After a little hiatus to, you know, reboot the site and all, the Commodore is back with a slightly spiffier Weekly Wringer! Changes are coming to the show and hopefully this week proves it. Now what are we talking about??? Oh yeah! Remember those early days of the Internet? The Commodore asks everyone to think of the first time they remember the Internet changing their lives (and maybe even the world) forever. Friends, gaming, research, and even piracy await. Then the Commodore asks a question for next time which continues the spirit of the refreshed website. It’s the (new) Weekly Wringer! Now in audio-only format as well for all of you lovable listeners out there!
Download Weekly Wringer 85 in mp3 format
All Music credit to CotGW user: Beyondthestars
45 Comments
How long has it been since I posted? I was usually too busy to post, but then those few weeks when I was free it was a topic I had no interest in, or nothing interesting to say. So yeah, *HUGS!* … I can’t figure out how to make it big and red. Eh, I’ll figure it out later.
Anyway, the first thing that came to my mind when you said Reboot was the Tomb Raider reboot, which looks pretty good. I didn’t play any of the old Tomb Raider games (But hoping they go on sale soon, GOG has the trilogy for just $10 while Steam sells them individually for $10, but I want them on Steam…) but they look like very old games, Gameplay-wise I mean. It’d just feel out of place to have more of that. I don’t know if the reboot is going to have good gameplay, or a good story, but I’m hopeful for it.
ZombiU is technically a reboot, as Zombi was an old game with the permadeath idea, but noone really cares about that, so I don’t think anyone will think of ZombiU as a ‘reboot’
Man, my brain can’t think of many reboots. I guess I’m still not playing enough modern rebooted games. I guess it depends on how recent we’re talking. If I can go far enough back I’ll put my vote in for Resident Evil 4. I love all of the main Resident Evil games, old and new (Well, I don’t love Resident evil 5, but it’s a fun action game), but the old Survival Horror styled games weren’t connecting right with a lot of people. Then Resident Evil 4 came along and it’s one of the best games ever made to many people.
Hmm, guess I can’t edit posts? Weird. I was gonna add an extra little “Happy first day of Haunukkah/Chaunukkah” but just another thing we’ll have to get used to, I guess?
The Mortal Kombat reboot absolutely floored me.
More than any other game/movie/anything it fulfilled the purpose of a reboot: to bring the greatness of the original work to a new generation all the while not completely copying it yet not doing away with its spirit. Everything about the game was perfect. Great graphics, solid fighting that calls back tot he old days while expanding it and a bevy of nostalgic goodness in the form of the best story mode in a fighting game ever. EVER. I doubt anyone would have a problem with reboots if they all managed to do what NetherRealm Studios did with this masterpiece.
Nolan’s Batman series is another one but I thought that was too easy.
Metroid Prime series gets an honorable mention too.
The best rebooted movie ive seen recently would be the new spider man movie, it was awesome! as for video games I cant really recall many rebooted series although I think we will see many new reboots on the WII-U and 3ds
Batman Begins/Dark Knight came first to mind and I’m having trouble thinking of a reboot that felt more original than the “Dark Knight” trilogy. Word of the reboot made everyone want to see characters they know from Batman in a new light but all of that was wiped away with every single movie as soon as you started watching and was replaced with “holy crap, what’s going to happen?”.
This is exactly what draws a massive line between the series that started with Tim Burton and the Dark Knight trilogy. Think of Batman Forever for example… it’s basically a “can’t wait till the Riddler’s on screen again” feel but you never really care too much about how the movie will end.
As for video games? Punch Out on the Wii and Super Mario Bros Wii made me smile when I was expecting to be disappointed… Super Mario Bros U made me want that feeling back. Doesn’t work twice.
Reboot needed: The Legend of Zelda top-down on Wii U that is not Four Swords! @^&*#%&#%* you just know it’s going to be a four swords game if it happens at all..
