Games that need sequels

[BrynS]

Following on from a recent article on first person shooter games deserving of sequels, Firingsquad have published a similar feature looking at other games that they feel deserve sequels, and Wing Commander gets a mention.

From the More Games That Need Sequels feature:

[...]
Wing Commander: Origin’s space combat-sim series is one that even non-gamers may know of, thanks unfortunately to the awful movie adaptation that was ironically directed by the game’s creator Chris Roberts. That shouldn’t take away from the game series, however, which mixed in a deep (for games, anyway) storyline with some fast paced space action gameplay. There were several games in the series released by Origin in the 1990’s and were some of the first games to use live actors for cut scenes (yep, Mark Hamill as Christopher Blair was an acting powerhouse).

It’s been a long time since the last game in the series, Wing Commander: Prophecy, was released in 1997 but we still think that Electronic Arts (the owners of all the former Origin properties) would get a lot of mileage out of a new game, especially if they get a top notch development team to handle it. The name recognition alone would help sales.

Odds For Revival: Unlikely. We hate to say it but space sims, once a huge gaming draw, are now down to something of a niche market for the indie developer set. We still think a new Wing Commander series would work well but for now it doesn’t look like Electronic Arts would be interested in reviving this franchise anytime soon.
[...]

Cheers,

Bryn

 

[Shipgate]

Hmm, as I've said before, even if they never make another official WC game, I'll still be satisfied with the WC games I have as they've remarkable replayability.

 

[ChrisReid]

That's a pretty good article overall. Neat that they also hit C&C Red Alert, Ultima Online, MechWarrior and so on. They will make more Wing Commander games. The article notes several failed attempts at recreating UO over the last half dozen years, but in contrast to Freespace which they also mention, Wing Commander has had several false starts since Prophecy as well. It's only a matter of time before everything comes together again.

 

[Dougly]

For years I thought I'd never see another Fallout game. Now Fallout 3 is in development.

Whether or not Bethesda will do a good job with Fallout 3 seems to be open for debate on most of the fan forums. But, still, at least there's something in the works.

I'm looking forward to when we can say the same thing about Wing Commander.

 

[Shaggy]

Sam N Max and Fullt hrottle need sequels too, and they had them in development but then Lucasarts canceled both of them.
Although I did read somewhere that Sam N Max have an episodic game in development.
So I still have hope that everything is happy and shiny.

 

[Mjr. Whoopass]

I remember when Final Fantasy was new for basic Nintendo. I joked with my brother that it's too bad they can't have a sequel since it's called "Final" Fantasy... now there's over a dozen! I always liked the Dragon Warrior games, it was neat to see the same basic map and how it developed and changed over the different games which took place in different generations.

I think a new Wing Commander game could really be popular. Look at Halo- people still like a futuristic space/military sim. I think that if a WC game mixed in some of the things that made Halo popular, it would be a hit. Add in multiplayer, have an awesome soundtrack, use great graphics and a modern game engine to really help the player feel immersed in the action of a continuous storyline.

 

[Stone48420]

Don't see enough adventure games any more I loved full throttle (just recently replayed it) but my all time favorite was the space quest series. They need to bring the adventure genre back to life. It was always fun to see what interesting ways that Roger could get himself killed. I wouldn't mind seeing something different as everything out now is kill kill kill.. (not that thats bad of course )

 

[Shipgate]

Besides a WC sequel. I also really wish they would bring back Lands of Lore. Lands of Lore 3 wasn't that good. But the first two are excellent. And everyone seems so into these role-playing fantasy games lately, that it's hard to imagine a fourth Lands of Lore not doing well.

It had an interesting setting. The plot in the first one was pretty straightforward, but the game had good dialogue and good cutscenes, and stuff that eluded to a much bigger world. So that's definately a game I hope they make a sequel to.

I do think a Starcraft sequel is inevitable. And I wouldn't mind that at all. Starcraft: Ghost looked kind of retarded to me. Probably just cause of the character you are.

I wish they would make another Diablo game. But the Diablo 2 ended, you pretty much felt that that was it. But I think the Diablo universe was way more interesting than the Warcraft universe. I especially loved that there weren't elves. I hate elves. As much as I love the Diablo games, however, I think it'd be stupid if you had to fight Diablo for a third time.

I guess when I think about it though, games can be like movies in that just cause you can make a sequel, doesn't mean you should. Cause some things are left fine just the way they are. That's probably how I really feel about a Diablo sequel.

 

[Fenris_117]

Wing Commander needs a revival outside of the modding community. What would really be great to see is an MMO version (a bit like they're doing Star Trek online) set somewhere in probably the middle of the Earth-Kilrathi war or possibly after prophecy with the aliens coming back. Problem of course is EA itself... they don't look like they're going anywhere big outside the C&C and Battlefield genres etc. etc. for a few years...

 

[Mav23]

All I really want is a game to finish off the story line presented in Prophecy. I need closure! However, the most likely sequel we would get would be some sort of a "restart" for the franchise, unfortunately.

 

[ChrisReid]

Sam N Max and Fullt hrottle need sequels too, and they had them in development but then Lucasarts canceled both of them.
Although I did read somewhere that Sam N Max have an episodic game in development.

