Well, it has been a while, hasn’t it? I didn’t imagine it would be around a month between blog posts, but late June/early July was a busy one for me! From the highs of seeing Sabrina Carpenter, to the lows of having a severe chest infection, it’s certainly been a whirlwind. Couple that with a case of writer’s block, and you have a fantastic recipe for a month of inactivity! Oh, and Sabrina was fabulous by the way, I know you were asking.
In the gaming world, this has meant that I haven’t really got around to playing much, my time has been spent playing through Death Stranding 2, or Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow HD. Weird combination, I know. However, upon playing through Pandora Tomorrow, it did make me think about how I’d love a new outing for Sam Fisher before Ubisoft implodes itself. I’m sure that you now see where I got the inspiration for this post from. So, I figured it would be fun to discuss some franchises that I would resurrect in a heartbeat and my reasons as to why.
I feel like this should be obvious, but I’m going to point it out anyway. Nostalgia goggles will be in full effect for this piece. I do usually try to be as objective as I can be, but for this one, I’m going to let loose a bit. I don’t think you’re here for my impartial commentary anyway. Without further adieu, it’s time to fawn over some ancient games!
Splinter Cell
Speaking of nostalgia goggles, there is no better place to start than with Sam Fisher and his sneaking adventures. Splinter Cell has now been absent for around 12 years, with Blacklist being the last game released in 2013. In those 12 years, we’ve seen a complete reboot of the Hitman franchise, we’ve seen a new Metal Gear Solid, there’s even been a Thief reboot! But Splinter Cell is still in the shadows, with us fans waiting for Ubisoft to make the next move and bring Sam Fisher out into the light once again. There have been a few glimmers of hope over the years, with Fisher appearing in both Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon (with Michael Ironside intact!), a VR game being announced (and then cancelled), and a remake of the first game being announced back in 2021. However, we are still yet to see anything from this remake, and I am starting to doubt if it’s still coming, given Ubisoft’s recent issues.
As mentioned above, stealth fans haven’t been left out in the cold for these last few years, but Splinter Cell is special. Light and darkness are a key theme, and whilst Fisher has some of the coolest gadgets in gaming history at his disposal, nothing is more powerful than controlling the shadows and pouncing at the right time. These are deniable operations, if you get caught, no one is coming to save you, you’re on your own. The stakes are high, and the games do a fantastic job of using that tension throughout the game to keep you on your toes. I still believe there’s a strong gap in the market for Fisher to sneak his way into, especially with all the technology we have in modern gaming, ray tracing and HDR are just begging to be used in a modern Splinter Cell game.
We all remember the police station level in Splinter Cell right? I spent five minutes trying to do the split jump for this screenshot, but I couldn’t land it, so we’ll have to settle for this nice one showing the lights in full effect!
I do really think this remake is do or die for Splinter Cell as a franchise. If it manages to release, and does well, we could well get to see Fisher again in a brand-new adventure. However, if it doesn’t make it out the door, I think it will be a case where the goggles go out for the final time.
Wipeout
Ahh, Wipeout. 30 years old, and doesn’t look a day over 21. Wipeout was a trailblazer during the mid to late 1990s, and represents everything that Sony was during that era of video games. Underground, in your face attitude and loud. Wipeout is a key reason why the PlayStation brand is so strong today, and it saddens me that Sony have left it by the wayside, with the franchise not receiving a new title since the PS3. I could write an entire piece on Sony’s marketing for the PlayStation in the UK, and when that time comes, Wipeout will front and centre.
962mph, just about in line with the national speed limit I’d say. Wipeout Fusion still holds up, despite being 23 years old.
However, it isn’t just about what the franchise represents, it’s also about how it plays. Fast. Racing at top speeds in anti-gravity ships, whilst using weapons to disable other players, and shields to protect yourself. All at a breakneck pace, with music from The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers blasting out of the speakers. Once you achieve a flow state in Wipeout, there isn’t much of a better feeling in gaming, it just feels incredible to play. Racing games at the moment are a dime a dozen, but a lot of them follow a rather realistic approach, whether that be in an arcade style (Forza Horizon), or a simulator (Gran Turismo). I do feel like we are missing a racing game where the rulebook is thrown out, and Wipeout would be a perfect fit. Sony have played it rather safe in this generation, and I would like to see them step back outside that comfort zone and let us speed around in the future again. I cannot be the only one tired of racing in the same cars over and over, and pretending to be impressed by how many polygons a car in Gran Turismo is.
The Getaway
This one, this one is special. The Getaway, and its sequel, Black Monday are open world crime games set in London, released by Team Soho in 2002, and 2004 respectively. People were very quick to tar them with the “GTA clone” moniker that flew around in the sixth generation, but there is so much more to this franchise than being a GTA clone. Both games feature a cast of actors that were motion captured, and scanned in, to bring their characters to life. Unlike the GTA games, this was a real city, that was designed to be accurate. You can drive around London in either game and spot real landmarks, with places like Oxford Street and Hyde Park painstakingly recreated. There are no loading screens around these cities either, you can drive from one end to the other with no load times. On the PlayStation 2. The game also features fully licenced cars from the era, with Alfa Romeos and Vauxhall Vectra’s whizzing over Tower Bridge. Team Soho really did London justice, and when I look at games such as Watch Dogs: Legion, I can’t help but think that maybe The Getaway’s rendition of London is still the best in gaming.
Don’t mind me, I’m just in my Nissian Micra stopping off at Pret for a coffee. Seriously, you can’t get anything like this in games these days, even with mods most of the time
By modern standards, the games can be a bit clunky, especially due to both games featuring zero heads up display. Everything is diegetic in The Getaway. There’s no giant arrow telling you where to go, you follow the indicators on the car and these direct you to your destination. There’s no health bar, but your character starts to get more and more bloodstained to represent your damage levels, with the occasional limp thrown in for good measure. This can be hard for new players to adjust to, and the controls are not entirely fit for purpose. This leads me down the rabbit hole of theorising what a modern Getaway game would be like. A fully photorealistic London, recreated like never before. A chance to tell a new story, and make London the star of the show once again.
Driving round London doesn’t have to be difficult, just follow your indicators! No Knowledge required!
The Getaway has been dead for a long time now, with Black Monday releasing in 2004. Since then, there has been the occasional nudge to the franchise, with a spin off game titled Gangs of London releasing on the PSP in 2006. Other than that, the DNA of the Getaway can be found in other places, such as Gangs of London being the basis for a drama series, that uses the same name, which debuted in 2020. Finally, the creator of The Getaway, Brendan McNamara left Team Soho in 2003 to form his own game company, named Team Bondi. Their only project was released in 2011, a detective game named L.A Noire, and it’s clear to see it has the roots of The Getaway throughout. They went as far to have a cameo character in a case named Albert Hammond, who happens to not only share the same surname as the first Getaway game’s protagonist, but also the same actor. Strange that, isn’t it?
And there we have it, three franchises that I would resurrect immediately if I was able to, and the reasons as to why. There were some honourable mentions, franchises like Syphon Filter, Blinx, Driver, all franchises that could have been picked, but I didn’t want too much of a crossover if I could avoid it! Maybe if there’s enough demand, I will do a sequel to this piece in the future.
Once again, I do apologise for the time this has taken, I hope to not be gone as long next time! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to fire up PCSX2 and drive around London for the 500th time. Thanks for reading, and take care.