There’s been quite a few good reboots lately, Spider Man being one of them. I really love the new movie… but best?
I’m actually torn between two cartoons that have recently rebooted – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and My Little Pony: FIM. I’m actually going to choose TMNT over ponies though, because I was more of a fan of the turtles than ponies when I was younger.
Yes, I grew up playing with MLP, but I rarely (if ever) watched the TV series. The new series is great, with a much more focused cast with diverse personalities to be sure… but I grew up WATCHING Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
It was at my cousin Joe’s birthday party when I first watched TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze, and that was when I started watching the TV series. I watched it every chance I got. I loved the ninjas, I liked April…. and I even bought some DVDs of the old series… it has not aged well. (the movies still rock… with the exception of the third)
Then in 2003, it, like MLP got a reboot. More serious, and closer to the comics, it was promising and I do enjoy season one for the most part, but it lost me.
Now, we have a new Turtles series, a CG one on Nickelodeon. God, it’s been a long time since I watched anything on Nick (Avatar: the Last Airbender aside). And I was braced for it to be horrible…
But it’s not. The CG animation is smooth and stylized, with comic-book-like flashbacks. It’s definitely for kids, but at the same time, it doesn’t dumb things down for them (which I greatly appreciate.) With my love of Anime, the Japanese-styled ‘emotes’ that happen through the show (while initially jarring) feel right at home after a while and I personally enjoy them a lot
The Turtles’ ACT like teenagers, much more than in previous series. They have more distinctive looks aside skin tone and mask colors. I love Master Splinter to pieces – he is very much their Father and sensei. The new mutations are creative, the writing is clever, the visuals are great, the action is well done.
Rob Paulsen (Formerly Raphael) comes back to TMNT, this time as Donatello, and I must say that having gone back into watching some of the older Turtles shows now… I think his voice actually works BETTER for Don than Raph.
Michaelangelo is played by Greg Cipes (Aka Beast Boy from Teen Titans) And he makes an ADORABLE Mikey. (One that may have been dropped on his head one too many times, but still…)
I was skeptical about this series, but as it goes along, all the pieces have been falling into place nicely.
Shredder is suitably intimidating, and is no longer Kraang’s bitch. Even better, the twist they do on Kraang is interesting. ^_^
So yeah, I can’t think of a series that’s rebooted better than this. I am excited to see each new episode.
i totally agree. the new turtles are great; though i DO prefer the hilarious incompetence of shredder in the 1987 series. and a little bebop & rocksteady never hurt anyone.
^Completely forgot about MLP. Great answer.
Oh dear, I forgot to mention the one thing that irks me about the new Turtle series – the intro music XD that’s the ONE thing that’s gotten worse. I remedied it by muting the TV and playing the oldschool turtle theme over it via Youtubes
It’s got to be the Nolan Batman trilogy. Though I didn’t like the most recent one as much as most people.
At first this question was thought to be difficult for me, but then I realized I was only thinking about movies, and with the exception of Batman, I despise most reboot films nowadays.
The “Reboots” that had an impact on me – Sidescroller/platform video games. Allow me to explain. Upon the birth of the 3D game console and games, I along with my best friend was sucked in like other gamers. But we were not happy – there was something missing. In conversations time and time again the question was asked by us: “With all this new amazing graphics/gaming technology, why doesn’t anybody STOP making 3D games for a second, and harness this new power to make more of the good 2D-ish games from the past, only with amazing graphics, sound, and control that the games of the 8 and 16 bit era were not capable of?”
Those conversation usually led to games as an example that we wanted more of: such as Symphony of the Night, the old Beat em’ ups, Shoot em’ ups, fighters, – you get the picture here…
There were many of these titles that accomplished this in some manner in years to come; but for ME, the game that changed it all had to have been “Shadow Complex” for Xbox 360. It took me back to one of the best gaming memories I have, which was getting a Super Nintendo. My parents were frugal, and I got an SNES pretty late in it’s lifespan. I got 2 games, Super Mario All-stars, and Super Metroid. To me, those games floored me. They changed everything. My favorite 8-bit era titles, were back in 16 bit, and better in every way. I couldn’t and didn’t ask for more.