Maybe at the CIC: https://www.wcnews.com/news/update/7062

I think a new Wing Commander game could really be popular. Look at Halo- people still like a futuristic space/military sim. I think that if a WC game mixed in some of the things that made Halo popular, it would be a hit. Add in multiplayer, have an awesome soundtrack, use great graphics and a modern game engine to really help the player feel immersed in the action of a continuous storyline.

A new Wing Commander game would be really popular, but Halo isn't a very good analogy just because it has some science fiction elements. Of course any game with multiplayer, an awesome soundtrack, great graphics, modern gameplay, immersive action and a great story would be popular, Wing Commander or not.

All I really want is a game to finish off the story line presented in Prophecy. I need closure! However, the most likely sequel we would get would be some sort of a "restart" for the franchise, unfortunately.

I wouldn't make that bet.

 

[Mjr. Whoopass]

We hate to say it but space sims, once a huge gaming draw, are now down to something of a niche market for the indie developer set.

Halo is very different: esp. since it's not a flight simulator. However, I still feel that it shows a game in a futuristic space setting can still be wildly popular and worthwhile for the big companies to make (not just something for indie developers).

Also, as far as any game with multiplayer, an awesome soundtrack, etc.. being popular; any game 'could' be popular, but only if your marketing is good enough to get people to buy it and play it. With Wing Commander, you can already know this game will sell a bunch of copies just by the name recognition alone. This will kick things off, and the word of mouth will spread alot farther since there will be more people who initially played it and therefore more people will be telling their friends.

 

[RATM]

If you ask me, with the current fan projects, it is possible that WC may catch someone's eye. Not only are there mods for games, there are actually stand alones (more or less) or additions to the game with whole new missions and storylines.

If you ask me, that shows a lot of fan base. However, I would expect the gameplay to be very different as to appeal to the unconquered crowd.

 

[Lt.Death100]

I personally think there'll be a new Privateer before a new Wing Commander. That kind of 'make your own destiny' game would appeal more to the current crowd than a linear military WC.

 

[BrynS]

That's a pretty good article overall. Neat that they also hit C&C Red Alert, Ultima Online, MechWarrior and so on. They will make more Wing Commander games. The article notes several failed attempts at recreating UO over the last half dozen years, but in contrast to Freespace which they also mention, Wing Commander has had several false starts since Prophecy as well. It's only a matter of time before everything comes together again.

Yeah, there's some nice variation in the choices and not just for the sake of it, many of the properties mentioned are really due some lovin'. Apart from Wing Commander, I would really enjoy sequels to Red Alert and Giants. I'm sure an overhauled UO would be appreciated by the fanbase too. Since JCal joined Firingsquad earlier this year, there's been a noticable upswing in features, conference coverage, developer articles and interviews, as well as other content.

I personally think there'll be a new Privateer before a new Wing Commander. That kind of 'make your own destiny' game would appeal more to the current crowd than a linear military WC.

While EA could decide to test the waters with a Privateer game when they sense the genre is on the up and have made the decision to revisit the WC universe, I personally see them rather making a big splash with a classic Wing Commander game, probably with a prominent developer attached, to really re-establish the franchise, especially for those not familiar with it.

Cheers,


Bryn

 

[MartySheen]

Problem of course is EA itself... they don't look like they're going anywhere big outside the C&C and Battlefield genres etc. etc. for a few years...

This is a realisitc post

They will make more Wing Commander games. The article notes several failed attempts at recreating UO over the last half dozen years, but in contrast to Freespace which they also mention, Wing Commander has had several false starts since Prophecy as well. It's only a matter of time before everything comes together again.

This is an unrealistic post

 

[AD]

This is an unrealistic post

You don't get Chris' post at all. There *HAS* been serveral attempts by EA since the movie and the scuttled Privateer online to make a new WC game that have all been hung up for various reasons. And we're not talking about 7 years ago were talking about 2 years or so. And one of the reasons has to do with EA wanting Chris roberts hired on and being unwilling to let him Work for them as an independant contractor

 

[MartySheen]

There *HAS* been serveral attempts by EA since the movie and the scuttled Privateer online to make a new WC game that have all been hung up for various reasons.

Im aware of that. I wasn't trying to suggest that there were no cancelled Wing Commander and Privateer games post Prophecy. I was trying to suggest that a new WingCommander game isn't going to happen. Period.

And we're not talking about 7 years ago were talking about 2 years or so. And one of the reasons has to do with EA wanting Chris roberts hired on and being unwilling to let him Work for them as an independant contractor

I wasn't aware of that. So EA were still considering a new game in 2004? Why would they object to Chris being and independant contractor? Would he even want to work for EA again?

 

[RATM]

I'm going to try my hand at this but.. I suspect that hiring someone full time you have a lot more control over them than an independant contractor. The contractor, especially this one being Chris Roberts, would have huge leaverage and negociating power over each and every game he's commissioned to do. Whereas if he is hired full time to say, make three games, he's given a predetermined non-negotiable budget.

That's what I figure.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Im aware of that. I wasn't trying to suggest that there were no cancelled Wing Commander and Privateer games post Prophecy. I was trying to suggest that a new WingCommander game isn't going to happen. Period.

Get the hell out.