Top 8 games Microsoft should revive

Microsoft, like many other gaming company out there, has been producing a myriad of games for almost 3 decades. A lot of these games were well-received and became popular franchises. For example, Halo and Gears of War. There's no denying that these franchises are quality games. However, what concerns me is how Microsoft has other games which are forgotten to these days.

Nevertheless, with Microsoft purchasing Zenimax, that flame of wanting to see other classic Microsoft games making a comeback has been ignited inside of me. Why not? Nintendo has resurrected a handful of their classics lately such as Pikmin. Meanwhile, Sony has resurrected Shadow of the Colossus and Demon Souls via a remake. I think Microsoft should give its games another try, and hopefully, with enough limelight, these classic could continue to make sequels or even turn into franchises.

Today, we will be talking about Top 8 games Microsoft should revive in the near future.

Fable

Fable was first released back in 2004 on the Original Xbox, PC, and later ported to Mac OS X. The series managed to garner enough attention that spawned several sequels. The last game, Fable: The Journey, was released on the Xbox 360 and after the cancellation of the awaited Fable: Legends, the series would go into a hiatus. Until the first mention of a new installment in the series came in 2017, when Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said on Twitter that the franchise had "a lot of places it could go"

 

Phil Spencer is right, and the series deserves a comeback. Let's wait, and see how this new entry would turn out to be. 

 

Banjo Kazooie

After seeing the revival of certain platforming games such as Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, and Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, I couldn't help myself but yearn for a Banjo-Kazooie comeback. Why not? Back when the game was first released on the N64 it received critical acclaim and was a commercial success that made Microsoft purchase Rare Limited.

 

After the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the game would be met with unfavorable criticism where critics and fans upset about the lack of platforming sequences, and criticizing the overall direction the game took at the time. As a result, the series would go into a long hiatus to this day.

Hopefully, Banjo Kazooie could make a comeback, and who knows, maybe if it performs well, we could see a Conker's revival as well.

 

Perfect Dark

 

When Rare released GoldenEye 007, it blew us away with how graphically impressive it was. And just when we thought Rare had nothing up their sleeve, they came out with Perfect Dark  in 2000 for the N64. Five years after, a prequel titled Perfect Dark Zero would be announced as a launch title on the Xbox 360 followed by a remaster back in 2010. After that, nothing else was heard about the franchise, but rumors of an upcoming title surfaced online.

After seeing the revivals of Metroid: Prime, Doom, and Prey, I could'nt help but wonder if Perfect Dark would ever see the light of the day again. I believe that Microsoft would benefit from reviving this title once again as a launch title for the Xbox Series X to counter attack Sony's and Nintendo's exclusives.

 

Too Human (Cancelled Trilogy)

Too Human is an action RPG developed by Silicon Knights known for games such as Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen, Eternal Darkness, and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. The game was published exclusively on the Xbox 360 by Microsoft Studios back in 2008.

The game was met with mixed reactions from various critics across the globe. However, there's no denying that the story was unique for its time. Not only that, but also the setting as well since it was set in science-fictional futuristic retelling of Norse mythology that portrayed the Æsir, the Norse gods, as cybernetically enhanced humans, tasked with protecting mankind from the onslaught of Loki's army of machines. The player took the role of the Norse god Baldur, who was less cybernetic than the other gods, thus being "too human". 

 

Unfortunately, after Sillicon Knights went bankrupt, every hope of seeing the promised trilogy went into oblivion. Kind of like the situation with Relic Entertainment's Warhammer 40k: Space Marine.
Hopefully, if Kingdom of Amalur, managed to make a return, then this one can too in the near future.

 

Kameo: Elements of Power

Kameo: Elements of Power is an action-adventure which was also developed by Rare as a launch title for the Xbox 360 back in 2005. When I look at Kameo, I can see a lot of similar games: Billy Hatcher, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, Tak, Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles and Kya: Dark Lineage.

The game is so underrated that you can barely see anyone talking about it, or wishing to see it make a comeback. However, I'm sure after the game was put as a backward compatible game on the Xbox One X, more people have began to discover this game, thus learning of the fact that there was indeed a sequel in the works but was later cancelled quickly after the release of the first game.

Kameo 2 was designed to be a darker take on the original. Also, The sequel put a heavier emphasis on the open world, as the team was influenced by Assassin's Creed (2007). We can only hope that these ideas will come to live instead of remaining a mere possibility. What do you think, should this one be revived by Microsoft? 

Lost Odyssey

 

Lost Odyssey is an action JRPG developed by Mistwalker and Feelplus exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game was published by Microsoft Game Studios back in 2007. Now, one of the reasons why I have included this game in this list is because the story was written by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Japanese author Kiyoshi Shigematsu. 

The game was nothing but an ambitious title Sakaguchi wanted to create a story focusing on evoking human emotions while keeping the gameplay within genre traditions. The aforementioned went through a difficult development, with problems stemming from the chosen engine technology and the arrangement of development teams, but in the end, the game came to existence.

 

While the game was a success for both the West and Japan, nothing new about it was ever heard. No rumors about an upcoming sequel. No any other spin-offs or prequel. Nothing. However, I think we how Final Fantasy 7 Remake performed along with Nier: Automata, Microsoft could always revive this classic with a proper sequel with few changes that will make it worthy of being an opponent to the likes of Final Fantasy franchise.

 

WET

Upon hearing about Microsoft buying Zenimax along with Bethesda Softworks, I couldn't help myself but wonder if this game can be revived by Microsoft.  For those of you who don't know WET is a third-person shooter developed by Behaviour Interactive and published by Bethesda back in 2009 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

 

The second planned installment was quickly cancelled after the release of the first game due to a disagreement between the developer and the publisher. Hence, this eliminated any hope for a sequel. However, you are certainly wondering " but why should this game be revived? "  Well, you see. Microsoft could use WET as a new IP to challenge Remedy's Control and Square Enix's Tomb Raider. The latter has the potential to do it, and with the right developer it can happen. Hopefully, with Microsoft owning Bethesda now, we can finally see a reboot or a sequel to this fine gem. 

Call of Cthulhu (Cancelled Trilogy)

The first Call of Cthulhu first came out in 2006, and was titled Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. The latter was exclusively released on the original Xbox and PC by Bethesda Softworks and developed by Headfirst Production which went defunct at the same year.

Now, I'm not sure who owns the rights for the cancelled two games: Call of Cthulhu: Destiny's End and Tainted Legacy. But if Bethesda Softworks turns out to be the one owning the rights like the case with WET, Microsoft should grab this opportunity in my opinion, and revive this dead classic. You can read more about the cancellation of the trilogy right from unseen64's website.

What do you think? Did I miss any game? Let us know below, and as always, thank you for reading!

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