The 411 Games Top 5 03.23.09: Midway Franchises That Deserve to Live On

Posted by Todd Vote on 03.23.2009

Midway is selling off Mortal Kombat, but what other Midway franchises from years past desrve to live on. Join me and the staff of 411 Games as we submit our top 5 Midway franchises we think deserve another shot at glory.

By now I'm sure anyone who cares has heard about my beloved Midway filing for Chapter 11 restructuring, and has been trying to sell the MK franchise to make ends meet. It was with that in mind that we bring you this weeks top 5. Let me stress first and foremost, that nobody who submitted a list wants to see Midway go under. Midway has provided us all with some great gaming moments through the years, and it is a sad day when a prominent developer has to close it's doors. Midway closing is bad for the industry no matter how you look at it, Keeping that in mind the writers of 411 bring you their list of top 5 Midway franchises we would like to see live on in case of the company closing. We will be including the franchise and who we would like to see get the property. Be sure to leave your lists in the comments. Let's get this show on the road shall we?







BANNER!!!



Gee, I wonder if anyone can guess who made this banner? Thanks to Mark Salmela for finally providing this column with a banner





Joining first this week is James "Where's my grits!" McGee. Be sure to check out James most recent addition to the site, in which he goes hands on with the suprisingly fun Ninja Blade demo.

James McGee

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Suffering: This one gets an honorable mention because, as much as I love the original, I think it was a one-trick-pony. The setting was essential to the experience—a fact made all the more apparent when the sequel left the creepy, haunted prison behind for the streets of Baltimore. It just wasn't the same. Though Carnate Island has a rich backstory, the particulars of the plot didn't leave much room for a repeat visit, so building sequels around the setting Silent Hill-style seems to be out. But if someone can find a logical way to keep the franchise going, I'd be all for it. Maybe EA Redwood could bring some of their Dead Space expertise to the table?
Torque was a bad-ass. He told me if I didn't give you 50 points, I would be the one Suffering

5. NBA Jam - Generally speaking, I'm not a sports fan. For some reason, Basketball in particular leaves me a little cold. But in junior high/high school, I was OBSESSED with NBA Jam, probably because it was a basketball game for people who didn't play basketball games. It required skill and strategy (especially playing against a human opponent), but it was accessible and just over-the-top enough that it could draw in casual gamers, too. I couldn't pin down a studio to handle an updated reboot, but I would certainly like to see the wild world of Jam make a comeback. BOOM SHAKA-LAKA!
A good BOOM SHAKA-LAKA is worth it's weight in gold. But that only translates to 10 points





4. Spy Hunter - Several of my picks on this list are classic games that have suffered less-than-successful modern reboots. Sending them to a new developer with a totally fresh view may just be the way to go, but that might also entail a total re-imagining, so nostalgia-junkies beware. So, I'd like to see Spy Hunter move away from the driving-only model that it's been locked into and take on a more full-featured espionage flavor. EA Games did a great job of crafting a totally new (but faithful) chapter in the James Bond mythology with Everything or Nothing, and they could do the same with Spyhunter. Create a new, distinctive protagonist and drop him in a world full of danger and intrigue. Maybe move the action more towards a Jason Bourne type of feel. Of course, the cool cars with the crazy weapons would still be there, connecting this new version to the classic.

3. Rampage: - Another old favorite that hasn't aged well. I see this one taking on a sandbox model where you can roam the city with a fully customizable monster of your own creation, laying waste to everything in sight. Who better to handle this task than Radical Entertainment, developers behind the highly-anticipated Prototype and the acclaimed Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. They obviously have a knack for free-roaming mass destruction of a monstrous variety. Sure, whip up some kind of story to keep things interesting, but the main draw here has to be a fully destructible city (or cities). And I mean FULLY destructible. Everything you see should be ripe for demolition, leaving nothing but a smoking crater by game's end. Where's the fun in playing a monster if there's something left standing?
25 points, just because the idea you briefly layed out sounds like it could be a blast in a multi-player format.

