By Jim Rossignol on November 16th, 2010 at 9:08 pm.
Have you ever actually played Yars’ Revenge? You can play it here. Of all the games to remake, Atari choose that? A classic, perhaps, but it nevertheless boggles the mind. Big Download got the scoop: “This new version is the first game that’s due to be released by Killspace Entertainment… Its remake of Yars Revenge will have a Japanese anime art style as it tells the story of a nameless Yar who was previously brainwashed by the Qotile empire. Now having broken from their control, the Yar battles back against its former masters. Look for massive aerial battles, multiple endings and local support for two player co-op.”
It’s out in early 2011 for digital download. I have posted both the new trailer and the original TV ad. Compare and contrast and wtf.
“That’s revenge.” Amazing.
16/11/2010 at 21:13 Dominic White says:
I…
Wait…
What!? I don’t know what I’m even seeing or thinking here. I really have no words.
17/11/2010 at 13:18 Saul says:
This.
AND, on top of all that…
While the second video was starting (“A fly!”), the video above went on to play an advertisement. It was an ad for Mortein surface spray. Mortein’s mascot is a (mutant) fly called Louie.
I … I think they’re inside my head. Must … try to … sleep.
16/11/2010 at 21:15 poop says:
lol a serious anime remake of an atari game this is the kinda shit people joked about four years ago
the art style looks terrible as well though, like instead of deciding to draw based on an aesthetic they got a note that just said COPY GIANT ROBOT ANIME OKAY THANKS
17/11/2010 at 00:48 icupnimpn2 says:
You can compare it with the original story and aesthetic:
http://www.atariage.com/comics/comic_thumbs.html?MagazineID=48
16/11/2010 at 21:17 ERm says:
What. The hell. Really?
16/11/2010 at 21:18 terry says:
Man that guy in the office is tripping balls
16/11/2010 at 21:19 Archonsod says:
I preferred the original advert tbh. A good example of the long lost art of showing the gameplay rather than some crappy cutscenes.
16/11/2010 at 21:24 Vinraith says:
Yup. Weird as the original ad is, it shows you exactly how the game plays, and how many game ads can you say that of these days? And anyway, of course the ad’s weird, the game was pretty weird. It was a a lot of fun, though, and that pulsing noise that played over it still haunts my dreams.
16/11/2010 at 22:55 Bhazor says:
Sony has always been the absolute worst at that. There’s been some real doozy’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dpzhMMFk5U&feature=related
I will say that as graphics have improved theres been more in game footage being used. Anyone remember the PS1 era? They often didn’t even show pre-rendered footage just have actors talking about it instead. Often terrible actors talking about things with no connection to the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGs_F4rheuo
16/11/2010 at 21:23 Miker says:
What? Can someone explain Atari’s reasoning to me?
16/11/2010 at 21:26 Dominic White says:
I really do wonder why they decided to go with awkward imitation faux-anime stylings on this one. That shit has never worked, and never will. You wanna make a game about aerial combat and giant robots? You go and learn from the masters before you even THINK of trying.
This is what it should look like, goddammit:
http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/another-centurys-episode-65306-r/344577
16/11/2010 at 21:54 DJ Phantoon says:
That chain punch thing the first mech did? That’s like, the least efficient weapon ever. What if you miss?! Gundams are the product of Science Fantasy and not Science Fiction. And as for the trailer… Man, I don’t know. It’s not like Atari can’t make entertaining games, but I get the feeling this… thing… is because they haven’t really started work on the game. And what’s with the armor on the person? I thought it was a mech or a ship that looked like a bug. Did I miss something? Does she have to have unarmored bits? I can’t imagine an armored suit that allows you to fly and shoot lasers has issues with bending at the joints.
ARGH IT’S GARBAGE! At least cel shading is. Seriously people, what the fuck??
16/11/2010 at 22:00 ERm says:
The music in that video angers me so much for some inexplicable reason. So much.
16/11/2010 at 22:34 Jake says:
I’m all in favour of giant robots that transform into fighter planes, but they just ain’t Starscream.
(Also did that first robot fire a spring-loaded boxing glove of infinite length and power?)
16/11/2010 at 22:43 mandrill says:
I don’t care if its ridiculous. I want that game. It is a game isn’t it?
They had everything in there, I think the only thing missing was Evangelion. I certainly notice Gundam, Macross, and Code Geas.
16/11/2010 at 22:53 Dominic White says:
Jake: Yes. yes it did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgvQgHIbF-U (from another game entirely – the Super Robot Wars series are strategy-RPGs that are also official crossover fanfics. Gloriously dumb fun)
16/11/2010 at 23:13 Spacewalk says:
Banpresto should have been given the Transformers license instead of those guys doing the MMO. A SRW game re-skinned to be entirely Transformers would be just the ticket.
Might I suggest another form of giant flying robot game whilst we’re at it. The video’s quite long at close-to ten minutes, put the kettle on while it loads.
