ome longstanding gaming franchises made their mark (or their debut) on the venerable Atari 2600. Pitfall, Pac-Man and even Mario showed up in one way or another, stopping by the wood-grained console on the way to bigger and better things. Alas, not every cartridge had the same experience. More than a few games burned brightly before inexplicably sputtering out. While the system was home to a number of titles that should stay buried (Freeway), there were several noteworthy releases that deserve to be updated. Without further ado, here are 15 Atari 2600 titles that deserve modern-day makeovers:

Adventure
OK, the rectangular main character definitely needs a redesign (and maybe some limbs), and the duck-like dragons are more comical than menacing, but the core gameplay still packs in more variety than some contemporary titles. Being able to use a portable bridge to create your own shortcuts is a cool concept that deserves to be seen again.

Combat
Packing in tank-versus-tank, plane-versus-plane and even large-plane-like-thing-versus-trio-of-jets action in a single cart made Combat one of the best multiplayer experiences in home gaming’s early days. This is a title that worked because it was so simple—we don’t need in-cockpit views or accurately rendered vehicles. Just give us a ton of different modes, some bouncy bullets and a maze, and we’ll be more than happy.

E.T.
Don’t believe the hype. E.T. may not have been the pinnacle of 2600 gaming, but it was far from the worst (Freeway). Tone down the falling-into-holes mechanic and you could have a memorable and interesting game with one of filmdom’s most recognizable characters. Heck, this is one of those games where collecting crap is integral to the story—a fact that developers should go to pieces over.

Haunted House
It’s a house, and it’s haunted. What more do you need to know? The leaps in hardware technology we’ve seen since the early ‘80s would allow for some of the most amazing floating-eyeball rendering ever created. Even armed with nine lives, tracking down the pieces of the missing urn while being chased by bats and ghosts was a challenge. Let’s see it again!

Kaboom!
All right, Kaboom! wasn’t the most complicated game around, but it would be perfect on the DS. Players could use the shoulder buttons to move the buckets of water to catch the bombs that the maniacally evil convict tosses down. Throw in some power ups (bigger buckets, trampolines to bounce ‘em back at the villain), and we’d pay for it all over again.

Keystone Kapers
This side-scroller mixed tag with crime fighting—a timeless combination. This is a game that cries out for multiplayer. As fun as it is chasing the criminal through the department store, we can only imagine how much better it would be if it was a buddy. Think of the trash-talking opportunities!

M*A*S*H*
We know this franchise is as dead as Colonel Blake, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve another shot. The game, already a pretty strange license, was a bizarre mix of Choplifter and the board game Operation. We’d love to see that odd gameplay represented with a top-notch helicopter sim section and gruesome Trauma Center-styled operation sequences. We won’t hold our breath, though.

Maze Craze
This is a game that was practically built for the DS. Two players battle it out, zipping through randomly generated mazes. Wireless connectivity plus the stylus make this a natural.

Sky Diver
Pilotwings may have built on the formula, but Sky Diver got there first. While the side view worked at the time, we’d expect nothing less than a full first-person experience from a hypothetical remake. Fighting the wind while trying to hit the target could be a knuckle-biting experience, if done correctly.

Space Shuttle: A Journey Into Space
On the 2600, you simply took off and landed. Surely, some interesting stuff has to happen in the middle. Creating a special peripheral for this sim, a la Steel Battalion, could go a long way in engaging players in the magic of space flight. That and adding in a few actual objectives.

Stampede
We’d be thrilled to see this oldie ride again on the Wii. Lassoing up renegade cattle and other varmints is a natural for the Wii’s controller.

Swordquest
All we want from a remake of this fantasy-themed series is for someone to explain what the hell is going on. Seriously.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Nobody’s snagged this license? Even after the remakes? Wow. This could be a great survival horror game, minus the military commandos or firearms. Think Clock Tower, but with chainsaws, blood-soaked aprons and skin masks.

Warlords
An early four-player action game, Warlords still holds up well to this day. While modern systems don’t ship with paddle controllers, we’re thinking the Sixaxis could be put to good use here.

Yar’s Revenge
You’re a giant bug, and you’re trying to destroy an alien machine. That’s the kind of gaming gold that never gets old. Throw some bump-mapping at it, and you’re good.