Weekend Gaming Roundtable: Which video game needs a remake?

We are going to be doing a new feature at World-Gaming Network.  Basically, we'll ask a question to all our writers and get their response on it.  Then all of our readers and post their own response in the comments section below the article.

This week's question is this fun for anyone who has ever wanted a video game remake:  What video game do you want to see remade with next generation graphics, sound, controls, etc.  It can be a classic 8-bit game…or anything recent that you think was terrible and needs a remake.  You can only pick only one.

Casey Lyons
Looking back over my years of gaming indoctrination --as I needed to do to answer this question-- I saw that most of the games I poured hours into actually have been picked back up and reintroduced, with varying degrees of success. Then it came to me, there was a title that I lived and died by that fell by the wayside: Altered Beast. Whatever happened to that wonderful franchise? I would like to see an action RPG version of Altered Beast. You would start out as a normal man in torn clothes and through a endless series of tasks and quests you would acquire different alterations. Each of them small mutations that, in combination, would make you into a hulking beast and allow for a unique character each time you played through.

Kevin May
I've done a lot of considering on this question, and it isn't easy to choose here, but the game I would like to see remade and released is the original Wing Commander. The story driven first person space combat game was one of the best games of the day, when pc's had merely VGA graphics with 256 colors, and CD drives were still 1x speed, it had great three dimensional control of the combat fighter with a range of missions. There were a number of well done (and at least one poor) sequel, but the original game was the best of them. The sequels became progressively less about the game and more about the cinematic sequences featuring notables like Mark Hamill. And what was with that movie based on the game? Bring back Wing Commander!

Elyas Gorogo-Baker
Death defying acrobatics, crazy looking guns, sweet powers, super long-legged main characters, and a story written by Orson Scott Card. When I say these things, I know the first game you think of is the same one I'm thinking of: Advent Rising. I enjoyed the hell out of that game. The action was ridiculous, fast paced, and, most of all, fun and the story wasn't too bad. It received pretty mediocre reviews though and generally passed under a lot of people's radars. The first version on the Xbox was plagued with countless bugs and other technical issues, which turned a lot of people off, but there is just so much potential in the crazy, gun in one hand, levitating power in the other, back-flipping, slow motioning action that this game needs a sequel. Or two.

Jason Porembski
I know this is a cheap one, but I would absolutely love to see the original Super Mario Bros. redone. While I want everything updated I still want it to be retro and nothing new added. Updated sound, 3D graphics (but platformer think New Super Mario Bros), and same controls. I would want to see the same exact levels. I guess they could just take New Super Mario Bros and reuse the older levels and I'd be happy.

Josh Harris
I’m kinda surprised we went through the whole roundtable and didn’t even get one Final Fantasy 7 response.  I’ll continue the trend of no Final Fantasy 7 responses by picking Super Metroid for SNES.  I know, Super Metroid is an absolute classic and should never be touched, but I would really love to see it get some next gen loving.  I’m somewhat torn between having it updated to a 3D type world ala the Metroid Prime games…or just keep it the classic “metroidvania” gameplay with updated graphics and sound.  However, I think if they gave me the reins to remake it, I’d totally go 3D with it.  Just imagine walking around planet Zebes in 3D.  Being able to explore every nook and cranny in the world.

Dan Horowitz
Fire Emblem 4 needs to be put in English and released on the DS immediately.  I need to be able to experience the deepest and richest Fire Emblem game to date in a version accessible to Westerns. If Nintendo could do it with Marth and his superficial Fire Emblem game, then it can certainly be done with Fire Emblem 4.

Well there you have it.  Our first ever Weekend Gaming Roundtable.  Feel free to post your answer to the question of "which game do you want to see remade" in the comments section below.  And be sure to check back next week for the next Weekend Gaming Roundtable.