2. Gauntlet: - Like other games on this list, the mother of all dungeon crawlers hasn't been able to gain much of a foothold in the modern age. Maybe a revamp by Raven Software—purveyors of such fine, glorified crawlers like X-men Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance—is just what the franchise needs. Use the same model as the Marvel games, with light RPG elements, and all characters on screen at once. Players could switch between them or, ideally, bring along some friends for co-op (making sure to grief whoever shoots the food). Make the story more engaging, but keep the basic premise of a labyrinthine environment and endless hordes of beasties at the heart of the experience.

1. Smash TV: - This one would be quite a departure, so hear me out. Keep the concept of a deadly game show (a la The Running Man), but scrap the two-stick arcade shooter action. The new Smash would be a first-person adventure full of intrigue and atmosphere. Put this puppy in the hands of 2K Boston/Australia—the developers behind Bioshock, and therefore proven masters at said intrigue and atmosphere. In keeping with the original, the new Smash would have to feature more intense shooting than Bioshock's more adventurous tone, but the story would be given new importance as well. Who is our contestant? Why is he participating in this suicidal game? What are the origins of the show? Give gamers action AND a reason to care about it, and you have a winner.
Again, I'll give you points just for making this re-imagining sound like a blast, 25 points

Next up is our resident Target Terror junkie himself, Mark Salmela. When Mark isn't playing Target Terror, he likes to spend his time making life hell for his "little brothers" Derek and Drew Robbins.

Mark Salmela

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Target Terror - Yeah, it's not made by Midway, but it sure fits Midway's style of games. Lots of blood, sex appeal, and gore! The best part? It's backed by Konami, so we don't have to worry about the status of Target Terror 2!!!
I think Midway's "Target Terror" would be T2: The Arcade game, wouldn't it? 10 points for managing to weasel Target Terror in where it doesn't belong, once again.

Hydro Thunder - Pretty much the only game on this entire list that I would actually want a sequel too, and not just a remake. I think Sony London, the developers of Wipeout, would do Hydro Thunder justice. If not Sega has a history of good arcade racers.

5. Narc - I have a reoccurring theme in most of the entrees on my list. I don't really want sequels to these classic Midway titles, I want remakes. You see, most of these games were already perfect, they just need graphical updates and sound improvements. Changing the controls or gameplay elements just complicates things and ruins the gameplay. Add in online support and I'll gladly re-buy classics such as Narc and the other games on this list. But who's perfect for the Narc license if Midway were to go under? Why Rockstar North of course. GTA wishes it were as badass as Narc.

Did you play the most recent Narc game? You can have 20 sympathy points for still wanting more after that last attempt on this series.





4. Paperboy - See above. The original Paperboy is absolutely perfect, I just want online support and updated graphics. In paperboys case I could use new objects/enemies to avoid/hit with papers but the core gameplay is perfect. Who's perfect for the Paperboy license? Probably EA, although I'm not sure anyone screams Paperboy *maybe Atari*.

3. Rampage - Once again, the original Rampage is the best. The last few Rampages were too complicated and tried to do too much. The simplicity of the original cannot be matched, and Rampage needs a remake. Updated graphics, online play, and more backgrounds/buildings to destroy is all that will make the original Rampage better. Who'd fit in with Rampage? Sega, because they also know how to make good arcade games.
I love James idea for Rampage, but yours would be welcome also. 23.6 points

2. NBA Jam - The original 1993 arcade version of NBA Jam is perfect. Absolutely nothing can be done to NBA Jam to make it better. I beg anyone, ANYONE out there to port the original version to current generation consoles with online support. I will own the world, guaranteed. I still play the 1993 arcade version on a regular basis, and it's perfect. No other company should touch NBA Jam, even though Acclaim owned the license last I knew.

1. Mortal Kombat - What else could possibly be number 1? Mortal Kombat Trilogy is in my opinion the best fighter ever made. At first glance it may seem buggy and a generic fighter but holy crap is boat loads of fun. It's the only fighter that my friends and I have been playing on a consistent basis since its release in 1996. Anyways Mortal Kombat holds a special place in my heart, and while the last few titles have been pretty mediocre if Midway went under than we might actually see some innovation, or better yet a return to the old style of MK. I want actual actors as sprites in Mortal Kombat, not animated character models. Which company besides Midway fits in with Mortal Kombat's style? I'd have to say Rockstar. Or maybe EA, since they don't really have any good fighting games.
No Mark, Capcom gets Mortal Kombat. How else will we show the Robbins boys how Scorpion would make Ryu his bitch? 30 points for calling a MK game perfect and keeping a straight face. I love the series but even I know better than that.

