Gaming The System: When franchises die, Part 2
Last week, I talked about Road
Rash, Panzer Dragoon and Jet Set
Radio, three franchises that were
killed before their time. This week,
I continue that list with four more
series that are fondly remembered
by a select few gamers.
MDK
Debates surrounded the true nature of the series' abbreviated title, with guesses ranging from Murder Death Kill (in homage to 1993's Demolition Man) to Mother's Day Kisses. One topic never put to debate, however, was the excellence of both MDK and MDK 2's run-and-gun, sniping action. MDK debuted on the PC and PlayStation in 1998, with fastmoving alien-killing action that never suffered slowdown or frame drops thanks to the brilliant technical design by Shiny of Earthworm Jim fame. Following the successful release of its predecessor, MDK 2 dropped in from orbit on the Dreamcast and PC in 2000. This time, the game was crafted as a loving homage to the various monster- zombie-alien pulp magazines of the 1950s. Expanding the range of playable characters from just Kirk the Janitor to Max the Robotic Dog and Professor Hawkins, the game offered a lot of varied bang per buck for each character. Besides an HD re-release on the PC and a Wii port, nothing has followed MDK 2.
Perfect Dark
One of the last major releases on the Nintendo 64, Rare's Perfect Dark refused to slack despite being on a soon-to-be-axed console. An FPS created with the Goldeneye engine (albeit with a wide range of improvements to the graphics, controls and AI), Perfect Dark featured its own sci-fi world and badass female protagonist that rivalled Lara Croft. Despite the game being bogged down with framerate issues thanks to its rather shiny visuals, it didn't go easy on delivering content, with a lengthy single-player campaign (with a coop mode) and several multiplayer modes. Rare began development on a prequel for the GameCube before being bought out by Microsoft, resulting in the game being shifted for the Xbox, and finally, as a launch title for the Xbox 360. Perfect Dark Zero was released in 2005 to positive but slightly apprehensive reviews, with criticisms targeted towards the game's rushed feeling. Despite the HD re-release of the original game on the Xbox Live Arcade market sparking hopes for new development, nothing has happened since.
Conker
Rare's Conker series began with a rather unremarkable entry on the Gameboy Color with Twelve Tales: Conker 64, a rather plain Zelda-like adventure game. Although there was a Nintendo 64 game lined up to serve as a sequel, Rare ultimately canned it, fearing it would be lost in a sea of kiddie mascot platform adventure games. From the ashes of the kid Conker was born the adult, alcoholic and foulmouthed Conker's Bad Fur Day, one amazing-looking game that truly pushed the aging Nintendo 64's limits. Everyone was blown away by the game's use of real-time shadows, detailed characters and environments, and individually-voiced characters, complete with lip sync. The real star of the show was the gameplay and humour. Rare took its fourth-wall- breaking humour to the nth degree, parodying gaming tropes like context-sensitive buttons, life systems and item pickups that float for no reason, and layered all that with some seriously scatological gross-out humour (there's a giant mound of singing poo in this game). Sadly, the game undersold due to its poor release timing, but with Microsoft's purchase of Rare came a Xbox remake, Live and Reloaded. Like the N64 title, Live and Reloaded pushed the hardware of its console to the limit (the furry protagonist had actual fur on him), but also added in a cool class-based online multiplayer mode that was one of the top Xbox Live games until the original service was shut down. Sadly, there have been no more Conker games since L&R, due to creator Chris Seavor's lack of interest.
Dungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper 2 came along, and it was okay. The spin-off Evil Genius came along (switching a mythical evil lair for a '60s spy villain evil lair), and then nothing. Considering the direction EA games is heading, it's probably for the best.
MDK
Debates surrounded the true nature of the series' abbreviated title, with guesses ranging from Murder Death Kill (in homage to 1993's Demolition Man) to Mother's Day Kisses. One topic never put to debate, however, was the excellence of both MDK and MDK 2's run-and-gun, sniping action. MDK debuted on the PC and PlayStation in 1998, with fastmoving alien-killing action that never suffered slowdown or frame drops thanks to the brilliant technical design by Shiny of Earthworm Jim fame. Following the successful release of its predecessor, MDK 2 dropped in from orbit on the Dreamcast and PC in 2000. This time, the game was crafted as a loving homage to the various monster- zombie-alien pulp magazines of the 1950s. Expanding the range of playable characters from just Kirk the Janitor to Max the Robotic Dog and Professor Hawkins, the game offered a lot of varied bang per buck for each character. Besides an HD re-release on the PC and a Wii port, nothing has followed MDK 2.
Perfect Dark
One of the last major releases on the Nintendo 64, Rare's Perfect Dark refused to slack despite being on a soon-to-be-axed console. An FPS created with the Goldeneye engine (albeit with a wide range of improvements to the graphics, controls and AI), Perfect Dark featured its own sci-fi world and badass female protagonist that rivalled Lara Croft. Despite the game being bogged down with framerate issues thanks to its rather shiny visuals, it didn't go easy on delivering content, with a lengthy single-player campaign (with a coop mode) and several multiplayer modes. Rare began development on a prequel for the GameCube before being bought out by Microsoft, resulting in the game being shifted for the Xbox, and finally, as a launch title for the Xbox 360. Perfect Dark Zero was released in 2005 to positive but slightly apprehensive reviews, with criticisms targeted towards the game's rushed feeling. Despite the HD re-release of the original game on the Xbox Live Arcade market sparking hopes for new development, nothing has happened since.
Conker
Rare's Conker series began with a rather unremarkable entry on the Gameboy Color with Twelve Tales: Conker 64, a rather plain Zelda-like adventure game. Although there was a Nintendo 64 game lined up to serve as a sequel, Rare ultimately canned it, fearing it would be lost in a sea of kiddie mascot platform adventure games. From the ashes of the kid Conker was born the adult, alcoholic and foulmouthed Conker's Bad Fur Day, one amazing-looking game that truly pushed the aging Nintendo 64's limits. Everyone was blown away by the game's use of real-time shadows, detailed characters and environments, and individually-voiced characters, complete with lip sync. The real star of the show was the gameplay and humour. Rare took its fourth-wall- breaking humour to the nth degree, parodying gaming tropes like context-sensitive buttons, life systems and item pickups that float for no reason, and layered all that with some seriously scatological gross-out humour (there's a giant mound of singing poo in this game). Sadly, the game undersold due to its poor release timing, but with Microsoft's purchase of Rare came a Xbox remake, Live and Reloaded. Like the N64 title, Live and Reloaded pushed the hardware of its console to the limit (the furry protagonist had actual fur on him), but also added in a cool class-based online multiplayer mode that was one of the top Xbox Live games until the original service was shut down. Sadly, there have been no more Conker games since L&R, due to creator Chris Seavor's lack of interest.
Dungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper 2 came along, and it was okay. The spin-off Evil Genius came along (switching a mythical evil lair for a '60s spy villain evil lair), and then nothing. Considering the direction EA games is heading, it's probably for the best.
