Gaming in the 2000s is a fond memory for a lot of enthusiasts. The 2000s was a time when gameplay and graphical innovations were considered to be groundbreaking for the industry, and some of the best games of all time were from the 2000s. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Grand Theft Auto, Halo, and so many more—heck, even the wrestling genre, a genre struggling to get by these days, was at its peak during the 2000s.
This era holds a lot of amazing titles that would eventually be forgotten because of today's more saturated and varied market. Also, modern-day graphics put to shame anything from the 2000s that were considered "realistic." Remaking games from the 2000s with today's graphics and gameplay would create unique wonders that can compete with today's standards—take Mafia, for example. With that said, here are 10 games from the 2000s that deserve a remake.
Updated April 18th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: The 2000s saw the release of some pretty incredible games. The 90s had really ramped up the video game sector of the entertainment industry and new studios were popping up all over to take a crack at creating their own titles. Some of the games released during this time would grow into full-blown franchises and there are some cult classics that are still looked at fondly by players in the modern age. To better showcase the forgotten games of the 2000s and shine a light on some of the other titles that deserve to be remade using today's technologies, the following list has been updated and now includes even more entries.
13 Metroid Prime
The original Metroid Prime was released for the Nintendo Gamecube all the way back in 2002. It's been 20 years since its release, which served as an iconic twist in the traditional Metroid formula. Prior to the rather jarring shift, the series that followed the adventures of bounty hunter Samus Aran was firmly rooted as a side-scrolling platformer.Metroid Prime breathed new life into the franchise and gave players a unique First-Person shooter with puzzle elements and Metroid-style navigation that many fans instantly fell in love with.
That said, the release was a bit janky by modern standards. It definitely suffered from the limitations of its time, with gameplay that feels pretty awkward compared to the polished FPS titles of today. Thankfully, for dedicated fans, it does seem like a Metroid Prime remake might be on the horizon, and hopefully, players will get their hands on it soon.
12 Max Payne
The early 2000s saw the release of Max Payne, a joint effort from Remedy Entertainment and Rockstar, which would quickly develop a cult following thanks to its insanely fun gameplay and engrossing main character. The gritty world of Max Payne has been revisited over the years with additional games in the franchise but there was something supremely special about the original release. The narrative, the visuals, all of it was exceptional, but it was, unfortunately, held back by the limitations of the early 2000s. The original Max Payne is a bit "ugly" and rough around the edges, with blocky characters and drab environments.
A Max Payne remake in the new age could revitalize the series by taking it back to its root, refining the gameplay, and most importantly, allowing artists to craft a macabre detective noir that truly fits with the iconic Max Pain aesthetic.
11 Silent Hill 2
When fans think of Survival Horror titles, they likely reminisce on the Resident Evil franchise. After all, it's perhaps one of the most well-known and appreciated Survival Horror games to ever hit the market. Silent Hill was making the rounds during the same time period, but it definitely took a different approach to the formula. While the base game felt pretty similar in style to the original Resident Evil, in terms of controls and camera angles, the similarities stopped there. Silent Hill was a much more unsettling experience, forgoing zombies in favor of actual monsters, with a fog-covered town and some truly creepy locations.
Silent Hill 2 is regarded by many as the premier Silent Hill experience, featuring a fantastic story, fun gameplay, difficult puzzles, and some downright freaky moments. It looked rather drab in the early 2000s and artists could surely up the scare factor in the modern age thanks to advancements in video game design.
10 Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story is a JRPG game developed in 2001. Game Director Yasumi Matsuno, who also worked on the Final Fantasy series, sought to innovate with an RPG game in 2000 and came out with Vagrant Story. He analogized Final Fantasy to a Hollywood blockbuster movie and Vagrant Story to an indie film, which was definitely a fair comparison.
The game had amazing graphics for its time, along with a beautiful story full of majestic beasts to slay. Remaking the game with today's graphics and combat systems would give it an exhilarating and dynamic experience that could rival the modern-day Final Fantasy games.
9 Freedom Force
Freedom Force is a superhero RPG game that lets players create and customize their own hero and give them different abilities as they please. Developed in 2002, the game has the potential to stand out in today's industry where RPG games are either high-fantasy or futuristic—the recent Marvel game notwithstanding.
A superhero RPG is a promising concept that would sit well with gamers and superhero enthusiasts alike, given that Marvel has successfully made everyone and their mom a fan of superheroes. Modern-day standards make Freedom Force look like a bland high-school animation, but, remade with today's graphics and gameplay, Freedom Force would be a massive success.
8 Jet Set Radio
Published in 2000, Jet Set Radio centers around hip-hop music, skating, and graffiti. Players skate around the city, performing flips and tricks to the beat of the music. If Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Guitar Hero had a baby, it would be this. Custom art can also be tagged on various walls and areas for limitless self-expression.
