Licensed games don't have the best of reputations, for reasons too obvious to repeat here. When the rare successes do occur, however, it’s usually because the games are based on older movies and, thus, weren’t rushed to market in order to coincide with a theatrical release.
The lesson here, developers? Stop looking to current, crappy Hollywood for inspiration and go back to the classics… by which, of course, we mean the ‘80s movies that we adored as children and would happily pay money to play through again as adults.
7. Gremlins
The Movie: A cute furry creature gets wet and gives birth. The babies eat after midnight and turn into scaly green monsters that get off on fatal pranks. First movie was scary, second was a live-action cartoon. Both were awesome.
Previous Games: Gremlins - The Adventure (1985, home computers), Gremlins (1985, Atari 2600), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (NES, 1990), Gremlins: Unleashed! (2001, Game Boy), Gremlins: Stripe Versus Gizmo (2002, Game Boy)
Why It Needs A New Game: Gremlins was an iconic franchise, one that spawned several pretenders and became a staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Despite this, it had only two films and exists today mostly as a plushy line for cult collectors. The entire franchise deserves a revival, and not just some inevitably crap Hollywood remake. It needs a game.
What kind of game? Well, imagine Dead Rising, but with lizard-like pranksters who break into song and dance numbers. An open world game set in a small town, shopping mall or corporate building that has been taken over by Gremlins has potential for all sorts of ludicrous fun. As the player, you will have an arsenal comparable to Frank West, able to smack Gremlins around with baseball bats and trash bins, but you can also feed them into paper shredders, punt them against walls, and -- of course -- melt them to death with high powered lights. Tell us it wouldn't be amazing!
6. Friday The 13th
The Movie: A woman goes on a murderous rampage at a summer camp due to the death of her potato-headed son. Later, the son comes back to continue her bloody work. Eventually dons a hockey mask and wields a trademark machete before being killed and brought back to life several times through increasingly convoluted means.
Previous Games: Friday The 13th (home computers, 1986), Friday The 13th (1989, NES), Friday The 13th (mobile phones, 2000s).
Why It Needs A New Game: Back in the days of cassette-based gaming, the only thing scary about gaming was the hideous screeching that the loading screens made. That is, until kids got their hands on Friday The 13th. The first game, available for home computers such as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, was utterly horrifying. You had to convince Crystal Lake camp members to head to a sanctuary while Jason Voorhees stalked them, disguised as a camper and ready to do bloody murder on anyone he came across. When he did, you saw shit like this, accompanied by a chilling scream:
It was pretty shocking for its time, especially as it could pop up without warning. Why not traumatize a whole new generation of kids by remaking the original? Using dialog trees from RPGs such as Mass Effect and a "stalking enemy" mechanic from such games as Clock Tower, we think an engrossing and scary game could be made, as you try to convince kids to leave the camp while avoiding the attention of Jason and his happy fun knife. Throw in some combat/chase sequences with the indomitable simpleton himself, and it would be a triumph.
