10 More Games that Deserve a Sequel
7. Rampart
Now here's a peculiar thought: How does a game like Rampart pioneer a defensive genre, only to never be seen again? Actually, not even its theme has been duplicated to any large extent. What makes it stranger still is that the gameplay of this arcade unicorn was just a simple twist of a known giant, so it wasn't hard to pull off.
Rampart took the classic Tetris builder blocks and wrapped these around castles spread across a seaside location. Upon the horizon, warring ships entered the view, lobbing shots to the walls of the player's settlement. In turn, castles hid cannons that could retaliate and eventually overcome this assault. And so, tower defense was born.
Now, this wouldn't have been memorable if the design was too complex, but gameplay took the arcade simplicity to heart and sectioned off phases for easy understanding. Attack and defense were done in real time. Here, cannons would lob an iron ball into the air, which would then crash back down. As a salvo took time, it forced players to anticipate where enemies would go next to hit their mark, thus emphasizing skill play. After a wave, a timer would start and random blocks could be placed on land. Castles needed to be walled in to survive, so getting blocks connected was a frantic moment that required quick judgment. Moreover, ground troops or craters would upset the landscape, which imposed more adjustments yet. Ships varied in difficulty, leading to target prioritizing. Nabbing other castles on the screen could leave walls unconnected, therefore posing an additional risk. There was never a dull moment.
However strong Rampart's take was, its blend of Tetris building management with intense action only lived on in spirit, through the tower defense genre. Nowadays, Atari is more concerned with clinging to mature genres that were never its own. It could do well to go back to basics and find a way to reinstitute the refinement of halcyon arcade times with a sequel for this lost gem. Defensive strategy is a popular enough genre. Clash of Clans and its dozens of clones would prove that.
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How about Final Fantasy X, I got like 700 hours in that game. Same for Tropico 5 with 400 hours. Final Fantasy VIII is my most time consuming one with over 2000 hours, though it's just cuz I finished it start to finish at least 45 times. I love that game. MMO's don't really count, then you gotta include Lineage II, TERA, FFXIV, Guild Wars 2 and everything else.
Totally agree about Beyond Good and Evil.
I'd add D&D Heroes for the XBox. I loved that ARPG, and would love to see an updated version using the new D&D 5e rules. Still keeping the top-down action, of course. There's no need to mount the camera over the shoulder for EVERY game.
No beyond good and evil???? Wtf
lot of odd ways to Spell Golden Sun Dark Dawn