Alright, up next is Rod Oracheski. Rod usually writes Achievement unlocked, but the column has been MIA for some reason lately. But in his spare time he likes to be the bane of David R's existence. Rod, what do you got for us?

Rod Oracheski

Honorable Mentions:

NHL Hitz - I'd love to see this one make a comeback, but EA's 3-on-3 has stepped into the gap pretty decently. I can't believe you get such a paltry number of NHL stars to choose your team from, though - and seriously...Andrew Cogliano is the only Oilers rep? Anyway, back on track - Hitz was best when they remembered the formula - simple arcade fun. Give this one to Activision, who has every intention of taking any EA marketshare they can, and let them go to war with it. With a growing focus on cheap downloadable games, this is one of two franchises that Midway was ahead of their time with.
I like the idea of Activision releasing this as DLC, give EA a run for their money. 20 points





5. NBA Jam - And this is the other. NBA Jam was absolutely huge in the arcades and just as big at home. Easy to pick up and play, and a blast when playing with friends. NBA Jam could do big things once again, and I'd tap SEGA with trying to get it back into our hearts. Let's face it, they could use a sure thing these days, and NBA Jam is about as close as you can get. Just don't give us an all Werehog team, k?

4. 720 - An arcade classic, this one could easily come back as a downloadable title - and if you put it on the Wii with balance board controls it might even surpass the original. I'd give this one to Activison as well, but only if they promise to iterate it with sequels every second year. One year Tony Hawk, the next is 720.

Ah hell, who am I kidding - they'd have eight different 720-based games out in the first six months. Screw you, Activision - Nintendo gets this one all to themselves. Mario 720, only on the Wii.
Rod gets 35 points for mentioning a Midway game I have never played.

3. Area 51 (and spinoffs) - Few shooters have such direct link into the American fascination with the unknown and their government's willingness to cover things up, giving the Area 51 license tons of material to mine. I think Ubisoft would be a good choice to get to work on it - give the source material a look from a different side, perhaps a government agent whose job it is to go in, remove the aliens/oddities, and clean things up? The great thing about the Area 51 IP is that it doesn't just have to be a shooter, there's tons you could do with this kind of ready-made source material. Run out of ideas? Just cruise a conspiracy site or two!

2. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - tween this and Second Sight I thought we were truly going to see a renaissance of sorts in 'special powers' games, but it really never materialized. Great controls made this one a fun time, so let's hand it over to Capcom and have them put everyone from Resident Evil 5 to work on it. Maybe then they can join the rest of us in next-gen and UPDATE THE GOD DAMNED CONTROLS for Resident Evil 6.

Okay, that's just bitterness talking. Valve gets this one. I'd love to see a more story-driven game in this setting and Valve does an amazing job at telling a story.
The team behind Resident Evil would not be able to make Psi-Ops. The powers in Psi-Ops require you to be able to move to use them. I'm just sayin... 30 points

1. The Suffering - This was really the last 'scary' game I can remember playing. With a great setting and those 'freak out' moments that happened randomly, it really scared the hell out of a friend of mine - I mean to the point where he wouldn't play it in the house by himself, and if someone else was home he would ask them to come sit and watch him play. I'd throw this one to Konami and maybe they can rekindle that Silent Hill magic.

Finally, joining this week is Armando Rodriguez, Armando's recent work for the site includes a preview of Midway/Ubisofts Wheelman on the PS3.

Armando Rodriguez

First of all let me state that I wish for Midway to survive. We need more good developers out there before the video game industry goes the way of movies and music: only a few major powers controlling everything.

5. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing - The series has gotten a bit stale, but I still enjoy the Nintendo 64 version of this game to this date. I guess the best bet to pick this one up would be EA since this is essentially what they tried to do with FaceBreaker. If they keep the same graphics and art style of FaceBreaker and combine it with the gameplay system and characters of R2R, it has potential to be a hot seller.
Luckily, Ready 2 Rumble has apparently already been moved to a different publisher, so you will at least get your sequel you lucky dog. 10 points

4. TNA IMPACT! - I know the first game sucked meat lollipops. But TNA is still ripe for a good video game. They have some of the best wrestlers in the world and plenty of unique concepts, like the six-sided ring and the X Match, that I would love to see in a GOOD wrestling game. Who can get it? I guess EA is a good option, since they actually tried with the WCW license. I would love to see whoever picks the license up working with AKI and giving us the great No Mercy system, just prettier.
Did he just work in the phrase 'meat lollipop'? because that should get 1,000,000 points

3. Blitz: The League - The concept of Blitz: The League is really attractive and proves that you don't need the NFL license to make a good football game. The problem is that the arcade gameplay gets stale after a few games and the AI is pretty cheap. If they could refine the gameplay to be a little bit more strategic and involving and maybe make the AI better, Blitz would have a lot of mileage. My choice to get the license would be 2K Sports and hopefully they get the team behind ESPN NFL 2K5 (and the somewhat less successful, but still solid All Pro Football) to make the next game in the series.





2. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - Now this game was just awesome and it is sad that we never got a proper sequel. When I was playing Star Wars The Force Unleashed, a game that got rave reviews, I found out that a lot of the things you could do in that game where already doable before in Psy-Ops and sometimes better than in Star Wars. With the ability to use telekinesis to move objects and even people, the creativity you where given into how you approached enemy encounters became critical. It felt like you could replay the same areas with different approaches and have fun while doing it. For reasons I cannot even explain, I feel that Activision and this license go hand in hand.
This is one I am personally pulling for, I echo all of your thoughts on this one here. 20 points

1. Mortal Kombat/ DC Universe - I hope that whoever ends up with Mortal Kombat also gets the rights to DC Universe, since the possibility to continue the series is amazing. The first game was really good and I believe it could be refined and reworked into a few sequels. Also do not count out a new Mortal Kombat only game. That is still a series with cash signs written all over it. I hope Capcom ends up with the license, so we finally get Street Fighter vs Mortal Kombat.

Todd Vote

5. NFL Blitz: Let me emphasize NFL Blitz, and not Blitz: The League. With Madden already the dominant classic style football game, and me feeling as if NFL Street never really lived up to its potential, EA Acquiring Blitz would be the best option for this franchise. We could get that all important license back to do the game proper. Give the property to EA BIG, and lets see what they can do. The reason I say NFL Blitz is because I am not sure the NFL would approve of the darker tone that Blitz: The League utilizes.





4. The Suffering: Give it to Capcom. Do The Suffering RE5 style. The team at Capcom knows horror. They know action. Why not give them a shot with this one? Take it back to the prison where it was scary and it would be hard to mess this one up.

3. Psi-Ops: the Mindgate Conspiracy: Lucas Arts of course. With the things they have started to do with The Force Unleashed, who would be better to give this game to? This stands to date as one of my favorite games from the Midway library. There was a bit of a problem with Midway possibly stealing the idea of this game from someone, and to be honest I am not sure how that turned out. But if they still got the property, Lucas Arts should snatch it up.

2. NBA JAM: Is it the shoes? Or maybe he is just on fire! Either way, there has never been a basketball game that has even compared to this title, ever. Again I am going to throw this one to them loveable folks at EA BIG. The things they did with NBA Street would be a great starting point to bring this game back.

1.Mortal Kombat: Was there any doubt which one would be number one? I've said it before but this game absolutely has to go to Capcom if Midway can't find a way to survive. MK vs. Street Fighter would sell based on the name alone. It is a video game fans wet dream, is it not? If for no other reason than to answer the age old question... 'Which is better, pallette swapped ninjas, or karate guys with identical movesets'?

Well the winner this week is sort of a no brainer. Armando and his meat lollipops made this week a blowout (no pun intended). That leaves the points standing this week with Mark securing 83.6 points, Rod comes in 3rd with 85 points, James takes second this week with a admirable 110 points. But our winner Armando clocks in with a massive 1,000,030 points.

We will see you all back here again next week with another new edition of the Top 5 where we will take a look at our favorite fighting games.