16/11/2010 at 23:45 Dominic White says:
There’s a new Bangai-O game coming out on the 360, too. Hurrah for over-the-top giant robot games. It seems that only Japan is capable of producing them. Whenever a western studio tries, it either turns into a generic third-person shooter or something even weaker than that.
17/11/2010 at 02:13 Casimir's Blake says:
New Bangai-O for the 360? :( Oh Treasure, why must you continue to ignore the PC? Some of us don’t WANT new consoles…
17/11/2010 at 06:51 Spacewalk says:
Videos make Bangai-Oh HD look like it’s going to be a cross between the Dreamcast game and Spirits on the DS, which probably means that it’s going to be the bestest thing.
17/11/2010 at 13:53 Chris says:
Re: the music in that R video, is it just me or is it a rip-o… er, heavily influenced by the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann theme tune?
16/11/2010 at 21:31 Shon says:
I am greatly saddened that I do not get to play a giant mutant fly that eats barriers and spits fire.
16/11/2010 at 21:33 ZIGS says:
Goddamn weeaboos
16/11/2010 at 21:37 Fumarole says:
It’s been… close to thirty years since I last played Yars’ Revenge. Man I’m old.
Edit – Hmm, all these years I had mentally been putting the apostrophe before the S.
16/11/2010 at 21:37 Vinraith says:
So that ad for the new “game” is a gag, of course. Right?
16/11/2010 at 21:39 Xakota says:
Definitely willing to give it a chance.
16/11/2010 at 21:39 geldonyetich says:
I suppose it really shouldn’t be that surprising after seeing the remake of Haunted House.
Good to know that Atari is giving some of the kids suckered into game development diploma mills a chance at making some scratch.
16/11/2010 at 21:40 Malawi Frontier Guard says:
Now I know how games are made.
16/11/2010 at 21:40 Sigma Draconis says:
News of a Yars’ Revenge remake is the most random thing I’ve seen all month.
This Animesque style is an odd choice. It’s going to be divisive, though I’m 90% sure people would whine about the visual style even if it wasn’t like this. Regardless, I loved the original, so I’m really interested to see how Killspace handles this.
16/11/2010 at 21:50 Clovis says:
Clearly a dumbed down version for console-tards.
16/11/2010 at 21:58 Jim Rossignol says:
You mean crappy console port: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600
16/11/2010 at 21:59 ERm says:
For that you deserve a cookie, Jim.
16/11/2010 at 22:09 the wiseass says:
Is the spam filter still eating all my comments?
16/11/2010 at 22:19 Matzerath says:
Funny thing is, I was thinking of making my own updated Yar’s Revenge as a joke. I was leaning towards more of a blacksploitation movie style, though.
Yar’s Badassssssssssss Revenge.
17/11/2010 at 06:54 BeamSplashX says:
Only if it opens with awkward sex scenes. You can use Custer’s Revenge as a model, even.
16/11/2010 at 22:20 Shagittarius says:
Wow atari had envisioned Kinect way back in the 2600 days. It appears it worked as well back then too.
17/11/2010 at 17:58 josh says:
I was totally thinking “Did someone get Kinect to work on an Atari 2600?”
Some one should since they got the open source driver working for it.
16/11/2010 at 22:39 Wooly says:
Surely this can’t be serious. Right? Right?
16/11/2010 at 22:52 Chris K. says:
Huh, good point geldonyetich, note that the Haunted House remake was due out in Sept. 2010. Lesse, 3 months late? <voice like=\Donald Trump\> You are fired! </voice>
17/11/2010 at 00:23 Jason Moyer says:
The Haunted House remake has been out for awhile now.
16/11/2010 at 23:02 CMaster says:
Beyond anything else, the animation in that new trailer was just really, really poor. Does not bode well.
16/11/2010 at 23:05 James McNeill says:
Fly, Yar Warriors, Fly
Attack, Yar Warriors, Attack
We owe the Qotile something
and it’s time to pay them back
Kid Stuff Records put out a vinyl record around 1982 with a Yar Warriors song on it. Here’s the rundown and some MP3s:
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/09/atari_music.html
17/11/2010 at 08:54 Zwack says:
Thanks for that. Wasn’t expecting it in a hippy folk music style.
16/11/2010 at 23:08 gummybearsliveonthemoon says:
Wow, looks awful. Anime styling, not insectoid hero, no footage of gameplay…
I invoke the Battlestar Galactica rule. If you do a remake and veer so far from the source material that all you have is the names from the original and a tangential connection, just give up and call it a new property.
To whit: If you make a Pink Panther movie and it doesn’t have anything to do with stealing a giant pink diamond OR star a bumbling Parisian gendarme, call it “The Bumblefuck Heist” instead of “Tangent of the Pink Panther”.
17/11/2010 at 00:10 RakeShark says:
Honestly, I don’t mind the fact it’s Anime-styled. Anime can lend itself to some exceedingly breathtaking, stark, and fantastic visuals that western animation would never think to do.
