And the best PC game to never get a console port is.........

[Anthony1]

Unreal





I can't believe that this game has never been ported to a console. I had this game back when it first hit the PC, and to me it was an incredible game. It truly was "unreal" for the time period that it came out in. I mean, this game was the game that basically took PC gaming to a whole new level, far beyond the available consoles at the time. But it's suprising that this game never got released on the Dreamcast or even the PS2 or XBOX.

Man, I hope there is some point where this game gets ported to a system. Maybe as a bonus in a new Unreal Tournament super 2006 game.

[mr_jiggles_13]

well we get unreal tournament al the time. we get unreal 2(which i didnt like). but no unreal 1 for any home console................so sad because it was and still is a great game.

[Melf]

I always wanted to see a port of Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. I got hopeful after DF was released for PS1 but alas... :(

[SoulBlazer]

System Shock 2. They were going to do it for the Dreamcast but it never happened.

[mezrabad]

System Shock 2. They were going to do it for the Dreamcast but it never happened.

Ack! I never knew that! And, now knowing it, I feel saddened. :(

I'd say that System Shock made more of an relative impression on me than any game had at the time or has since. I said so in a job interview at Origin and I think they just thought I was kissing their ass. :( I so wish someone would remake the first game with System Shock 2's engine. Someone probably is, I've just been lazy and haven't been looking hard enough for it.

But SS2 on the Dreamcast!!!!??? As a possibility and then it wasn't! Waaaaah!

Oh, yeah, what was the question? I was going to say System Shock 2 but SOULBLAZER STOLE my answer! Really, he was looking at my paper when you turned around.

So, I'll say . . . . X-COM, UFO Defense. Was that ever ported? I loved that game.

[Anthony1]

I always wanted to see a port of Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. I got hopeful after DF was released for PS1 but alas... :(



You know what, after Unreal, I would definitely say that Dark Forces II: Jed Knight, would definitely be my second most wanted PC port. Then after that, maybe this game called "Sin".

With XBOX home brews, I wish somebody did something with all 3 of those games, but especially Unreal and the first Jedi Knight.

They've done homebrews with Doom for the XBOX.

[imanerd0011]

I'm not positive if it got a console release or not ( I think it didn't), but my choice would be Diablo or Diablo 2. With the exception of Doom, they are the only PC games I have ever really played, and I was obsessed with them when they first came out.

[mezrabad]

I'm not positive if it got a console release or not ( I think it didn't), but my choice would be Diablo or Diablo 2. With the exception of Doom, they are the only PC games I have ever really played, and I was obsessed with them when they first came out.

I'm pretty certain Diablo came out for the Playstation, but, obviously, it lacked the online component.

Yeah, Diablo 2 would've been cool on a console.

[Mr Mort]

[quote=SoulBlazer]

So, I'll say . . . . X-COM, UFO Defense. Was that ever ported? I loved that game.

It came out on the PS early on in its lifespan, came in one of the big "Sega CD/Saturn" jewel cases. It was actually a decent port too, only it could take up an entire memory card depending on whether you saved in the middle of a battle or not! @_@

[Ed Oscuro]

You know what, after Unreal, I would definitely say that Dark Forces II: Jed Knight, would definitely be my second most wanted PC port. Then after that, maybe this game called "Sin".
Hah! Sin! Wacky, but definitely another of the great semi-obscure shooters...a nice counterpart to Quake II, not quite of the same quality but it's got more variety and...other stuff.

[SoulBlazer]

There's a little info on the port attempt here:

http://www.gamespot.com/dreamcast/action/systemshock2/preview_2598540.html

I think it could have been handled decently enough. Shooters usually are inferior on consoles when compared to the PC version, but a mixed game like this could have done allright.

[Bluteg]

I think I'm the first to say Fallout 1 & 2. I personally like 2 slightly more. I must have spent 200+ hours killing every NPC and enemy in the entire game.

[Ed Oscuro]

I think it could have been handled decently enough. Shooters usually are inferior on consoles when compared to the PC version, but a mixed game like this could have done allright.
Somebody apparently has a copy of the game, since one (probably not legit, but oh well) sold on eBay a few weeks back for around $30.

As the graphics engine was rather primitive, it shouldn't have been hard to tune it up a little for the Dreamcast; the game performed pretty well on my circa 1999 PC. The biggest issue here would be the sheer number of items and voice data; apparently they had that figured out (seems all consoles from the PlayStation on have special RAM for sound, anyways). After that, of course, is the question of how well the joystick would work.

[robotriot]

So, I'll say . . . . X-COM, UFO Defense. Was that ever ported? I loved that game.

