Sony’s release of its
God of War Collection in 2009 was the inadvertent beginning of what would spawn dozens of classic remakes in the years to come. Gamers have been provided with a plethora of re-mastered titles since, ranging from
Resident Evil 4 HD and the
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. Sometime this year we’ll hopefully be seeing the
Zone of the Enders HD Collection - here’s five that need to see the light of day.
Hitman (Silent Assassin, Contracts & Blood Money)
It’s been listed on an Italian retail site for an October 15 release, however nothing has officially been confirmed by developer IO Interactive. We can only hope that the rumours of a re-mastered combination of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money are true; its release would spawn a huge spike in popularity for the series leading to the inception of the next installment in the series, Hitman: Absolution. Adding to that, it’ll expose the series to those who weren’t around to play the originals. Whilst it’d be great to see Agent 47’s bald head with an extra layer of gloss, IO’s selling point for a Hitman HD Collection should be the potential gamers it can attract that have never played a game in the series before.
Super Mario Galaxy (1&2)
The list just wouldn’t be complete without a mention of arguably the world’s most recognisable video game character. Super Mario Galaxy 1&2 are two of the most stunning games created for the extremely limited processing power of the Wii, and a HD revamp would allow players to fully immerse themselves in Mario’s galaxy. Both games have proven extremely popular, with the original selling over 10 million copies worldwide and being one of the highest-rated games of all time. It’s not hard to see that a HD remake on the Wii U would certainly be profitable for Nintendo, and a launch release to accompany the new console would surely increase fan faith in Nintendo after their lackluster E3 demonstration.
Grand Theft Auto (Vice City & San Andreas)
Ask any gamer what their favourite title in the Grand Theft Auto series is and they’ll more than likely respond with Vice City or San Andreas. We’ve seen what Rockstar are capable of producing graphically (ie. GTA IV and the more recent Max Payne 3) and a re-mastering of the two classics would more than satisfy the gaming world’s insatiable appetite in the lead-up to GTA V. New, additional missions would give gamers further incentive to go out and buy it; though considering Vice City and San Andreas are two of the most popular games to ever be released on last generation’s gaming platforms, it wouldn’t have a problem selling by the truckload.
Zelda (Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask & Wind Waker)
What else needs to be said? The land of Hyrule would look nothing short of amazing in HD, which gamers have already been given a taste of through Nintendo’s HD Zelda showing at E3 2011. Throw in Ocarina of Time, its successor Majora’s Mask and the beautifully unique Wind Waker and you’ve got yourself an extensive Zelda collection that should keep you occupied for some time until Nintendo decide to release their next installment in the series.
Star Wars: Battlefront (1&2)
A staple amongst FPS and Star Wars fans alike, there’s no denying that the Star Wars: Battlefront series produced two of the most enjoyable shooting experiences of the last generation. Gamers have been crying out for a third release in the series for years, and whilst the overall consensus may be that the game will never be made, HD remakes of Battlefront 1&2 complete with online functionality would prove just as popular. It is truly different to the general, modern war-based FPS games we’re subjected to today, and would see old fans of the series along with newcomers unite for a nostalgically entertaining online experience.
In a perfect world we’d see all five aforementioned collections released, however the only serious speculation recently has been surrounding remakes of the Hitman and Grand Theft Auto series. Honourable mentions go out to Final Fantasy X&X2 as well as Syphon Filter 1&2.
What games do you want to see re-mastered?
By Jake Galouzis - Bio