DS Features

Dr Linda Papadopoulos has published her report on the sexualisation of young people. It's a sound enough topic for discussion - a look at any fashion game or music video will show you there's at least a potential problem. Though every medium is covered in the report, the section on 'Computer games' has some interesting statistics.

Citing Dill and Thill (no, really) from a study in 2007, she says:

83 per cent of male

It's funny how the games business works. Big successes become popular franchises, we keep buying 'em because they keep getting better, and developers keep churning 'em out. Later, we'll complain about Call of Duty being the same stupid thing, buy it, verify our complaint, and keep the cycle strong. What about the stuff that doesn't review well, though, or doesn't sell, or doesn't quite live up to the hype? Those games are usually left for dead, and an original IP hoping to make its big break becomes a one-shot failure.

Aren't these the games we should see sequels to? Disappointing games are the ones that need the most improving, and are the games that'd benefit the most from a second chance. Remember, Assassin's Creed eventually became Assassin's Creed II. We'd love to see some of this generation's biggest bummers – even if they had a lot going for them – take off bigger than they have...

Everyone’s got their favorite superhero, but none are as consistently badass as James Howlett. Sorry, Logan. Sorry again, Wolverine. With incredibly quick healing powers, an indestructible metal alloy grafted to his skeleton, and three claws that emerge from his fists, Wolverine quickly made an impact in the comic book world with his first appearance in 1974.

Everyone’s got their favorite superhero, but none are as consistently badass as James Howlett. Sorry, Logan. Sorry again, Wolverine. With incredibly quick healing powers, an indestructible metal alloy grafted to his skeleton, and three claws that emerge from his fists, Wolverine quickly made an impact in the comic book world with his first appearance in 1974.

Traditional wisdom suggests that fictional superstars never change. Bugs Bunny, Homer Simpson and Superman, for example, have endured for decades with more or less the same appearance. They never age, never look incredibly dated (save for a few misguided revamps that die off) and consistently appeal to a new generation. The same can’t be said for videogame characters, though.

As a technology-based medium, game heroes and villains cannot remain the same. They must constantly evolve, or risk looking “last gen.” That doesn’t mean the new or old designs take precedence, it just means no developer will ever, ever leave its creation alone. Now, with decades of console history to pull from, let’s take a look at the “old” designs and see how they stack up against their modern equivalents...

Unless you were dead this morning, you’ve heard the news – Disney has bought Marvel Comics for four billion dollars. Cue the speculation machines and “lolz Spaderman vs Mickey moose” arguments, right?

Everyone’s got their favorite superhero, but none are as consistently badass as James Howlett. Sorry, Logan. Sorry again, Wolverine. With incredibly quick healing powers, an indestructible metal alloy grafted to his skeleton, and three claws that emerge from his fists, Wolverine quickly made an impact in the comic book world with his first appearance in 1974.

Earlier this year we pointed out how many series reboots were on the way. NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat, GoldenEye and Splatterhouse are just a few of the once-relevant names being dug up for the 2010-2011 season, plus the Sly Cooper/ICO HD remakes for PS3. In short, reviving prior successes is all the rage right now, and seeing these long-lost series with a new lease on life has kicked our nostalgic hearts into overdrive. So make with the reboots and bring these overlooked, formerly triumphant franchises back from the dead...

Game publishers frequently do things that seem to make very little sense. The most currently fashionable thing that makes very little sense seems to be the FPS reboot. Take an old, much-loved video game franchise, whip up fanboy hysteria by announcing a new entry, then reveal an only-partially-related-at-best FPS, containing a couple of elements which vaguely relate to the core conceits of the original game, albeit in a rather abstract way. Wayhay! FPS reboot! New players might like it but will never have heard of the franchise! Old fans of the franchise will be incensed and immediately hate what might have been a perfectly acceptable game if given a different name!  Absolutely no-one benefits! 

It's already happening with old favourite strategy shooters X-COM and Syndicate, and I reckon it's going to continue. So I've come up with a few concepts of my own, mainly so that I can at least take revenge with a stolen-design lawsuit when publishers inevitably start bastardising these particular parts of my childhood.