From Fallout 3 to XCOM and now possibly Syndicate, it seems a lot of old PC games are being brought back as FPS games. Its good they are back for many but bad they’re back as the most common and overdone genre for many more. FPS games are far more bankable than many other genres and you can agree with this without liking it. .My opinion on this trend depends entirely on my enjoyment of the final product and not on prior assumptions. I really enjoyed Fallout 3, as I did the previous two despite the major differences. I may enjoy an FPS version of XCOM and Syndicate, I don’t know. But it seems to me that there is any easy way to satisfy both the long-time fans and new players alike.

Xbox Live, PSN and Steam to name the major examples have over the past few years had an explosion of great games released. Many of these contain as much to enjoy as other full-priced, higher budget titles. I don’t think I even need to name any examples as there are so many but a recent favourite would be Double Fine’s Costume Quest. Many developers are using these services to release smaller games that act as a sort of promotion for the upcoming game. The recent (and apparently bad) Red Faction: Battlegrounds and Fable 2’s Pub Games are some examples and I really hope that Beyond Good & Evil HD will become another in the next few years.



So with services like this and the popular trend of resurrecting old licenses, why not use these services to make promotional games in the style of the originals? One easy way that has been done is to release games like Banjo-Kazooie in HD with its next-gen sequel. Another way would be to make a whole new game. Imagine if in the last months before the release of XCOM an arcade title based on the gameplay of the earlier games was released? This would no doubt go some way to pleasing the longtime fans and promoting the new game. And if its particularly successful, there could be even more. If it’s not, it becomes a good bonus to get with the game. Hell, you could even employ talented fan communities to make them.

Steam is already including giftable copies of earlier games with pre-orders and getting the original Banjo-Kazooie was obviously a good strategy for helping people to take more notice of Nuts & Bolts. I think getting a new isometric Fallout RPG in HD would be an excellent way to promote Fallout 4.



You’ll never please everyone but I think this is worth a try.