..Until 3D games took over. Don’t get me wrong: I love me some 3D games. But I and others were left hungry for something we were used to and had lost. Like I said above: good attempts came and went, but Shadow Complex was the one game for me that said “Here you go, a game just like you grew up with. No crazy new innovations and changes, just good old fashion entertainment that you already know and love, only it looks and sounds better. Enjoy”
Because of this, for a moment in time I was able to re-live that feeling of the day I plugged in that SNES. It was great. I got what I wanted, and I wasn’t even aware it was what I wanted until I experienced it again, like a vague “tip of the tongue” memory reborn. And i realized it wasn’t just me, the game was getting praise all over. Everyone I knew was turning off their Multiplayer games, and enjoying a “good old game” with nothing more that the fundamentals we grew up with – with an added face-lift.
I could rant points about this all day, but I think that says it close enough. It proved to me that there was still hope for the game formats we grew up with, and if done right, could be accepted by the 3D cinematic heavy gaming masses; some of which are too young to really have a connection with the games that paved the way to it’s creation. It was a love letter to those days for me.
Thanks Commodore, another good wringer!
Addendum: I realize many may not consider Shadow Complex to be a reboot, since it is the first and only Shadow complex game. I just like to consider it one because to me it is a Metroid clone (and a good one) so its easy to consider a reboot of a 16 bit Metroid and it’s blueprint.
I’m going to say Battlestar Galactica. I remember watching the original as a kid and while I liked it, the new series just blows it out of the water. But that’s probably a bit of a bias on my part, I really love serialized TV shows.
The new show took a lot of inspiration from the old one, but cut off the chaff, and made changes where they felt it was necessary. Also, the robot monkey was gone. If you watch the original and the new you can see a lot of the parallels between the characters, but also the changes.
The ending to both is terrible though.
I just started the Battlestar Galactica Reboot recently on Netflix, and I have to say, it is a fine example of how a reboot can be similar enough to “feel at home”, but have enough changes to stand on it’s own legs strong. I recommend it to anyone that wants to see a nice remake of an older Sci-Fi, or someone that just wants to watch a good series. you don’t even have to know the original series at all to enjoy it, that’s what I respect about it the most.
The new Battlestar Galactica is one of the worst examples of sci fi in existence. The completely overt parallelism to the Bush Administration killed any possible love I could have for it. Plus I hated it how it became the Starbuck show.
wow, harsh.
I would say Battlestar, but then I saw the last two seasons…Such a complete waste of potential with the absolute lunacy of the latter part of the show.
A recent reboot that was great: The new X-COM: Enemy Unknown video game!
Sure, there is some simplification and questionable customization decisions but this game, by and large, got it right!
It was always about the tension of a squad of men and women being dropped into unknown territory to face a well-known or completely unknown horror. It was also about trying to survive these horrors, to get stronger, smarter and to best whatever these aliens can throw at you.
That, and rockets, lots and lots of rockets.
General gaming reboots that I appreciate: The TellTale Games. They brought back IPs that I thought I would never see again such as Back to the Future or Monkey Island.
I am Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate!
I’m surprised not a single person mentioned the James Bond reboot, which would be the new trilogy starring Daniel Craig. That is a re-boot right? I mean, Casino Royale begins with the origin of Bond, before he got his 00 license. Anyways, I loved Casino Royale (easily one of my favorite Bond films), although Quantum of Solace was just about as bad as Moonraker. I still have yet to see Skyfall but I heard it was really good. One of my best friends went to see Skyfall with his family and he told me that while it was not as good as Casino, it was still a very good Bond movie. What I like about Casino Royale is that it rebooted James Bond with a different style compared to what the Sean Connery/Pierce Brosnan films did. The Craig trilogy is dark, action-packed, and any small humoresque moments that were in the previous films won’t be found in the reboots.
