Falling Into The Trap Of Playing Cult Classics

During the spring and summer of 2014 I decided to go into my videogame backlog. My backlog at the time was deep and had a large number of games listed as follows: Max Payne (entire series), Vanquish, Tomb Raider (2013), Alan Wake, Bayonetta , Fallout: New Vegas, God of War: Ascension, Gears of War: Judgement, Ratchet and Clank HD collection, Jak and Daxter collection and many old games for the original Xbox (my only console during the 6th gen). I did manage to beat and finish the games previously listed. However I did fall into the trap of playing cult classics.

Of the 7th gen games listed Alan Wake and Vanquish are considered cult games, having beat and enjoyed these game I now strongly desire sequels to them . My trap of playing cult classics deepened as I went further into my backlog. On my original Xbox ; I began ordering physical copies of Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, Beyond Good and Evil, Psychonauts, XIII, Jade Empire and Crimson Skies. Of the listed 6th gen games; I have so far managed to complete Psychonauts, XIII, Beyond Good and Evil and most recently Metals Arms: Glitch in the System.

The completed games listed on the original Xbox backlog unfortunately all had a combination of either a great story, strong gameplay or a cliff-hanger ending. Of the listed games XIII had the weakest gameplay, but a solid story and cliff hanger ending that makes one (including myself) desire a sequel. Unfortunately for fans of XIII the game will probably never receive a sequel.

Psychonauts is considered by some to be one of the greatest platformers of all times. Psychonauts is a great game with good humor, impressive voice acting and solid gameplay. I did find some issue with the games latter stages and the combat is hampered by an iffy targeting system . Psychonauts like XIII ends with a cliff-hanger, the game didn't initially sell well enough to warrant the production of sequel. However ; Psychonauts has had solid digital sales after being rereleased on 360, PS3 and PC. A sequel at one point was considered and it was to be funded by Markus Alexej "Notch" Persson the creator of Minecraft. Unfortunately Notch declined to fund the 18 million required for Double Fine to produce Psychonauts 2. Psychonauts at present has no chance of a sequel unless funding is acquired from a publisher or financial backer.

Unlock Psychonauts; Metal Arms: Glitch in the System did have a planned sequel that never came to fruition. The developer of Metal Arms, Swingin' Ape Studios was acquired by Blizzard entertainment after the initial release of the game in 2003. The company was then appointed to develop Starcraft : Ghost (a game that is essentially vapourware). Unlock the previously mentioned titles Metal Arms lacks a cliff-hanger ending. The games' ending instead simply left room for a sequel. I am a big fan of this game; Metal Arms is a solid third person shooter, with a good humorous story and challenging levels. Like the previously mentioned Psychonauts; Metal Arms has voice acting that rivals a quality cartoon series. I would consider a Metals Arms sequel to be a breath of fresh air in the third person shooter genre as TPS games have become somewhat stagnant, with a lack of variety plaguing the genre.

Beyond Good and Evil is the only mentioned cult classic listed to have a planned sequel in development. Beyond Good and Evil 2 was announced by Ubisoft in May of 2008. Beyond Good and Evil 2 is still in development and does not have a determined release date. Of the games I previously mentioned Beyond Good and Evil may have been my favorite. There is a good variety of gameplay in Beyond Good and Evil including stealth, melee combat, boat races and mini games. The story is solid and the characters are well acted and likeable. I would gladly pickup Beyond Good and Evil 2 whenever it releases.

For gamers who are digging into their backlog of games should play cult classic knowing that you will likely never get a sequel or remake to them. Beyond Good and Evil was a huge flop during its release, but it did however have some success after digital rerelease. Most cult classics will never get sequels, modern games especially AAA titles often have huge budgets. Publishers are becoming less and less risky in the projects they develop and release; thus once a game flops it will most likely never see a successor. Fortunately, some cult classics have developed rather large followings. This may entice developers and publishers to consider sequels or reboots . Also additionally some publishers may be willing to fund sequels to unsuccessful games (but critically well received games) as way to gain positive PR. However unfortunately I now desire sequels to Psychonauts, XIII and Metal Arms: Glitch in the System that have almost no chance of being produced.