There's a CD32 version as well :)

I'd say Outcast, as it's still my favorite PC game of newer times.

[digitalpress]

Grim Fandango! Not enough people know about this incredible game. It would have been an easy game to port to a console, too. Who knows... maybe someday some developer will remember it and realize there's an audience still waiting for it.

http://www.lucasarts.com/products/grim/grim_spotlight.htm

[Flack]

I loved X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter ... would have loved to have seen any of those on a console.

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

I feel that a console verson of Afterlife should have been done. Hey If SimCity 2000 Could have been done why not.

[Mad Chemist]

I'm pretty certain Diablo came out for the Playstation, but, obviously, it lacked the online component.

Yeah, Diablo 2 would've been cool on a console.

You're quite correct - Diablo was released for the PSX. I've got one on my PSX shelf. X-Com (as another poster mentioned) was also released for the PSX. X-Com was actually pretty fun to play on the PSX, provided you have one of the PSX mice. Can't see playing that game with the d-pad ...

I'd love to see TIE fighter on a console as well, but until then we have the Colony Wars series on the PSX.

[Vroomfunkel]

So, I'll say . . . . X-COM, UFO Defense. Was that ever ported? I loved that game.

It did indeed get a PS1 release. And in Europe there was also a PS1 release for X-Com: Terror From the Deep - but not in the US. Sorry!

Vroomfunkel

[Nez]

Theif, a great stealth game, and sometimes down right creepy.

[Lord_Magus]

Grim Fandango! Not enough people know about this incredible game.

I couldn't agree more! That game was just pure genius from start to end. :)

[IntvGene]

Well, there are many.. and some of them have been mentioned already (*cough* Grim Fandango). But, here are some more from the top of my head that I loved:

Night Shift
Monkey Island 1 & 2 (now there's a DC port of the engine though)
Ultima Underworld
Elite & Elite II
Ultima V
X-Com

Plus, there are tons of strategy games that never made it also, like Master of Orion II, etc. These wouldn't have been easy to do, but still are awesome games.

I've never been a big fan of shooters, so Unreal wouldn't be getting my vote. There were still tons of "portable" PC games that could have easily made it to a console, but didn't.

[EnemyZero]

Id say Crusader: no regret....no remorse came out on saturn...but regret was better....best series origin put out

[Flack]

Elite

This made it to the NES, although I think it may have lacked the depth that the computer versions had.

[Jorpho]

I thought the NES version of Elite was never actually released for legal reasons.

Anyway, Anachronox. To think a console port might have saved it from its much-undeserved obscurity!

[digitalpress]

I thought the NES version of Elite was never actually released for legal reasons.

Maybe that was a NES (US) issue? Certainly not for abroad, the game was released and I even own a loose copy.

http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/game.cmf?gameid=95091

Elite II was also released, on the CD32. I've got a complete copy of that one. As much as I wanted to like it, it just made me yearn for my beloved C64 original Elite. I don't think the CD32 was up to the task of pushing those polygons around in a reasonable frame rate.

http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/game.cmf?gameid=150658

[calthaer]

The original Unreal was an imaginative adventure unparalleled for its time, that's for sure. The highly creative level designs (remember the Sunspire?) blew anything else away, and the cool weapons (alternate fire!) along with the abundance of ammo really created the awesome pace.

They completely ruined Unreal 2 by making it too easy to kill enemies (and too easy to be killed) and by making the level designs completely boring.

Gosh...this is a tough question. Commander Keen has been ported, Tron 2.0 has been ported...X-Com has been (playing that without the PS1 mouse is almost impossible, I might add), Warcraft II, Maniac Mansion, Heroes of Might & Magic, Lemmings, Command & Conquer, Sim City, Wing Commander, the Sims, The Immortal, Ultima VII as well (even though they completely emasculated it when doing so), even the all-awesome Deus Ex has been. I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the PC classics.

So yeah, I'd say System Shock / System Shock 2 (the original is QUITE a worthy game in and of itself, I say) and / or Thief: The Dark Project (Gold) / Thief II: The Metal Age. Deadly Shadows already came out for the Xbox. Ultima Underworld I & II are also worthy.

There are other classics like Syndicate that I don't believe had a port, but I haven't played them yet - they're sitting on my shelf waiting for me.

Warcraft III is also worth throwing into the mix there.

Anachronox is also good but I don't know if it's quite up there with the rest of these.

[Jorpho]

Commander Keen has been ported

You call that a port?

[Richter]

Sam & Max

[Mad Chemist]

There are other classics like Syndicate that I don't believe had a port, but I haven't played them yet - they're sitting on my shelf waiting for me.