Sonicrose mentioned the new My Little Pony series reboot. I have watched some of it and I must say, it was quite good. At least, it was different from your typical children’s show. While the show is directed for a children audience, there are things here and there that only adults would understood. I specifically remember one episode containing a small homage to The Big Lebowski. The show looks good, it’s well written, and it tries things that most children TV shows wouldn’t. So I do have mad respect for the creators of the show, as it’s to my understanding that it was created by Lauren Faust, who also worked on the Powerpuff Girls.
As for video games, the only ones I can think are Sonic Generations and the New Super Mario Bros. series. At least, I think they’re reboots. Generations takes levels from past Sonic games and has remade them into new ones, but still looking familiar. New Super Mario Bros. uses conventions we’ve seen in past Mario games to make Super Mario accessible to a newer generation of gamers. It was after thinking about these games that I became a little confused. How, exactly, do you tell the difference between a reboot and a remake? I mean, I think Sonic Generations is a reboot but some people may mistake it for a remake since it reuses old levels. And what about the Final Fantasy remakes? Who’s not to say that they’re reboots? I mean, yeah, they’re basically the same game but these games are becoming more accessible to a newer generation of gamers.
However, the Daniel Craig Bond films aren’t a trilogy. There’s a sequel to Casino Royale, and a third film. There just happens to be three films with him as the leading man and is in no way a trilogy.
I had to think about this question for awhile. There’s really not a lot of examples of video game reboots I can think of off the top of my head.
Originally, games like Ys: Oath in Felghana popped in my mind but the game really isn’t a reboot in the strictest sense. The same basic plot is used but just the gameplay was completely changed and overhauled. Therefore, I don’t feel it’s truly a reboot for the series.
I also though about games like the ‘New Super Mario Bros’ titles but also couldn’t consider them reboots either but simply a throwback to an early style of game in the series.
After battling, to think of reboots and largely coming up with retellings and throwbacks, I could really only think of a handful of video game sequels where the previous series continuity was largely discarded and could truly count as a reboot. I thought of Alone in the Dark, Prince of Persia, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Of those games, I probably enjoyed Prince of Persia: Sands of Time the most out of any reboot. It was and still is a great game. The game took much of what was good about the original line of Prince of Persia (the platforming puzzles) and managed to reinvent it the series in a modern style with a new story and characters. It was just the right blend of keeping the feeling of the original games while being a new experience making it in my opinion one of the most successful video game reboots.
I’m sure there’s nostalgia frothing from my mouth as I say this, but I think that X-Men: First Class was great. I have many grandiose memories of the first two Bryan Singer films (maybe a little too much so). Getting to enjoy something I loved so much as a child in my now more mature state(ha, ya right!)was like revisiting a childhood home. When i watched the film, it wasn’t as if i enjoyed it because it was my memories in HD, but rather because i felt it grew with me.
That, in essence, is how you reboot a franchise(at least for a similar audience that enjoyed the original). You make it fill them with that same initial awe they had for the original, but you don’t put them back in diapers. You reflect their growth in the art, and they will leave the experience thinking about their growth parallel to the franchise.
Foulfootwear! Haha!
I have something to add to last week’s topic that I didn’t think of before, because it only happened in recent years. And that is the realization that the internet had completely replaced the TV for me. 99% of the stuff that’s on TV is crap anyway. But the few shows that I’d like to watch I can watch them (legally) on the internet, on demand. I can even watch stuff that would never make it on TV. Like when I was still playing chess competitively I always wanted to see chess on TV with analysis and commentary on the world championships or something like that. That would never happen, because only a few hundred people would watch it. But a few hundred people are enough for some international master to run a web series on youtube. Or SC2 tournaments. Or 16-Bit Gems… The internet is everything TV should have been.
