10 Old PC Game Franchises GamePro Wants Rebooted

Following the announcement of a new MechWarrior, GamePro has singled out ten other PC game franchises that they think should be given a modern “reboot”. Ultima, Baldur’s Gate, and System Shock are all deserving mentions:

“Ultima III was a watershed moment for old-school PC gamers like myself. I’ll never forget finishing the game because I had a posse of cheering friends around me when I finally approached Fire Island and beat Exodus, the game’s main villain.”

“The Ultima series introduced some fairly advanced gameplay mechanics. Non-linear, open-world adventuring. Notions of light/dark morality – shooting a fleeing character in the back made you evil. Later on, the series even had a free market system. But what really captivated me was the series’ universe itself. The land of Brittania was a fully-realized, dynamic world with recurring characters (like Iolo and Lord British) and towns and castles and villains. To this day, it still feels like the closest North American RPG to the Final Fantasy series.”

“When he finished the highly controversial final installment of the game, Ultima IX, Richard Garriot put the series on hiatus. Electronic Arts still owns the rights to the game, while Garriot retains the rights to some of the characters. I say it’s time for the two sides to work out a way to bring this legendary series back. The story, characters, and lore have already been created. Feels like a guaranteed hit to me.”

I’ll second the Wing Commander suggestion, too.