Wasn't that one ported to the Jaguar?

[SoulBlazer]

And to the Sega CD. ;)

[briguy578]

Heroes of Might and Magic III - It almost made it to the dreamcast [are there any protos out there? I've seen screenshots] but it got canned.

Heroes I and II just got crummy Gameboy ports, and Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragonbone staff is completely different game from the ground up that doesn't really play like a Heroes game at all.

[goatdan]

Grim Fandango! Not enough people know about this incredible game. It would have been an easy game to port to a console, too. Who knows... maybe someday some developer will remember it and realize there's an audience still waiting for it.

You remind me that I bought this game about a year ago at Best Buy for $1.00. I have yet to open it... I'll have to do so soon.


There are other classics like Syndicate that I don't believe had a port, but I haven't played them yet - they're sitting on my shelf waiting for me.

Syndicate was ported to the 3DO, Jaguar, Genesis and Super Nintendo if I'm not mistaken.

I would have to say Road Warrior personally. I loved that game so much. Quarantine, which I believe only came out on the 3DO, has control that sucks so much it is unplayable.

[calthaer]

Commander Keen has been ported

You call that a port?

You're right - the GBC version of the game was nothing like the original. It looked like the original, but the gameplay was way different. You couldn't save, for one, and the game was super-tough. BUT - technically it was still a "port."

It could still use a REAL version of the game, though. Making those worms into a foot - those were great games.

Heroes of Might & Magic also got the shaft on the GBC, it's true. Now if they ported Heroes IV...

One or two more games now that I'm home and looking at the collection:

***FREEDOM FORCE***
Master of Orion / 2
Quest for Glory series
and the little-known Moonbase Commander

[MegaDrive20XX]

Sega Smash Pack Vol. 2

Saw it on PC...and I was wondering why wasnt this ported to DC?

Included:

Shining Force 1, Sonic 2, Comix Zone, Kid Chameleon, Flicky, Vectorman 2, Super Hang On, and Sega Swirl from what I remembered

[Anthony1]

You know all the games that people have mentioned, certainly all have their merits, but man, I can't believe that more people aren't mentioning Unreal.


Unreal was a game that just came in and just blew people out the water. Back when most people where playing PS1 and early N64, Unreal came out and just made all console only gamers stand up and take notice.


This game is single handedly responsible for me basically converting from a console only player, to a mostly PC player for about 3 years. From the time Unreal came out, to the time the Dreamcast was released, I ended up moving to the PC side and playing tons of PC games.


You know on a side note, if you look back at some of the old PC games, some of them actually are better than any of their console cousins. For example, take G-Police, that game was freaking incredible on a PC, but on the PS1, pretty weak. The PC version of the original Tomb Raider, I think is the superior version out there. There are so many I could mention. It was just a time when the PS1 was pixel city, the N64 was fog city, and a nice PC with a good 3DFX card just kicked serious ass.

A PC with a 3DFX card was kinda like a system unto itself. Even the sports games from EA sports were better on PC, for that few year period of time. I remember playing a Triple Play Baseball on the PC that was totally incredible. Remember when Moto Racer first came out? That was pretty awesome too.

[Jive3D]

This is a stretch.

but maybe some Mac people will remember an AWESOME shareware game called Bunny Killer 3.

I'm kidding more than anything, but that game was AWESOME. Back when I was a mac user (that's all that Dad would buy, he loves em )

[mezrabad]

Sorry, but I just thought of this one.

"Homeworld" to my knowledge has nothing like it on console, nor is it ever likely to due to the control scheme.

[Maxx]

Heroes of Might and Magic III - It almost made it to the dreamcast [are there any protos out there? I've seen screenshots] but it got canned.

Heroes I and II just got crummy Gameboy ports, and Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragonbone staff is completely different game from the ground up that doesn't really play like a Heroes game at all.

Ditto. Word for word. I was at EB games every week trying to find the next new release date for dreamcast.

[Neo Rasa]

I can fulfill some people's requests right now. Secret of Monkey Island was ported to the SegaCD. Ultima Underworld not surprisingly came to the Playstation in Japan, and Ultima V came to the FM Towns (GOOD LUCK).

Sega Smash Pack Vol. 1 on the Dreamcast was a huge flop. Terrible, glitchy emulation that was a joke by the time it was released. The Dreamcast Smash Pack had Flicky, Sega Swirl and several other games, the PC Smash Packs were something of a completely seperate line that had been released/recompiled/etc. throughout the mid nineties and up. If you look around now there's even ones that pack together every 2D Sonic game up to Knuckles Chaotix for not too much.