Now for the new topic:
For me it’s the return of the roguelike videogame genre and turn-based strategy games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown. While the game has some issues like bugs and suffers from “consolification” it captures the spirit of XCOM. Most of the complaints I hear are from old veterans who expected this game to be exactly like the old X-COM. Maybe Xenonauts will fill that hole.
I think it’s great. While playing the hours pass by so quickly, suddenly it’s 4 am and I still don’t want to stop playing. I can’t remember the last time a game has done this to me. I’m playing it the second time now on Classic Ironman, and I think a game like this has to be played with Ironman turned on. It’s such a different and tense experience because you can actually FAIL and lose. Something that’s not so popular in videogames anymore. But there seems to be a bigger market for it than I thought.
And I’m glad that XCOM is selling well because I want to see more of this. Maybe we can have some true PC games like this in the future that don’t have to be simplified for consoles sake. I understand that it has to be build for consoles first, but at least give me a decent interface for keaboard and mouse!
I’m also a big fan of Jagged Alliance 2, but the reboot “Back in Action” has been a huge disappointment. Not only is it not turn-based anymore, it’s just a bad and ugly game overall. I would welcome a true new JA3.
what is the best of the reboots that i’ve seen recently?
clanofthegraywolf.com. without question.
aside from that…
tv – teenage mutant ninja turtles
film – the amazing spider-man
video game – mortal kombat
other – i’m interested to see what’s going to come from marvel comics with Marvel NOW!, but that’s not really a reboot…it sounds like more of a new direction. hopefully i like it more than Ultimate Marvel, which is more of a “true reboot.” but that may be the only reason i don’t like ultimate marvel: not that it’s bad, but because it was an actual reboot that i didn’t need.
First thing I though of was the new Judge Dredd movie which is leagues above the Stallone Version, although I do enjoy the cheese of that version. Dredd (2012) went a completely diffent
direction by making a darker more serious adaption of the character. It has great action, acting, and characters. Kieth Urban gives a stellar performance as Dredd. It also has one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in a while. My only compliant is there was no Rob Snyder.
What I like to see with reboots is that they take the original, and do their own thing with the material not just rehash the same thing.
*complaint
Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead reboots. I still prefer the original Dawn of the Dead to the remake, but the newer Night of the Living Dead (directed by Tom Savini) is superior to its predecessor hands down imo.
Hey first time posting here for the first time been lurking on the site for awhile now…
Just wanted to say Xcom:Enemy Unknown was a much needed fantastic reboot to the series. Cannot wait for the sequels for it.
Also Deus Ex: Human Revolution while not technically a reboot was still my favorite game from last year. They are working on a sequel which I assume will take place during the ground-breaking first game.
I think a reboot needs to do 2 things: Firstly it needs to add unto the original in meaningful ways such as the cinematic approach(which can even be disable if wanted) in Xcom enemy unknown or the persuasion mechanic in Deus Ex:HR. Secondly the reboot shouldn’t aim for storytelling but more improved mechanics and replay-ability.
I guess I’ll be the one to say it: though I like reboots, I really would like to see more original creativity out there. Everything is so derivative these days…
That said, the Nolan Batmans gets my hearty vote! After the abominations of the 90s, nipples and all, I was so excited to see something much darker, more realistic, and slightly gritty (though too much grit, and I wouldn’t've liked it). Real scripts, real dialogue, and even an amount of depth in retelling the stories is such a breath of fresh air, and really reflects a new era of mass media bringing things up a notch art-wise.
I also was a HUGE fan of Batman:The Animated Series growing up (listen to the theme on youtube NOW–you won’t be sorry you did), and the Nolans took a huge leap in that direction. Thanks Chris!
