Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
Now that we've all had a moment to recover from the shock of Microsoft purchasing Activision Blizzard King for just shy of $70 billion, we've started to think about the franchises Xbox now owns. With such a large catalogue of titles developed and published over its long history, the collection of companies are bringing to Microsoft the opportunity to bring some back from the dead. So, let's toss a coin into the wishing well and think about what long-forgotten Activision-Blizzard game we hope gets another chance.
Question: What dormant Activision Blizzard franchise do you want revived by Microsoft?
Stop me if you've heard this one before, long-time Shacknews readers, but I used to be a part of the Activision family. I was a contract/temporary QA tester, which put me a little below "fourth cousin twice removed" and "family dog" in terms of where I ranked in the family. I think that still put me above "pet hamster" in this analogy, but only slightly.
I spent a bulk of my time working on Guitar Hero titles (Remember when Activision thought to trot out three of those games in a single year? Those were good times, weren't they?) and the occasional Tony Hawk. However, there was one project that I was happy to be a part of and that was a game called Blur. Over ten years ago, Bizarre Creations (the team behind Project Gotham Racing, owned coincidentally by Microsoft) was picked up by Activision and tasked with creating what's basically "Mario Kart for grown-ups."
The result was Blur, which featured sleek-looking cars, crisp racing mechanics, and real-world, Mario Kart-style power-ups. The final product was a blast, but unfortunately, the marketing left a lot to be desired. That included… whatever the hell this commercial was supposed to be.
Blur wasn't perfect on its first outing, but there was a solid foundation to build on and room to make something spectacular in the future. Of course, this being Activision, the whole idea was shelved and the Project Gotham creators saw their studio unceremoniously shuttered, because the game didn't… you know… make all the money.
This is a long shot, but I'd love for a Microsoft-owned Activision to give Blur a second chance. There's still room for a more adult Mario Kart competitor and if it's marketed well, it can find an audience. Heck, pass it along to a different first-party studio like Playground Games and let them get to work.
Shrek SuperSlam is without a doubt one of the most underrated licensed video games I’ve ever played. As a 2000s kid, I have fond memories of playing this 3D fighting game on Xbox with my brothers. With so many studios trying to get their own Smash clone off the ground, you could potentially spin Shrek SuperSlam to fit in that mold. Plus, I’m pretty sure there’s another Shrek film in development, so this would be a decent launch tie-in.
Shrek SuperSlam has developed a pretty strong cult following, with a fan-made remaster making the rounds a few years back. Please get me in a room with Phil Spencer so that I can pitch this to him.
Between Master Chief and now owning both the Call of Duty and Doom franchises, the Xbox team has a lot of modern and sci-fi shooters on its roster. Why not throw in something more on the fantasy side? Hexen was originally put out by Raven Software and was made using the same tools that id had developed for Doom. It was a similar concept as well, only now you were waving wizard staffs instead of pulling the trigger on a BFG. It managed to keep the eerie horror vibes while also defining its own types of terror. It would be great to see it get a modern remake in a similar fashion to Doom (2016) and I would definitely be picking it up on day one if it did.
I’ve spoken briefly about my love of Geometry Wars before. The franchise first started as a tiny mini game inside Project Gotham Racing (an insane name for a racing series, by the way). Since then, there have been multiple sequels and even spin-offs across a myriad of systems. Now that Microsoft has Activision Blizzard in its corner, it's time to revisit the classic shape-shooting game by either releasing the originals in some kind of collection or by creating an entirely new entry in the franchise, and preferably one that returns to its roots. While Dimensions was neat, there was a bit too much going on. Retro Evolved and Retro Evolved 2 were definitely peak Geo Wars.
Yeah, I gave lots of thought to wishing for a new Interstate 76 or even some Heavy Gear mech action, but if I stay true to myself, I know that I need more Raven Software in my life and, more specifically, I need to shoot holes through people and watch their guts spill out onto the linoleum floor. Yep, it’s time for the return of Soldier of Fortune. It doesn’t actually need to be a sequel, remake, or even tied to that dumbass magazine license. I just need Raven to make a big-budget game where disrespecting human anatomy comes before loot boxes and other shitty monetization. Left 4 Dead 2 showed us that progress in dismemberment and disemboweling was still possible. I know we can make more progress. God Bless.
This was harder than I expected. Thought I had a no-brainer with Ice Hockey, but it was the 1981 Ice Hockey and not the cool Ice Hockey from 1988 on the NES. With my hopes dashed, I went to Wikipedia and browsed through the laundry list of games Activision put out over the years. I finally settled on Power Move Pro Wrestling.
Now, I can barely remember last week let alone 1996, but I vaguely remember playing Power Move Pro Wrestling on my PlayStation. That got me thinking that the world could use a really good wrestling game. You can call it what you want, but I hope someone over at Microsoft is inspired by Power Move Pro Wrestling and secures the millions in funding they need to make a wrestling game. A good wrestling game.
It turns out Activision Blizzard owned much of the existing Sierra catalogue from back when it was Vivendi. That means that quite a few of the point-and-click classic adventures of my youth are in the hands of Acti-Blizz and, soon enough, Xbox. Now it might sound like a longshot, but I do so love me some Space Quest, featuring the misadventures of space-station-janitor-turned-galactic-hero Roger Wilco. I care so much that I keep an image of Wilco from Space Quest 3 handy for a meme regarding funny nightly thoughts before bed.
I would very much love to see something like Space Quest make a return once Microsoft has the reins. I know it’s likely far from the most pressing thing on their mind behind keeping certain overhyped franchises going, but it doesn’t stop me from pondering the possibility. Heck, bring King’s Quest and Freddy Pharkus: Frontier Pharmacist back while you’re at it.
Activision Blizzard was bought by Microsoft this week and between you and me, it would be nice to have the money lying around that Microsoft has to buy up these companies. Anyway, it gets you thinking what series that haven’t seen the light of day for quite some time could come back to the scene thanks to this purchase. That being said, if there was one that I had to pick to bring back into the fold, it would have to be the Pitfall! series. Pitfall! is one of the most iconic games and it would be interesting to see an open-world adventure game where you have to explore the various temples and find treasure. It could have RPG elements to it as well where you find treasure and use that to upgrade your tools and abilities like being immune to poison from snakes or something. It would be nice to see a new Spyro the Dragon game too but beggars can’t be choosers.
There you have it, those are just a handful of Activision Blizzard games that we hope get another shot at life on Microsoft's platforms. With Xbox and PC an option, and Phil Spencer's desire to make cool games, we just might see one of these franchises return. How about you? What Activision Blizzard game do you hope gets revived for Xbox and PC?