FEATURE
Best (and Worst) Gaming Comebacks
Does everyone deserve a second chance? Find out which gaming comebacks worked out and which should have retired for good.
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Not all returns are welcomed. Check out what happens when a comeback attempt falls flat.
Sega
Back in 1997, Sega was on the ropes. A disastrous showing from its Saturn console, out-priced and out-performed by its rivals, left many skeptics wondering if this once-proud giant would ever be a significant force in video games again. Until, that was, the Dreamcast came along. Hitting streets just two years later and equipped with innovative hardware that put it at the top of its class, surely this compact powerhouse would restore the company's fortunes?
Well, no. In fact, despite a strong launch, the Dreamcast quickly floundered. Much has been written on the reasons for its demise, but the weakness of Sega's brand, poor marketing, its inability to play DVDs (a big deal at the time, believe it or not) and no support from EA Sports' powerful franchises all played their parts. Though the Dreamcast is still remembered with fondness by many enthusiasts, Sega's days as a top-tier player disappeared with it.
Phantasy Star
Starting life as a Final Fantasy-like series of console role-playing games, the Phantasy Star trilogy entertained countless Sega fans throughout the late 80s and early 90s. Its fortunes sank along with Sega's, only to emerge reborn in 2001 as the first massively-multiplayer game ever seen on a console platform.
Much about Phantasy Star Online was novel, from the button-mashing, action-heavy combat system to the innovative communication system that enabled -- encouraged, even -- players from Europe and Asia to cooperate. The series is still alive, with Phantasy Star Universe launching back in November, but like its publisher it's clinging to relevance by the merest thread.
Rampage
Gracing the arcades a full two decades ago, Rampage's monster movie-inspired formula was an instant success. Smashing buildings never gets old, especially when you can bring a couple of friends along: George, Lizzie and Ralph, the game's monster stars, became...well, monster stars. Like most hit arcade games of the era, it appeared on all kinds of home entertainment systems - but sank without trace, Godzilla-like, shortly afterwards.
Any 'Zilla fan knows that you can't keep a good monster down, though, and Midway hauled out Rampage's remains to be bathed in the life-giving lightning of the Wii's 2006 launch -- but let's just say that its return was not a welcome one. Even among what was a patchy launch line-up, Rampage: Total Destruction still stood out like a rotting corpse at a beauty pageant. If you're looking to find out whether Rampage's city-crushing formula has stood the test of time, you can find the original version on the PlayStation 3's online store, but please, please, give Total Destruction an even wider berth than you'd give its stars.
Battlezone
Atari's 1980 tank sim Battlezone was one of the first 3D games to see the light of day -- or, at least, the half-light of a corner of your local arcade. With its distinctive, periscope-equipped cabinet, the game proved so realistic it attracted the attention of the U.S. Army, who reportedly considered using the game as a training tool for real-life tankers.
By the time the Battlezone name was revisited, though, those tankers would have been thinking more about honorable discharges than boot camp. Eighteen years passed before Activision brought out its revamped Battlezone, a 3D, first-person game that mashed up Command & Conquer-like strategic elements with tank combat that paid homage to the arcade original, and a mighty fine game it was, too. Battlezone spawned a sequel, but the series -- which introduced many concepts we'd later see revisited in EA's highly celebrated Battlefield games -- died there.
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem, his "time to kick ass and chew bubble-gum" attitude, beloved strippers, and half-pig mutant police officers have fallen on hard times. The star of two early 90s side-scrolling platformers and a near-legendary 1995 FPS has been out of work for ages; the latest in his series, Duke Nukem Forever, was first announced in 1997 and, staggeringly, still isn't finished.
After being a running joke for many years, it had reached the point where Duke Nukem Forever became just too easy to poke fun at. We'd written it off. Then developer 3D Realms released a new teaser trailer for the game just before Christmas, and, of course, made it fair game all over again. Can it really live up to ten years' worth of expectations? Will posterity file it as a successful comeback after all? Will it ever even come out? Time will tell, but we're guessing (and we're not going out on a limb here) "no," "no," and a resounding "no."
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Posted: 9 Jan 2008