This week marks the 10th anniversary of the European launch of the original Xbox. To mark the occasion, here's a hastily-assembled list of the five Xbox series we'd earmark for resurrection – either now, or on the next-gen.
Jade Empire followed hot on the heels of the Knights of the Old Republic and received a similarly enthusiastic response from critics – no mean feat, given that KOTOR had the Star Wars license to use as a prop. With hindsight, Jade Empire almost seems to share more traits with Mass Effect than with KOTOR - fast-paced real-time combat, and a karma system that has more to do with personal philosophy than with traditional notions of right or wrong.
Either way, how many other martial art-based RPGs can you name? Jade Empire took an unusual setting and married it to a pleasing combat system, all wrapped up with the studio's typically attentive approach to storytelling.
Chance of a revival? Quite likely; Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka have expressed interest in bringing Jade Empire back, and its still a name that people remember.
These days there's an unwritten rule that racing games should be serious, realistic, and detail-obsessed. Before everything got so fetish-y, however, there was still a demand for knockabout arcade racers - games where the primary emphasis was on fun, rather than menus that let you balance the air pressure in your tyres.
Midtown Madness was one of the first racers to use a quasi open-world model, allowing you to take any route you could find in a manic bid to reach the next checkpoint. Midtown Madness 3 also threw in a bonkers single-player Undercover mode that let you variously play as a stunt driver, pizza delivery guy, and special agent, among other jobs. It was all quite silly but hugely enjoyable; a next-gen (or current gen) revival would go down a treat.
Chance of a revival? Pure arcade racers appear to be in decline at the moment, but the words "Midtown Madness" tend to still invoke a warm response from gamers who were around last gen. An HD remake or downloadable revival might do well, but it'd involve a lot of work. For the time being, it seems unlikely.
