This years new game releases look pretty exciting, but we are more interested in the retro reboots that have been announced for 2022. Here's a wee list of some classic retro games that are getting the HD treatment:
Dragon Quest 3
This game is a classic among role play videogame enthusiasts, with the first game of its franchise appearing on the Japanese Famicom back in 1988. The remake, due for release in 2022, has kept the adorable charm of it's original games while adding a few animation and gameplay upgrades. The most noticeable difference being the change of view; the Dragon Quest 3 HD remake has moved away from the birds eye view style in favour of a 2.5D view, the characters seem to have kept their pixelated design while the surrounding environment has been upgraded to a 3D style. The mix of both styles works really well for this new release. Square Enix has yet to announce which console the game will be released on but we hope it's most of them!
Advance Wars
Advance Wars began life as a Game Boy Advance game, released in 2001 in the US, then Europe in 2002 and finally as a compilation 1+2 edition in Japan in 2004. This adorable turn based battle game has been listed as one of the greatest video games of all time! As the Nintendo website explains; you command an army in strategic, turn-based combat as a tactical adviser for the Orange Star Army. Your expertise is needed as you move land, air, and naval units across the battlefield. Take down enemy squads and capture towns and bases to secure victory and keep the peace. Keep an eye on the game-changing terrain and weather as you lead a variety of units across multiple maps. Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot camp will be available to play on the Nintendo Switch from spring 2022.
Saints Row
Saints Row is the open world adventure game created by Volition, often called the 'Grand Theft Auto' clone game where you play as a gangster carrying out missions in the Saints Row district. The first game was pretty standard; drive around, shoot people and climb up the street gang ladder. Subsequent releases introduced somewhat interesting storylines and themes, including alien attacks! The rebooted Saints Row is due to be released in August 2022 across the latest Playstation, Xbox and Windows platforms and looks to be missing the completely bonkers storylines (so far) but we are excited to see how they continue the franchise.
Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time
The 2003 action adventure game is set to get a full remake this year, staying loyal to the original storyline but making use of todays technology to create stunning cinematic sequences and updating the character controls. The game will give you the option to play in classic control mode or the newly updated mapping system. Ubisoft announced that they are also adding the original Prince Of Persia game from 1989 as an unlockable bonus! Date for the release has not been announced yet, but from the teaser trailer it looks spectacular! We can't wait to try this one out.
Bonus round...
Goldeneye 007
Ok, technically there hasn't been an official announcement about the release of the N64 classic, but we couldn't NOT talk about the rumours! There have been hints about the classic N64 game coming to Xbox in the near future. The Xbox achievements system added a whole list of N64's Goldeneye game at the start of 2022, and the gamertag of the person who has completed a number of these secret achievements just so happens to be the lead engineer for Rare Ltd, a developer owned by Xbox.
The remake was already completed several years ago and Microsoft had everything ready for an Xbox Live Arcade release for Xbox 360 before Nintendo pulled the plug at the very last minute.
It's still early days, and Xbox have not commented or responded to any of the rumours, but we are still excited by the idea of an updated reboot of the N64 classic, slaps all round!
What game would you like to see rebooted or remade?