:
I'm sure with some simple adjustments the puzzles can all be made functional if not more interesting with a moving camera. This is the 21st century, and if the screens were static it would come across as outdated to a lot of people. Sure it's a remake, but the developers shouldn't limit themselves to the techniques of the past for stubborn nostalgic purposes, especially when they're putting so much work into fully 3D environments. The game will still be great, if not much improved because of it.
|
Exactly. It's the 21st century. If you're going to remake a classic game then remake it with those classic elements. Otherwise, what is the point? They might as well make entirely new Abe game, telling the
Oddysee story (game or movie versions) in a lovingly crafted 3D world using all modern techniques and technology. I'd certainly support that. But what they
are doing is remaking it with 2D gameplay. Which is fine, but if you're going to do that, then do it properly. Our love of the 2D Oddworld game is misplaced: it's not the 2D that made it what it was, it was the sheer quality accomplished with 90's tools, now enhanced with a not-inconsiderable dose of nostalgia. Even back then, the 2D flick screen game was retro, but it allowed for the pre-rendered sprites and background that the art demanded but real-time technology couldn't deliver.
What this is is an HD remake just above the level of a remaster. It is not
Doom 3. We should not support the making of a new 2D Oddworld game because "that's what makes Oddworld great", because it isn't. We should support it because it is classic
Abe's Oddysee, updated. Changing the 2D gameplay mechanics will result in an entirely different game, and I can't see the point of making an entirely different 2D Oddworld game except to please a fanbase whose adoration is misdirected. They might as well go full 3D, if that's the case.
I see this and the HD
Stranger's Wrath as a stepping stone only, putting Oddworld (and JAW) back on the map and sufficiently funded to move into the future. Not to diminish either of them, but none of us want to see Oddworld "living off the royalties" of its past successes forever.