There are so many comments that I agree with this week like the Dark Knight trilogy, Tell Tale games (Sam and Max), and X-Com. I almost went with X-Men First Class since I went in with a bad attitude, but ended up loving the flick. I still would have preferred the classic 1960′s lineup and maybe a few characters like Banshee or Warpath tossed in for variety.
My choice for this week though is STAR WARS EPISODE 7. I am filled with nothing but hope and my expectations will be much lower than when I saw Episode 1 (not terrible). George Lucas has passed the torch of the Star Wars brand so this truly is a complete reboot of story as well as the creative force behind the property many of us cherish.
Also, I love the music in the intro and close. It really gives The Weekly Wringer a slick pro feel. I dig the new Clan of the Gray Wolf and it definitely deserves to stand as the inspiration for the topic of great reboots.
I don’t have any recent Nintendo platforms so I haven’t played any of the new Mario games but the best reboot of a video game that I’ve played would have to be Sonic Generations. They took everything that worked in the old games and put it in a modern platform. The remixed music tracks are excellent as well. Double Dragon Neon is also totally rad. The gameplay is nice and it’s oozing with 80′s.
However I have to put my neck on the line and say my favorite reboot is
*shields up*
Doctor Who
I loved watching reruns of the old series growing up and seeing it revived in 2005 was awesome for me. Yes the special effects can be cheesy, the acting isn’t always superb and there’s a hundred other things you can say about the show but it’s still my favorite show on tv. It’s also the longest running sci-fi series so they have to be doing something right.
Afterthought – A reboot I’d like to see: Reboot.
I couldn’t really think of a favorite re-boot that you guys hadn’t brought up already, so I’m going to go with a game that’s not so much a reboot as it is a huge turning point in the direction and style of its series, and that would be Resident Evil 4. Hopefully that’s not too off-topic for this week’s discussion.
Many didn’t like the way Capcom turned the Resident Evil franchise into more of a linear action-horror series instead of sticking to its survival horror roots with slow, careful combat mixed with exploration and puzzle solving, but I feel that RE 4 was able to perfectly strike a balance between the two. I can completely understand why old fans of the series felt disappointed with the new approach, as I too loved the first three games, but RE 4 seemed to eliminate the issues and frustrations of those games (i.e, the fixed camera issue) while also providing a story that was accessible and easily understandable for both new and old players.
It is unfortunate to see the series deteriorate with RE6 though after producing such a great game in 2005. It’s always disappointing when the next iteration of a series seems to move backwards instead of growing and continuing to eliminate its flaws.
I too have been thinking a lot about the re-boot phenomenon. You asked what is the best of the recent reboots? I have a list of my top 3.
1. Dr. Who
What the BBC has done with this show is just amazing. They’ve given it new energy, brought in a lot of modern appeal, but stayed true to the tone of the original series. The character development is very good, and the multi-episode, sometimes whole season story arcs are real mind-benders, which makes the whole experience a lot of fun.
2. BBC’s Sherlock
Maybe this isn’t technically a reboot, but I think it deserves consideration. The character development is amazing, and similarly to Dr. Who, the over-arching story keeps me guessing.
3. Star Trek
As a long-time Trek fan, I find the reboot fresh and exhilarating. I think the new movie did a good job of showing Starfleet as a strictly disciplined, militaristic organization, but at the same time giving the characters room to be themselves and bend the rules. Sometimes the Star Trek franchise can bet a bit stuffy, and this new movie helps to alleviate that to a great degree.
So there’s my top 3 “best” of the recent reboots. I must admit, that I don’t follow the same breadth of franchises that I gather some of you do, but I do have opinions about which are the best among the ones I’ve seen.
I have nothing to add to the Wringer’s question but am just replying to say post that early video you mentioned as I like behind-the-scene content.
First time posting, despite a dear friend telling me to check out CotGW for the last year or two. I’ve spent the last few days going through as much of the site as I can, and I have to say, Commodore: you and Roo are doing something mighty special here. Keep up the good work!
