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Question Of The Month Reader Responses: Issue #238
In issue 236, we asked readers what classic video game genre would they revive and why. The number one answer surprised us. Here are some of the responses.
The Number One Response:
- If there was one genre I could bring back, it would easily be the text-based adventure genre. It's like reading a book. I love Black Ops 2 and Halo 4, but Zork has a certain charm no other genre can deliver.
Jack Little - There are a few text-only adventures out on the Internet now, but most of them are just ports of classic games. I think it's time to take the new processing power and hardware capabilities as well as new ideas and apply them to text-only games. They could be more amazing than they've ever been!
John Enfield - I think that text adventures should be brought back. I mean, the possibilities are endless; you could do what ever you want! Just imagine: "You are stuck in a bear trap and zombies are closing in. One grabs your arm. The military jets are dropping bombs all around you as you try to pry your self off. The zombie sinks its teeth into you, and you feel the infection spreading. What do you do?" That would be awesome.
Carson Tenhagen - I have always disliked text-based adventure games, mainly because you can't do 75 percent of the stuff you want. But with computers soon being able to process as much as the human brain, (estimated in about 2045) the program may be able to understand answers that normally are not given. It's a long ways off but it's possible.
Gregory Arleth - Text adventures. Can you envision this type of game in this console generation? Picture it: your imagination...in HD!
Michael Kapuscinski
Return of the JRPG:
- I would revive the classic RPG genre. There’s nothing like getting lost in a world of Final Fantasy, Legend of Dragoon, or Xenogears!
Drew Croff - I would love to see the classic Japanese RPG comeback. Sure, we have involved and elegant real-time RPGs like Skyrim and Fallout, but I'm starting to miss the days of controlling a party of characters by with menus like in the old Final Fantasy games. Or perhaps the more creative edge like that taken in Persona 4. The thing about JRPGs is that you can stay true to the base mechanics like random encounters, menu/command-driven battles, etc. while still adding something new. And with gaming technology today, just imagine the possibilities!
Sam Joseph Hobson
The Horror:
- One genre I would love to see more of is the classic psychological horror/"run and hide" games. Of course everyone knows of the Silent Hill games, but what makes the horror genre truly shine are the ones that drop your character in the middle of a nightmare with nothing to defend him or herself except instinct and fear. Games such as Clock Tower 3, Haunting Ground, Penumbra: Black Plague, and the popular Slender: The Eight Pages have successfully shown all of us what it feels like to truly be helpless and isolated. I hope that this genre of games (nay, nightmare simulators), can make a comeback and show us all, with the help of today's advanced gaming technology, what the horror genre truly is.
Justin Makowski - I believe that the classic survival horror genre should be made more often. You know, like Resident Evil 1-3 or Silent Hill. With fixed camera angles, tank controls, and awful combat. It would be amazing! I've always loved searching for magic things to rub on other magic things and hoping that that magically influences the plot.
Jack McBride
More Metroid:
- The genre I would bring back is the Metroidvania. Massive worlds to explore, challenging platforming and combat, and minimal handholding? Sign me up any day!
Ed Kolis - More Metroid style games. Or just a new 2D Metroid would be fine.
Hayden Rogers
Fans of Few Words:
- I would revive the beat 'em up.
Peter Hartung - Streets of Rage...do I really need a reason?
Richard white
Shoot-em-up Love:
- Easy: shmups. The last good shmups we have seen are Gradius V and Ikaruga (the latter having moderate commercial success). I think current-gen reincarnations of this classic genre would be amazing. In a game world where player-friendly games reign supreme, a dose of hardcore shmup action would be a great breath of fresh air.
Scott Hewson - I would revive space shooters like Gradius and Star Fox. There's nothing more gratifying than to hear the announcer say, "Option."
Walbert Matos
A New Adventure:
- Few people probably remember the Sierra On-line Quest for Glory series of adventure games. For me they defined an era, and along with other adventure games from the same company, they are what got me into gaming. They were littered with farce and had a wittiness often left out of games these days. I'd love to see the games return somehow with updated graphics, new content, and updated combat and gameplay.
Dave Foster
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