ, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 11:37 PM, said:

I think the reason we're all here, at AtariAge, is because they don't make games like they used to :-)

Quote

I think the reason we're all making games here, at AtariAge, is because they used to :-)

There!  Fixed it!  Now all yall have to do is let me test the Raptor engine..

[sh3-rg]

SoulBlazer, on Thu Jul 5, 2012 1:46 PM, said:

CyranoJ, on Wed Jul 4, 2012 11:37 PM, said:

I think the reason we're all here, at AtariAge, is because they don't make games like they used to :-)

Of course you also have people like me -- read my sig.  Believe it, learn it, live it.

Shhhhhh.. he already does. You shouldn't mention ps3, vita, 360, droid tablets and phones or alienware to CJ, he goes missing for days when he remembers where the real fun is...

[RJ]

Have they done anything lately like Imagic's Microsurgeon?

Edited by RJ, Thu Jul 5, 2012 3:20 PM.

[Gunstar]

RJ, on Thu Jul 5, 2012 3:19 PM, said:

Have they done anything lately like Imagic's Microsurgeon?

what system(s) was that released on?
Never mind, found it-Intellivison and TI 99/4A at least.

Edited by Gunstar, Thu Jul 5, 2012 3:58 PM.

[MAYAman]

I was playing Out of This World on SNES last night and had a blast.  Old games just had that "use your imagination" feeling that was sooo awesome.  We'll never have that again.

[sh3-rg]

There are all sorts of innovative and outstanding games produced by some truly free-thinking people these days. It's not so black and white as old = great, new = rubbish. There were plenty of 'old games' that were just as throw-away as a lot of the mainstream is today.

Massive multinational industry giants might only rarely produce software that gives that kind of special fuzzy feeling inside, but it doesn't mean there aren't tons of indie programmers and designers working outside established rules of thought and creativity, bringing about games that can invoke all kinds of emotions. A lot of this is overlooked by many as they dismiss touch platforms and anything that runs in a browser as being all casual and superficial. Their loss.