As far as reboots go, my first image was all the bad recent movies based on comic books and old TV shows, like a few other folks mentioned. But then I was trying to think of why those reboots failed; didn’t I want someone to pour a ton of money into something I loved as a child, giving it the visual detail that I always imagined in my head? Isn’t that why I can’t hate Peter Jackson?
Then I realized that many of the more recent reboots simply threw in eye candy (live action, crazy amounts of CG, and hot people) while watering down the storyline. That way, the new generation can get the gist of the original idea while enjoying mindless entertainment; “Explosions from Michael Bay” comes to mind. The creators already know they’re getting my money, since I’m emotionally invested in the characters.
So for me, better graphics alone can’t be the point of the reboot. CG for the sake of CG is pointless. As Vulcan Assassin mentioned, many of those 3D games failed because people were too focused on making 3D versions of successful games, instead of making a successful game do what its creators would’ve wanted to do before but couldn’t. This is pretty much an echo of what Furious George and Alpha Omega said, but the capabilities of new technology should add something to ENHANCE what was good about the original, whether it be the storyline, the gameplay, or whatever.
Since I can’t think of any games that haven’t been mentioned I’ll throw a movie reboot out there: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. And no, I do NOT mean Marky Mark’s reboot. The reboot from last year was great because it understood the spirit of the original movies (most of them anyway). Social commentary aside, I think one of the points of the “Planet of the Apes” series was to examine what it means to be human and civilized, and they just didn’t have the ability then to give apes emotions and character without putting people in chimp and gorilla suits. I was pleasantly surprised how the CG was focused more on making Caesar an incredibly real character, rather than spend most of the time on monkey fights. All in all, it did exactly what I wanted to see in a reboot.
Hi Commodore, Long time since I have posted a comment. Thank you so much for putting MP3 files since I don’t get much time to listen to your shows anymore, living without internet at the moment. Reboots are such a Fab in the movie industry like 3D movies. I think it is a new thing for video games, and can be a beautiful thing if done right but most of the time it is very mediocre.
If we are talking a Reboot in video games I would say Fallout 3. I know it is a sequel but the game play is completely different and the story is its own. It should be class as a Reboot. Why I think it is good Reboot is that it took most of the humour from the first two games and the post nuclear world universe while at the same time making its own story. The direction to FPS was a tough move for Bethesda but I think it was ultimately for the best. It helps to draw in new players while keeping with the themes of Fallout. A good reboot will need to capture the essence what made the series great.
I have nothing on the movies that have not been said. Thank you
Hey, I’m new here, but I’ve been watching all of the old Weekly Wringers for the past couple of weeks and decided to watch the latest one and actually participate before finishing watching all of the older ones.
I think as far as game reboots go I would have to go with either Rayman’s reboot with Rayman Origins or Sonic’s reboot with Sonic Generations.
Rayman Origins does a great job taking the old Rayman series and making it new and exciting. I think it came out at the perfect time as well because there are almost no 2D platformers anymore so they were able to get many people with nostalgia for the genre buying the game, even if they aren’t necessarily a huge fan of the Rayman series.
Sonic Generations is a similar thing. The Sonic series never really died because they kept on making Sonic games even though they stopped being good around the time of Sonic ’06 so people generally lost interest in the series. Sonic Generations took the old style Sonic games and strung it together with the newer Sonic style and made a very memorable and functional Sonic game which had not happened in a quite a long time (in my opinion). This really brought back the Sonic fans and got them interested in the series again and really brought back the old magic that Sonic had.
Now, if we’re talking about reboots in general I think I would have to say the new Batman trilogy is a great contender. It took a movie series which generally did not have very good movies in it and made a dark and cohesive story with it. The Dark Knight movies really did a fantastic job bringing the series back and got many new people interested in the series and probably even got more people reading the comics and everything as well.
I know already commodore won’t agree, but MLP. The old show sucked and the previous reboot was even worse. New show is pretty damn good. Tied for second are Super Mario Wii and Kirby: Return to Dreamland if those count as reboots.
