HD remasters can be a wonderful way to revisit an old and beloved title through the lens of, newer graphics and controls that aren’t so archaic. Other times, HD remasters can be a cynical way to drain as much money as possible out of an IP without exercising too much effort. The past ten years have seen some weird and wonderful HD remasters, but also treated us to some of the worst experiences available to man. Without further ado, let’s get into it: here are the worst remasters of the last decade…
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD
Most people have fond memories of this game series. From designing death-trap skate-parks that no-one would ever survive, to pulling amazing stunts to a soundtrack of fondly remembered pop/punk anthems – whilst chugging questionable fluorescent mountain-themed ‘soft drinks’ – this game series had it all.
Because of this, it is inevitable that – to celebrate this well-loved heritage – Robomodo and Activision would team up and try and deliver the best homage to these golden years, unfortunately, that is not what happened.
Tony Hawks’ Pro Skater HD is a technical and graphical mess. Marketed as a ‘greatest hits’ collection, this entry suffered catastrophic pop-ins, drop-outs and glitches along with being released with fewer iconic tracks on the soundtrack than its originator. One could make the argument of licenses and copyrights to explain the missing songs, but it would fall on deaf ears, as if they wanted to honour the legacy in the correct way, they simply would have sprung for the license(s) which would surely be recouped via sales of a nostalgic hit such as this.
‘Failed opportunity’ doesn’t even begin to come close to describing this chaotic corporate cash grab.
Mafia 2: Definitive Edition
Mafia 2 was many people’s first foray into crime-based gameplay. Combining all of the best bits of The Godfather game, with a sprinkling of Grand Theft Auto, it allowed players to see life after the second-world war through the eyes of the protagonist, newly-returned-from-service Vito Scaletta. Mafia 2 boasted gorgeous graphics, responsive driving and a revolutionary ‘fuel’ system which could see you stranded in the middle of a free-way if you opted to not pay attention to your fuel gauge. Classic doesn’t even begin to describe Mafia 2.
With its success and reverence within the gaming community (aside from some rather-harsh reviewers calling it ‘bland’ and ‘barren’), it was decided by Hangar 13 – of Mafia 3 fame – that they would remaster the game for newer generations, and include of all the pre-released DLC along with a HD-remaster of the entire playable area from the game. Fans were excited.
When players finally delved back into Mafia 2 – after a number of set-backs and delay- , it became obvious that no love had been injected into the game, and they were essentially playing a version inferior to its source material, due to the lifeless and barren scenic display which New York had to offer.
Adding NPCs and updating some textures did nothing to reinvigorate this game for the Grand Theft Auto V generation and, just left everyone wanting more of anything else.
It had the opportunity to innovate and recreate, instead it opted to deliver minimal effort for the highest reward, and everyone saw through it. It doesn’t even play past 30 FPS for Pete’s sake! (‘Who is Pete?’ I don’t know, but he’s annoyed he waste his money on this, we all are)
Warcraft III: Reforged
In recent years, Activision Blizzard have aimed high, and missed the point. The remaster of one of the most iconic Warcraft games of the last 20 years, was meant to be a ‘good natured’ message and love-letter to the fans – it is not that.
Within minutes of loading the game up, the issues arise. From the removal of important factors from the original game to graphical glitches aplenty, your plate will surely be full.
At least you can just go back and play Warcraft 3 original right?
No, Acti-blizz, in a move of monumental stupidity, enabled the game to install itself over your original copy and render it useless, it then removed all original Warcraft 3’s from digital storefronts…Not a good move.
Silent Hill HD Collection
Who could ever forget the masterpiece that was Silent Hill? The desolate town, the empty houses, the fog covering everything and creating an exceptional ‘John Carpenter-esque’ feel?
Apparently, Hijinx Studios, who were given the honour by Konami of remastering the masterpiece, did.
Hijinx were not given the original source code which led to them having to build from the ground up, what they believed the game should look like. It should also be mentioned that a great number of the developers who worked on it, confessed to having not played the originals.
The fruits of their labour turned out to be a mish-mash of HD glitches, audio drop-outs and – worst of all -, in hopes of making the game more detailed and thus more re-playable, the fog.
Only added initially in the original release to mask the limitations of the hardware at the time, as time went on, fans became endeared to the fog effect, and games like Resident Evil even attempted to copy it and use it in Resident Evil 4.
Golden Eye: Remastered
Anyone with an N64 in their console history will tell you how much of a masterpiece that Goldeneye was when it was originally released. Being rushed to release in line with the 1995 James Bond movie of the same name, one would think that this title would suffer the same problems as all movie tie-ins – it does not.
With its polished stealth-action combination and true-to-source story, Goldeneye stands out as one of the best movie tie-ins ever released – the same cannot be said for the remaster. Suffering from an outdated stealth system, multiplayer changes and map alterations which angered purists.
You would be best served giving this one a wide berth.
Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition
And now, we come to the entire reason for this article, and arguably, the worst remaster of the worst remasters of the decade: Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition.
Grand Theft Auto 3 was one of the most successful games ever created and the more recent, Grand Theft Auto 5 is the most profitable entertainment product ever concocted by human minds, it stands to reason that Take-Two interactive would act on the initiative and try and recapture our imaginations with their greatest hits.
From the sharp tongued recently-escaped prisoner Claude in GTA:III, through Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’s Miami aesthetic all the way to the RPG-like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas following the exploits of Carl Johnson (CJ), the trilogy delivers at every turn.
Revolutionising third-person gaming is an understatement for what these three games did, with their approach to open-world gaming being the catalyst for so many other games, their influence is felt throughout the industry – unfortunately, this ‘definitive edition’ feels much more anemic and lacking than games of this calibre deserved.
Outsourcing your most prized possession for remaster was always going to come with challenges, but no-one expected the problems that manifested.
Be it; disappearing characters, rain effects which made the screen unviewable at times, or the removal of iconic features, one thing is for sure, this ‘definitive edition’ is definitely not worth your time, money or effort, stay well clear.
And there we have it, these are just some of the worst and most prolific offenders in the crime of ‘bad remastering.’ There are surely going to be many more to come but we hope that this list serves you in your avoidance of the absolute worst-of-the-worst.