So Lone and I have been going through the list of EA games and trying to decide what franchise EA and Starbreeze might be bringing back. Here's what we thought. 

Alternate Reality - It was a game and a series of expansions and then redone once. It's a great story, and idea and could easily be transformed into a full on 3D FPS/action game with a more in-depth story and better graphics. God I loved that game on my Atari 800XL.

 1503 A.D. - Since Disney saw some success with Anno 1701 they might feel the time is right to revive a historic line of games and revive this 'franchise.'

Archon - Back in the square graphics days this was one of the best games available. It was basically wizards' chess and was cool. It could definitely be turned into a new game franchise and maybe even make use of the EYE for the PS3 and have collectible cards...

Lone Says: The Bard's Tale - It hasn't been done in some time.

Me: Wasn't this recently redone with a bawdy sense of humor. Oh yeah 2004 but it wasn't the best it could have been. But that was InXile and Vivendi.

 Dungeon Keeper - This game simply rocked and with 4 titles it could be considered a franchise. This would be a great game to bring back. Man I remember playing the original game with Rory and Chris Last way back in the Ren Faire days...yeah I'm a geek, so what?!

Jane's Combat Simulations - It doesn't feel like a game that Starbreeze would be interested in but one can never tell. With 19 titles in the series and now 8 years gone since the last, there's a lot of new tech that they could build into the games and make them fun. TurboGoat might be putting a lot of review time into this series if it returns.

Knockout Kings - While I hope it's not this, it could be. It ran for 5 straight years 98 - 02 and could be due for a do-over. It's not interesting and again doesn't sound like something Starbreeze would do, but this is all speculation anyway. Lone Says: It was done again as Fight Night, and was handled by EA Chicago, which is now closed. 

 Lone says: Wing Commander  - The last one was 1997 Prophecy.

Me: Oh boy, will they get Freddie Prince Jr. and Mark Hamill to reprise their roles? You know if they could make it into an excellent space dog-fighting game, I would definitely be interested in it.

Populous - Yes! This could be the one! I could see Starbreeze taking this classic and fun-filled series and breathing new life into it. I loved this game, hell I loved them all. I played this game for days on end on the old Amiga and was known to call in sick to work sometimes. If they brought this out I might have to put all projects on hold for a week while I played it.

Road Rash - Not highly likely. A racing game from a company not known for making racing games would be a dicey proposal. I just don't see Starbreeze being interested in making this franchise return unless it had some strange supernatural twist to it. Road Rash - Supernatural Racing just sounds odd.

 Ultima - One of the grandfathers of RPG video game could be in for a singleplayer remake? Would Lord British allow it or be attached to it? After all if it's not Richard Garriot, it's not Ultima. He's too busy over at NCSoft to be a party to it so I would have to say no to this.

That's it. I've dug through the history of EA and that's what I've come up with.

My top 5 possibilities are:

Wing Commander - While not overly exciting for me, if they made some gritty space-based dog-fighting in it, I would be interested. Probably running very high on other people's lists. (FPS/action/adventure) MOST LIKELY

Alternate Reality - Just because I WANT it to come back. I want to find out what happens to me in the game. I need some sense of closure and I really loved the whole concept of the game, the story and the execution of the first were even well done. This is my dark horse candidate. (FPS/Action/Adventure)

Dungeon Keeper - Successful the first time round, fits in with the feel of Starbreeze and could do well again with it's somewhat unique gameplay mechanics. (RTS or TBS)

Populous - Not only does it fit, but it would be worth bringing back into an always popular genre! (RTS or TBS)

Archon -  Maybe not right up the alley of Starbreeze per se, but  I could see them taking it and doing some new things with it. It's low on my probable list but still should be considered. (TBS/Fantasy Chess Simulation) LEAST LIKELY

So 2 FPS and 3 strategy. Considering that Starbreeze is best known for The Darkness and Riddick I would have to say that the FPS games have an edge. I didn't take into account any licensing issues and such because, well that would have been a ton of work and research and I don't have an intern....yet!

  Leave a comment and tell us which franchise you think they are bringing back.

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