The game also has a wicked art style reminiscent of the Avante-Garde stylings of The Gorillaz. A remake of Jet Set Radio would be a welcome addition to today's gaming industry with its groovy soundtrack and sandbox skate areas. The combination of the two gives players a funky street vibe, immersing them into true skate culture.
7 Conker's Bad Fur Day
Conker's Bad Fur Day isn't the kid-friendly Mario-like platformer it seems to be. Though featuring bright, adorable animals, the game is intended for mature audiences with its extremely suggestive themes. Mario has Bowser, Conker has sentient fecal matter known as The Great Mighty Poo—see what we mean?
This game would definitely thrive in 2020, a year in which irreverence is more in-style than ever. With today's graphics, the game would definitely be more disturbing. Those levels would look less like chocolate syrup and more like what they intend to be. A remade Conker's Bad Fur Day may even put Crash Bandicoot to shame. And, no, we're not counting the disappointment that was the Xbox 360 remake.
6 Battle Realms
Battle Realms is a high-fantasy RTS published in 2001. It features four different clans, each with their own lore, unique units, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Unlike most RTS games, the harvest/gathering unit in Battle Realms, the peasant, is trained to become battle units rather than having battle units spawn at the cost of resources. With a small population limit, players are encouraged to outthink their opponent rather than brute-forcing them with huge armies.
Each unit in Battle Realms is unique with their own battle gear, special abilities that can turn the tides of battle. The game also has story-driven campaigns good for hours of adventure. This 2000s game has been updated and added to the Steam store in 2019. With only three of four clans having a dedicated story, along with expressionless character models, Battle Realms really needs a remake.
5 Sacrifice
Sacrifice is an RTS game published in 2000. The game focuses more on strategic combat than resource gathering. There are only two resources in the game, and one of them is souls. Souls can be secured by killing enemy units, making battles more streamlined with harvesting. This system allows players to focus more on war tactics and strategies than worrying about resource shortage.
Players can choose from five gods to side with, each of them granting the player different spells, abilities, and minion types. The combat-focused gameplay of Sacrifice will be a welcome addition to have in today's RTS market.
4 Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark is an FPS game released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Humans and aliens are at war with each other in the year 2024—hey, it could still happen—and the two biggest institutes on earth have each formed an alliance with two warring alien races, creating a galactic conflict for supremacy. Players control protagonist Joanna Dark, deep in the middle of the conflict. With earth's best interest at heart, Joanna does everything she can to stop the world from falling into darkness.
Perfect Dark lets players play through the story via co-op, or competitively, the latter being a mode wherein an opposing player stops the player-controlled Joanna from accomplishing her objective. With today's graphics making aliens and humanoids look more bizarre and gruesome, Perfect Dark could use the upgrade.
3 Unreal Tournament
Halo and Unreal Tournament were neck-and-neck back in the 2000s. Though Halo games are still being developed today, the last Unreal Tournament game was developed in 2007 under the name Unreal Tournament 3.
The game manages to bring fast-paced action across wide-open maps through varied weaponized vehicles and tons of destructive weapons. Weapons range from an armor-piercing sniper rifle to a tower-demolishing plasma cannon. The variety across the battlefield, partnered with the high-adrenaline indoor fights, is what makes every match of Unreal Tournament fresh and compelling. Epic Games currently has the remake of Unreal Tournament on hold, but, once it's done, it's something that the game very much needs.
2 Team Fortress
Team Fortress wasn't forgotten by the community, it was forgotten by the developers. Team Fortress Classic was released by Valve in 1999 as their first class-based team shooter. It was a promising concept that would later revolutionize class-based shooters given the game's large distinction between the varied classes. In 2009, Team Fortress 2 was released with an overhauled art style and gameplay.
It stayed true to the classic's nine different classes: Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Heavy, Engineer, Demoman, Sniper, Medic, and Spy. The game hasn't had a major update in three years. Right now, there's a community mod that has remade the game's multiplayer system, along with many various class attributes and weapons. The mod is very popular with players, and Valve should consider taking notes.
1 TimeSplitters
TimeSplitters is an FPS franchise released in the 2000s developed by former employees of the historic 1997 GoldenEye 007 game. Players are taken to different time periods, each represented by different levels across the game, to retrieve and secure the time crystals, the items needed by the monstrous Timesplitters to bring the world to darkness. TimeSplitters was released in 2000, TimeSplitters 2 released in 2002, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect in 2005.
This time-traveling FPS had a promising plot and linear level design. It would be great to see a remake of this time-traveling game with today's stylistics since modern games' graphics, visuals, sound design, etc. have brought players closer to different historic time periods more than ever. A TimeSplitters' remake would be a game that plunges the player into the early period of Far Cry Primal, past all the Assassin's Creed timelines, through Mafia's recreation of The Great Depression, Battlefield 5's World War 2, then GTA's present day, into Destiny's far future.