@killered3: Well I mentioned other aspects to make the remaster a buy for someone like me who doesnt buy normal remasters. They could easily expand some of the new level design and add in added speed and movement.

but knowing Valve, Half Life is done in all its forms :(

@killered3: I saw a video on how the Valve development structure works and basically their developers pitch up tent at any project tha tseems viable to them and that they like. For something like HL3 to exist, they would need the majority, if not their entire team working on it considering i twould be such a big deal and I dont think anyone wants to do that.

A remaster should be more feasible for their structure...surely?

@uninspiredcup: I dont want some mods, I want the real thing dammit!

So I posted on a thread about remasters and I said HL2 needs one and that got me thinking, how exactly do I and others think Valve should approach this. First off, Valve own everything to do with the game, all the programming, marketing etc etc etc. They have the power to really go full throttle with it and if its done right, I'd buy it, even though I never buy remasters. Why?

Well because they could do the seemingly impossible and actually improve the original experience. First off, combine all the levels from the core games with the levels from the episodes. You get a more cohesive experience that way without the need for separate downloads and releases.

Then we look at the graphics, which still stand the test of time till this day BUT textures could easily be cleared up, animations improved and particle effects made better.

Yet all that pales in comparison to the subtle changes that can and should be made to the gameplay and levels to bring it up to date with a lot of modern shooters. When HL2 first debuted, its levels were a God send to single player FPS games but since then, they do come across as slightly dated, so why not include some alternate routes and a few more attack options? That leads me to talk about improving player movement and traversal, a key to the best modern shooters.

Of course, we don't want to completely change the feel of the game, just slight improvements here and there.

That would be a package that could be the best remaster of all time. What would you guys like to see?

FF XII is the best of all the FF games!

Anyway, apart from that, I agree with you that a lot of Japanese games are stunted in their story telling these days. Dated even. They just have not developed he same way as the American and European developers have advanced in every aspect, including story telling.

Mario and Sonic are still the most well known. Itsn ot Drake, its not Link lol

Heck, Master Chief is bigger than those two.

Regardless of the Nintendo situation, critics opinions do matter, a lot, to gamers, hardcore or otherwise. People fall for reviews all the time. Highly rated games often sell very well and reveiws create buzz and attention...ultimately, they create hype and demand for a product. This is literally marketing 101, not just for games but for everything from restaurants to movies.

There really is no argument otherwise.

@TheEroica: All good points. I just couldn't get into the whole town building aspect, especially the bare bones implementation outside of DLC. In terms of Dragon Age, I never played it and I had no idea it won goty and then got blasted by fans .UC 4 certainly did not and neither did the other game you mentioned.

But hey it's all subjective and sometimes, time away from the game at release and the hype can provide a more realistic view of things.

@turtlethetaffer: fair enough

I cant remember if it was Souls 1 or 2 that I played but I could never get into it. For whatever reason, I don't think of it as a proper RPG, mroe of an action adventure with RPG elements.

What do you even mean by "turn on them" ... if a game is bad and reviewers have been paid to say the opposite, the truth will out. Fallout 4 for instance, got really good reviews and playing through the first 10 hours or so, I really liked it but after the big battle at the castle, the game just loses it's way and the repetitive nature of the big battle itself turned me off. But that doesn't make it a bad game. Just not as great as FO 3.

As for UC4, I don't think gamers have turned on it and no one has turned on Horizon or Zelda yet.