It's great that blockbuster titles like Tomb Raider, Doom and God of War are getting rebooted, but it's about time someone unearthed some of the classic games that really shaped up. Maybe it was pretty ponies that formed our best and brightest writers minds, maybe it was the Cyberpunk 2077 of its day. We asked the 12DOVE crew which games from their childhood deserved a second shot at glory, and got some very odd answers. This is the latest in a series of big questions we'll be interrogating our writers with, so share your answers and suggestions for topics with us on Twitter.
Equestriad
When I was a kid it was all about The Sims, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot and horse games. Thankfully all of them have had a reboot - or are still going, thanks Maxis - but there hasn't been a great horse game in years. Niche, I know. Back in the day you had classics like Mary King: Riding Star, a string of Pippa Funnell titles and even Barbie had a great horse game. I'm not even joking. But the best of them all was Equestriad, a game that let you run the Three Day Eventing horse trials at locales like Burghley and Badminton, across all three disciplines - dressage, cross country and show jumping. Now, that might sound like the most middle-class thing in the world, but it was utterly brilliant. A horseman's FIFA or PES, or Forza Motorsport. Yes we might technically have great 'horse games' nowadays in the form of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and, of course, Red Dead Redemption 2, but I'd play a new Equestriad in a flick of a crop. Sam Loveridge
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
It’s always Soul Reaver. The second Legacy of Kain game is high on a lot of people’s reboot lists because it really does stand out against other games of the time. Released in 1999, it was directed and written by Uncharted’s Amy Hennig and just felt far more… grown up than other '90s PS1 games, weaving together a dark, gothic fantasy from its fictional Nosgoth setting and incredible audio atmosphere. It’s believable and tangible world was filled with corrupt vampires lords, using a Metroidvania style progression as you killed each in turn and used their stolen abilities to reach new areas. It also featured a brilliant ability to shift into the spectral realm - a twisted other world you could use to solve puzzles or defeat enemies. Most of its structure, tone and feel still works and - bar better visuals and a modern pass on the controls - it would need little to bring it up to date. Leon Hurley
G-Police
In 1997 this police helicopter shooter was the Cyberpunk 2077 of its day. All neon signs, failing governments and punks to take down (as long as you could shoot them from a helicopter). You took control of Alpha wing as you flew around the various massive domes - complete with ground vehicles and huge high-rise buildings - scanning containers and shooting up hostiles. Back then I thought it looked like one of the best games i'd ever seen and I'd love to see it updated with modern graphics if only so my memories of it aren't shattered when I look back at old gameplay videos in a second. Ah, too late. But seriously, with today's tech this would have a very Blade Runner feel to it. Plus, real talk: I also loved Space Precinct - a TV show with flying police cars and space stations - and this might be as close as I get to being Patrick Brogan. James Jarvis
Defender
Picture an RTS game where you play as the cursor, only the cursor is a space ship. That's Defender. It's an arcade-y flight sim for the PS2 about fighting aliens, but you do a lot more than just shoot the aliens (although you also do a lot of that). Basically, you have to rescue survivors scattered around planets and drop them off at factories so they can produce tanks and missile launchers. Then you pick up those tanks and drop them in the path of approaching aliens to head off waves of big dudes and make your job easier. Each planet requires different strategies and features enemies weak to different weapons, so you're constantly swapping your ship's kit and experimenting with a variety of survivor-made vehicles. Defender is an eclectic mix of RTS, tower defense and flight sim games, and for my money it's an experience that's never been matched. I would love to see it gussied up and re-released on today's platforms, if only so I can rewatch that one cutscene where an alien eats a hapless mechanic (which may or may have not terrified me when I was young). Austin Wood
Dr. Brain
Kids today, with their Mindcrafts and Forteknights. What will they ever know of the edutainment games that imbued life into school computer labs and taught countless children basic math and language skills? Like so many stereotypical '90s kids, I've a special place in my heart for the edutainment games of yore, particularly classics like Math Blaster and JumpStart 3rd Grade. But most precious of all was the Dr. Brain series - particularly the third and fourth entries - that offered oodles of headscratchers crafted by an eccentric doc who specializes in "the ancient science of puzzleometry." Kids and adults alike could enjoy the wide variety of cleverly themed conundrums, with difficulty levels that spanned from 'just right for youngsters' to 'requiring a Ph.D. in puzzles,' and the quirky humor that fills these games is an utter delight. I was hopeful when Sierra got revived that we might finally get another visit from Dr. Brain, but so far King's Quest has been the only old-school series deemed worthy of a revival. Phooey. Lucas Sullivan
Which of your childhood favorites deserves a remake? Will no one give a shout out to educational hit Encarta Mind Maze? Let us know on Twitter.