Long-time-lurker, first time commenter. For me, “reboots” or “remakes” fall into four principle categories:
1. This production did relatively well during its time and/or gained a cult following and may justifiably deserve an update for younger/newer audiences or the original demographic for nostalgic appeal.
2. This production did average, if at all, and/or has a very limited cult following. Let’s get Director X and Producer Y to try to remake the money we lost on it the first time or trick a new generation of schmucks into buying it.
3. This was a good production and did well. Let’s update the graphics/sound/etc. so people have to buy it again.
4. Oh shit, we are out of ideas. Let’s remake that show/game/movie we just remade a few years ago.
What follows are examples of each and why I like/dislike.
1. A number of outstanding movies and games fit into this category. Most recently for me, Star Trek, Metal Gear 3D, Mega Man 9, Dawn of the Dead, Batman/Dark Knight, to name a few that I felt worthy. The absolute best reboot of all time has got to be the Seinfeld reboot (although technically snythetic in nature) on season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Hearing Jerry and George talk about iPhone apps made me feel like I had stepped into another dimension where the 90′s never ended. Awesome.
2. Oh boy. Here is where most of the “modern reboots” fit. Red Dawn, I spit on your Grave, Straw Dogs, crap, crap, and more similar crap. Yawn. This category bores me.
3. Star Wars and Shinobi 3D……that sums up this category. Or, I’m just getting tired and lazy.
4. Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Superman. Really? Garbage. Everyone of even modest intellectual capacity knows that Eric Bana made for a far superior Dr. Bruce Banner.
Well, I guess that about wraps it up.
O’doyle Rules!
Hi 1337Scientist,
While i agree with most of what you been saying about remakes & reboots, I have to disagree with two of your choices. Crub Your Enthuasiasm I would not class as a reboot since I believe it is a new show not so much a redesign of Seinfeld. Mega man 9 I guess but i could be wrong would it not be class more as a revival & mega man 7/8 be a reboots since it looks and play more like the original Mega man 1 to 6.Superman was bad a reboot partly because the producers did not know if it would be a squeal or a reboot. Hopefully the new one will be a good Reboot
Hi JOHNC911,
Thank you for your feedback.
Concerning Curb Your Enthusiasm, I am speaking to a very specific part of a very specific season. During season 7 Larry David brought in the entire Seinfeld cast for a few episodes and there was a “show within the show” so to speak. Larry was making a Seinfeld reunion show and consequently there is actually genuinely new and modern Seinfeld bits within the show. You should really check it out if you are a fan of either series.
Concerning Mega Man 9, you have a good point. I guess I tend to classify retro-revivals in much the same category as reboots/remakes. This may indeed drift from the Commadore’s point. However, it was actually what inspired me to dig out my old video games and start trawling the internet for retro-gaming goodness like 16-bit gems!
Hi 1337Scientist,
I can see your point about Curb Your Enthusiasm. Thank you for the reply.
I was just thinking about bad examples of Reboots. Does anyone remember Zelda 2 on the NES. Turn down not because it was a bad game but because it was too different from the first game.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say Street Fighter x Mega Man coming out on Monday. I’m not sure if picking that is allowed since it is not out yet, but I honestly am having trouble thinking of any reboots/remakes as I generally ignore such things for the most part. Other then that I really don’t have much to contribute to this week’s question. I don’t watch TV or Movies so I am unable to contribute in that regard, so I went with games, and even then I hardly play any newer games so that made this a tough question for me to come up with an answer for.
Sonic Generations, even though it might be a stretch calling it a reboot. Generations did almost everything right, and put Sega on the map again after the failures (IMO) of Sonic ’06 and Sonic 4: Episode 1.
But one thing that saddens me, is that Sonic Generations marks the death of classic Sonic. There will be no more games with classic Sonic, sadly.