5 game franchises we’d like to see resurrected

Nothing lasts forever… or so they say. This old expression is very true in the gaming world, where studios come and go, copyrights get bought and sold, and games just disappear. No matter the reason, the gaming world has seen its fair share of franchises fade away, for better or worse. Here’s a look at five extinct series that we’d like to see make a comeback.

5. Mercenaries

This classic came from the now-defunct Pandemic studios, the same crew that created the original Star Wars Battlefront back in 2005. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was an open world Grand Theft Auto clone with a twist: the players take control of a soldier for hire during a fictional invasion of North Korea. Players could explore a map loaded with enemies, work for competing factions, and hijack tanks and attack helicopters to use against North Korean soldiers.

The best part, however, was the destructible buildings and environments and the arsenal of bombs and airstrikes the player could use to wreak havoc. Because the game was published by LucasArts, there were also some pretty great easter eggs, such as Han Solo and Indiana Jones skins. Pandemic was bought out by EA and put out a sequel, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, that was much less well-received than the original. Pandemic was working on a third game when the studio went belly up, but EA presumably still owns the franchise. Perhaps a revival is in order?

Were you a Mercenaries fan? If so, we recommend trying Just Cause 3 or Ghost Recon: Wildlands to get your open world military fix.

4. Jak and Daxter

Way back before Uncharted was even a blip on the radar, Naughty Dog had Jak and Daxter. A series that defined the PS2 era, the games followed a young hero named Jak as he fought to save the world from a whole host of threats. Combining action, racing, platforming, puzzle solving, and the signature high-quality stories Naughty Dog is still known for, this series was a true original.  After three main games and a few spin-offs, Naughty Dog closed the book on Jak and Daxter to focus on the Uncharted series. That doesn’t mean Jak totally disappeared, though: the games have regularly received HD remasters and are available on the latest console generations. Naughty Dog did reveal that they had seriously considered rebooting the franchise for the PS3 era before ultimately deciding to focus on developing The Last of Us. This could mean that we haven’t yet seen the last of Jak and Daxter.

If you can’t wait for that revival, we recommend checking out Ratchet & Clank on the PS4. The two were both flagship franchises for Sony, and have a very similar flavor.

3. Sly Cooper

Nothing beats the feeling of pulling off a flawless heist, and when it comes to heists, nobody does it like Sly Cooper. Another PlayStation 2 era franchise, the games followed smooth-talking raccoon Sly Cooper, the latest in a long line of master thieves spanning generations. Sly and his crew worked as a team to pull off heists in exotic locales that spanned the globe, going up against a host of colorful and over-the-top villains in the process. The series’ comic-book visual style, tongue-in-cheek humor, and unique characters really made it stand out from the crowd. The Sly series spanned three PS2 entries and a PS3 reboot, Thieves in Time, released in 2013. A movie was rumored to be in the works before being canceled, but fear not: latest updates have a full length animated TV series slated for release in 2019, so keep your masks and canes ready.

If you want to replicate that feeling of cunning thievery, we recommend Grand Theft Auto V or Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. GTA does an excellent job of channeling that same glamorous heist atmosphere, and Assassin’s Creed has the trademark stealth and rooftop traversal Sly was known for.

From: Amazon

2. Dead Space

Survival horror has come to mean a lot of things, but Dead Space was a truly terrifying example of what the genre has to offer. Dead Space’s story is set in the far future, and follows engineer Isaac Clarke and a team into the depths of space to investigate a distress signal on the mining vessel USG Ishimura. What follows is hours and hours of pure terror, as Isaac fights to survive against hellish undead creatures and find out exactly what is going on.

The game is a perfect blend of sci-fi horror with a good dose of Lovecraft mixed in for good measure, and the sequel, Dead Space 2, improved on everything that made the first game great. Dead Space 3 took a more action-oriented approach, and ended on an unresolved cliffhanger. Dead Space 4 was reportedly in the works until EA transitioned Visceral Games to other projects, and the studio was eventually shut down in 2017. So far, there have been no plans to revive the franchise, but rumors are swirling of movie adaptations: legendary horror director John Carpenter has expressed interest in adapting Dead Space to the big screen.

The Dead Space series still holds up among current generation titles, and they come highly recommended if you still have your PS3. If not, Alien: Isolation is another great example of chilling sci-fi horror that brings back all those disturbing memories that Dead Space left behind.

1. Silent Hill

Another horror franchise that hasn’t seen the light of day since 2012, Silent Hill has recently been the subject of quite a lot of controversy in the gaming world. In 2017, a mysterious demo titled P.T. was released for the PlayStation 4. The demo was eventually revealed to be a teaser for Silent Hills, a game that was to star Norman Reedus and be helmed by Guillermo del Toro and Hideo Kojima. Unfortunately, Kojima’s departure from Konami and the controversy that surrounded it led to Silent Hills being canceled. Kojima, del Toro, and Reedus are currently working together on Death Stranding, and though much of the title is still under wraps, it definitely seems to incorporate some horror elements. Perhaps Kojima is bringing over some ideas from Silent Hills? As it is, the future of the franchise remains uncertain, but we yearn for a return to that particular brand of terror.

In the meantime, we recommend getting your hands on The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2. The first title, in particular, feels like it would be right at home in the world of Silent Hill, and is the perfect cure for those post-P.T. blues.

Franchises may come and go, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end. Take a trip down memory lane by revisiting the franchises above, and remember: even if a game is old, that doesn’t mean isn’t still just as fun to play.

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