The Reboot Pandemic

It seems no form of entertainment is resistant to the spreading infection of reboot syndrome.  While more prevalent in the film industry, an increasing number of video games have seen reboots in recent years, and it is not limited to games originally released in the 2D era.  While a reboot can be just what a franchise needs to reinvigorate interest (and sales), some reboots can completely backfire and alienate the game's original audience.

The thought of a new Devil May Cry game got me excited... that was, until I saw the trailer and screenshots.  Who was this skinny, smoking, heroin chic character that claims to be the bad ass Dante?  Well, apparently Capcom felt the need to completely change the character and knew what they were getting themselves into as fan backlash was immediate.  I fail to see the need in changing the character, as Devil May Cry 4 did sell (over two million copies) and was well-received by critics.  I always thought reboots were reserved for franchises that were well past their prime and saw a steady decline in sales and quality.  While several sources seem to flip back and forth between whether or not DmC Devil May Cry is a full-fledged reboot of the series or simply an "origin story," it's enough of a change to make me weary until the game's eventual release date.

Another reboot that's gaining a more positive reception is Tomb Raider.  For one, I do like that developer Crystal Dynamics trying new mechanics and elements in the series while remaining true to the original Lara Croft character.  (Though it will be weird seeing the Square Enix logo plastered on the game's box.)  This is a sequel I'm looking forward to, even though I'll have to wait a year for it to be released.

Left: The Sypro my PS1 memories know and love. Right: A sad imitation that today's kids will know.

A reboot that just leaves me perplexed is the upcoming Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.  I loved the first three Spyro the Dragon games on the original Playstation and they were integral parts of my middle school gaming years.  Then with the release of the Playstation 2, developer Insomniac Games relinquished the franchise and moved on to create Ratchet & Clank.  Following two console sequels where the quality was much below the standard set by Insomniac, 2006 saw the first reboot of the series, titled The Legend of Spryo: A New Beginning, complete with Hollywood voice acting by Elijah Wood and Gary Oldman.  After concluding that trilogy of games, which were still not as well received by critics and audiences as the Insomniac-developed games, this year will now see the second reboot in the barely 13 year-old series.  Oh, and there's the lovely gimmick of unlocking the 32 playable characters by purchasing the corresponding action figure, of which the game only comes bundled with three.  Obviously, fans of the old Spyro do not like this gimmick, but Activision doesn't care about the old fans because the game is geared towards kids.

But I do suppose I should give the reboots a shot, even if I found nothing wrong with the current state of the associated franchise.  When it was announced that the legendary Castlevania series was receiving the reboot treatment in the form of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, I immediately dismissed it as a desperate, God of War-knockoff.  Well, now approaching a full year after its release, I've been told that it is indeed a game worth playing despite my allegiance to the original series.  I guess whenever I do get around to playing it I'll just have to get a permanent marker and cross off the Castlevania part of the title.

So what do you think of all the recent and upcoming video game reboots, including ones not mentioned here?