[Jorpho]

The Dreamcast Smash Pack had Flicky, Sega Swirl and several other games, the PC Smash Packs were something of a completely seperate line that had been released/recompiled/etc. throughout the mid nineties and up.

What? The two PC Sega Smash Packs used a special version of the commonly-available Kega emulator. This is well documented. (I think there's even a reference to it that can be seen in the emulator code.)

I'm not sure if the same was done for Sonic & Knuckles, the Sega Puzzle Pack (Mean Bean Machine + Columns + Lose Your Marbles), Garfield: Caught in the Act, or Sonic 3D. Certainly, Comix Zone was recompiled.

[quote]If you look around now there's even ones that pack together every 2D Sonic game up to Knuckles Chaotix for not too much.

Sega Smash Pack 2 (including Sonic 2), Sonic & Knuckles Collection, Sonic CD, and Sonic R. That is all: No Sonic 1 or Knuckles Chaotix (or Sonic 3D, for that matter).

[Imstarryeyed]

Humm I would say..

1) Shogo (was supposed to be ported to the Dreamcast)
2) Septerracore
3) American McGee's Alice (since it was a platformer)
4) Heart of the Dragon (Dynamix)
5) Neuromancer (Great C64 & Amiga game!)

I would have liked to have seen an anime or movie based on Neuromancer as well.. I liked the graphic novel very much..

[j_factor]

I can't believe nobody's said The Last Express. That was an incredible game!

I always wished for a console version of Shadow of the Beast 3. To this day I haven't played that game, thanks to it being exclusively for Amiga and pretty uncommon (it came out after the Amiga market had gone to shit). Supposedly a Genesis port was being worked on at some point, but I doubt it made it to the proto stage.

Speaking of Amiga ports, wouldn't a Genesis version of Rick Dangerous have been awesome?

[tom]

Lula

[tom]

Looking at my PC shelf:

Spycraft
Life and Death
Stunt Island
Panik in the Park
All 'Legend' titles
El-Fish
Omega
Space Rogue
Knights of Legend
Man Enough

[tom]

Another excellent:
Freddy Pharkas
and of course, Larry games.

[Nature Boy]

I'm kinda suprised Neverwinter Nights never saw a port (and likely wouldn't at this point, with 2 not far off). Seems like it'd be perfect for the console RPG crowd (then again, they do tend to hate anything not Japanese).

[Ze_ro]

and Ultima V came to the FM Towns (GOOD LUCK).
There's also a version of Ultima V for the NES, but I think we're all better off just ignoring that one. I hope that through efforts like this (http://xu4.sourceforge.net/), this (http://sourceforge.net/projects/nu5/), this (http://nuvie.sourceforge.net/), and (of course) this (http://exult.sourceforge.net/), my dream of playing Ultima on a console the way it was MEANT to be played will eventually be true. I know some of these have already been ported to machines like the Dreamcast and GP2X, so things are looking good. I wish I could say the same for the Ultima Underworld games, but it appears all similar efforts are either stagnant (http://uwadv.sourceforge.net/) or completely abandoned (?) (http://tsshp.sourceforge.net/).

Anyways, as for some games of my own, I really think God Of Thunder (http://www.adeptsoftware.com/got/) (The game is now freely available, so try it out!) would have made an excellent console game, as it's a Zelda-style puzzle/adventure game that is tons of fun, and even quite humourous.

Traffic Department 2192 (http://www.abandonia.com/games/344/download/Traffic_Department_2192.htm) was an excellent top-down, 360 degree, futuristic shooter where you flew a ship around a city killing gang members who were attempting to take over the city. The game had a very deep and engrossing storyline that really kept you interested, which is very unusual for a shooter.

One Must Fall 2097 (http://www.abandonia.com/games/94/download/OneMustFall2097.htm), in case you hadn't already tried it, is just about the best 2D fighting game to never make it to a console. You choose a pilot and a robot (whose stats are somewhat combined, giving you some strategic choice) and duke it out with other pilots. The game includes fatalities, arena hazards, very customizable rules (ie, turning air juggling on/off and controlling whether certain moves will knock your opponent down or not), secret characters, and long and involved tournament mode that lets you gradually upgrade your character, not only just their stats, but actually upgrading specific moves too.

Wasteland (http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/436/Wasteland.htm) is still, in my opinion, one of the best RPG's of all time. You control a band of rangers in a post-apocalyptic future. You end up fighting mutants, robots, and even religious zealots as you roam around the wasteland trying to figure out the source of a number of robots that have been maurading the area lately. The storyline includes some very interesting quests, including venturing inside a cyborg's head, assembling a robot in order to get information from him, and fighting your way through an (extremely hard) citadel full of militant religious zealots. The game also has a very advanced skill system that was at least a decade ahead of it's time.

