At this year’s Gamescom, executive vice president of EA Studios Patrick Soderlund strongly hinted the Mass Effect series could be getting the remaster treatment in the near future. Which is good, because that series is at the top of our office list of games EA should remaster.
But what’s the rest of that list look like? With EA possibly looking at its catalog for games to update for current consoles, we thought it’d be a good time to look back on the company’s history and see what games might get a second wind in full HD.
Jade Empire
We hadn’t seen a game like Jade Empire when it came out, and we haven’t seen too many like it since. The mystical Chinese setting, the combo-focused combat mixed with BioWare’s signature moral choices, and emphasis embodying one of a few characters instead of creating your own made the game an impressive feat back in 2005. We’d love to see remaster of the game that updated the graphics and made it easier to dive into.
Burnout 3: Takedown
Burnout: Paradise might be the one everyone might want to play, but Burnout 3: Takedown edges it out with the ease and immediacy with which you could enter races. It was also the first game to implement the series’ Crash Mode, which made even our most frustrating losses into appealing wrecks.
Def Jam Vendetta
The licensing would be a pain to deal with, but we think EA has a shot at bringing this game in some form or another. We’re willing to bet DMX, Ludacris, Redman, and Method Man would be willing to work something out. It was a fun wrestling game that did something interesting with the licence it had, and we’d love to see what an update would look like today. Would Vince Staples even want to fight Chance the Rapper for the chance to take on Drake? We can only hope.
Mirror’s Edge
Mirror’s Edge seems ripe for a remaster. In fact, it probably should have been remastered last year, as a way to promote its sequel, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. But the original stands on its own (albeit with some quirks), and at the time of its release, we hadn’t seen anything like it. It may not warrant a full-priced release at this point (especially on PC), but we’d love to see show up on the current round of consoles in some form or another.
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
Lots of Need For Speed games fought for a spot on this list, but 2005’s Most Wanted was a high mark for the series. The racing was rock-solid, cars were fun to tweak and the story of working your way up the Blacklist was as much motivation as anyone playing a racing game needed to keep playing. The cutscenes were also tremendously cheesy, which gives it an edge over just about any other game in the series.