Abuse (http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~trandor/abuse/) was an excellent run-and-gun game where you ran around various levels in a platform fashion, but used a mouse to target your weapon, meaning you could run and fire in arbitrary directions. There was a wide variety of weapons to use, and the atmosphere of the game was surprisingly dark and even scary at times as the aliens ambushed you, or you heard alien screams in the background as the lights gradually dimmed. The control scheme would likely make a console port somewhat difficult, but dual analog sticks would certainly work nicely. There is also source code available for this game, so homebrew console ports are entirely possible.

Space Taxi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Taxi). C64 games are fair game here, right? Space Taxi was an excellent puzzle/arcade game where you flew a flying taxi around, picking up and dropping off passengers. You had to be careful while navigating the maze-like levels, but speed was important in getting the best tips! This could have been a huge hit if someone had made a NES version.

And while I'm mentioning C64 games, Paradroid (http://home.hawaii.rr.com/mafioso/games/pdroid.htm) is another game that could have really taken off on the NES. The game is a top-down 360 degree shooter. The twist here is that you're attempting to take over a space ship full of robots, and you can hack into their brains to take control of them (this takes the form of an odd circuitry minigame). Different robots have different powers and abilities, and the space ships you infiltrate have a very maze-like structure.

Some of my fondest computer memories were while playing the SSI Gold Box AD&D (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Box) games like Curse of the Azure Bonds, Death Knights of Krynn and Pools of Darkness. There were a few attempts to bring these games to the consoles (Pool of Radiance for the NES, Buck Rogers - Countdown to Doomsday for the Genesis, and Order of the Griffon for the TG16 come to mind), but none of them really managed to capture the magic of the computer versions in my opinion.

---

Nowadays, you can just about make a console out of a cheap old PC. The only problem is that you'd need a good knowledge of DOS (not just commands, but knowing what IRQ's are and such), and the end result pretty much has to connect to a VGA monitor, a keyboard, and maybe a mouse too. I put together an old Pentium in my basement purely for old games like this, and aside from having to do a little typing to actually start the game, it behaves almost exactly like the rest of my console systems. With games like Shadow Warrior and Blood, there are plenty of exclusive games that make it worthwhile. (Of course, if you're short on room, DOSBox (http://dosbox.sf.net) is a reasonable alternative, but actually having a real machine doing the job feels much more authentic to me)

--Zero

[Neo Rasa]

What? The two PC Sega Smash Packs used a special version of the commonly-available Kega emulator....

I mean literally there being many different releases of the Smash Pack for the PC that have different combinations of games on them, i.e., recompiled. Not recompiled from a coding standpoint. ;)

One Must Fall was great. They kept talking about making a real follow up for it but nothing happened. :(

Ditto to Wasteland, a newer iteration of this (for the DS actually, which would have been great for map/stat/command purposes) was also announced a long time ago but nothing. :( Shame as that game is also one of the best I've ever played. I almost prefer it over its descendant Fallout at times.

[secretvampire]

Ultima Underworld
This was released on PS1 in Japan only, I know because I have a mint, complete copy on my shelf. :)

[Sothy]

Alpha Centauri


better than any of Sids Civilization games.

[Ze_ro]

One Must Fall was great. They kept talking about making a real follow up for it but nothing happened. :(
Actually, they did release a sequel (http://www.omf.com/). I haven't tried it myself. The reviews seemed somewhat mediocre, and it came out far too late to build on the franchise.

--Zero

[diskoboy]

Black & White.

The first one. It would make a good Wii game with the controller...

[Neo Rasa]

One Must Fall was great. They kept talking about making a real follow up for it but nothing happened. :(
Actually, they did release a sequel (http://www.omf.com/). I haven't tried it myself. The reviews seemed somewhat mediocre, and it came out far too late to build on the franchise.

--Zero

What you've linked is a game I prefer not to acknowledge the existence of.

[almostgotthemall]

So, I'll say . . . . X-COM, UFO Defense. Was that ever ported? I loved that game.

There's a CD32 version as well :)

I'd say Outcast, as it's still my favorite PC game of newer times.


x2 on the Outcast.

Outcast 2 almost made it to the PS2. SEE HERE (http://outcastii.free.fr/www/eng/index_eng.php?url=news.html#breves)

[Princess-Isabela]

Grim Fandango ^^

[Princess-Isabela]

Grim Fandango, Outlaws.... and for that matter, all Lucasarts Adventures Games ^^