I think your worries on that are more founded on the potential for Metroid: Other M characterization, where all you want to do is reach into the screen and slap some sense into the once-strong-female-bounty-hunter-turned-frightened-passive-milk-maid.
17/11/2010 at 00:16 Jason Moyer says:
I’m not sure why they didn’t just remake this and Star Raiders with the same artstyle as the Atari Age comics that the 2600 versions shipped with. The gameplay in both would translate fine, imho.
17/11/2010 at 01:20 Polysynchronicity says:
@RakeShark – except that this is Anime Done Awful, from the looks of it. Even Blade Kitten (lol) was better at it than a paper mask on a fairly ugly robot.
17/11/2010 at 02:18 Casimir's Blake says:
Invoking the Battlestar Galactica rule inevitably means Yar would become a beyond-dark all-humans-are-bastards sci-fi drama that is utterly impenetrable, unlikeable, and rapes a Hendrix song.
17/11/2010 at 02:19 RakeShark says:
@Polysynchronicity – I am very much willing to overlook non-triple-A anime so long as the style serves the narrative. On the other hand, I cannot forgive a pretty-looking anime for having a truly despicable presentation of narrative and character.
@Casimir’s Blake – You mean a Bob Dylan song, Jimi may have made it popular beyond measure, but Bob didn’t make that difficult.
17/11/2010 at 10:59 Casimir's Blake says:
Good point Rake, I stand corrected! I always tend to think of the Hendrix version first as I never was much of a Dylan fan. But the emo-Americano treatment on the BSG version was truly horrendous.
17/11/2010 at 19:30 Polysynchronicity says:
@RakeShark: I really agree with you on that point, some of my favorite shows weren’t very well animated. But in this case I don’t think we can expect much character or narrative out of it at all, which leaves us with poor writing AND poor graphic design.
The gameplay might still be good though, in which case any number of things can be overlooked. I’ll leave that one for when we can see some actual gameplay.
16/11/2010 at 23:15 Vaughn says:
I was personally wanting to see something a little bit more God of War. Yars Revenge definitely needs some cut-scenes and quick-time events to stay true to the original source material.
16/11/2010 at 23:31 icupnimpn2 says:
I grew up a Coleco kid, but bought a VCS at a thrift store in 1997 or so. Yars’ Revenge quickly became a favorite. The game is really fun, and the original advertised storyline always seemed way more dramatic than the game itself. You could get none of it from playing the game.
Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the new one.
17/11/2010 at 00:00 Jason Moyer says:
Raping my childhood one Atari 2600 remake at a time.
17/11/2010 at 00:12 Stu says:
That’s not the Yars’ Revenge ad I would’ve posted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jbeOG8WLq8
17/11/2010 at 00:31 Jahkaibah says:
First Customer: “Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!”
Waiter: “Well, keep quiet about it or everyone will want one…”
Second Customer: “A fly? I’ll have a mutant fly!”
Waiter: “Damnit”
17/11/2010 at 00:31 ScubaMonster says:
This sort of game definitely needs a serious plot line and involved story. Next up, we need Galaga and Pacman remade in this fashion.
17/11/2010 at 12:39 The Magic says:
Dude a new galaga game with a serious plotline would be totally awesome! I want a new galaga game, and I’ve always seen it as being a little more serious than things like pac man or asteroids. Also that theme tune in modern music tech.
doo-dedoo-dedoo-dedoo-dadoo-dedoo-didoo-dudoo-dada-dada-dada-dada-dadoodi-dooda-doobadidoo
17/11/2010 at 12:45 Dominic White says:
” I want a new galaga game”
There was one not too long ago. It’s pretty great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhEBE0EEAG0
17/11/2010 at 14:09 ScubaMonster says:
New ET game, stat.
17/11/2010 at 01:05 Sigvatr says:
Looks like they hired some game development “university” to make it.
17/11/2010 at 01:23 elyscape says:
It could be worse! They could be remaking Custer’s Revenge.
17/11/2010 at 06:11 arccos says:
Oh God. Oh God no.
They would never get the cowboy boots right.
17/11/2010 at 07:03 Peloris The Grunty says:
I’d pay to see that!
17/11/2010 at 06:19 pipman3000 says:
i don’t see a single pirate in this game at all! you can’t make a game called yar’s revenge and not have it be about pirates!!!
17/11/2010 at 06:25 pipman3000 says:
okay i got an idea for a game it’s called montezuma’s revenge. it’s about a canadian lawyer who is looking for love in all the wrong places, he has a talking dog named lex luthor who makes fun of him for his failures.
17/11/2010 at 09:29 Matt says:
I thought that game was about vomiting until you black out and/or doing the flyin’ hawaiian.
17/11/2010 at 08:15 Thants says:
I feel like I’m watching The Animatrix.
17/11/2010 at 08:55 pimorte says:
@Dominic
Whilst we’re talking crazy robot games, how about one where every mech is an interpretation of a current or past operating system?
http://mirrormoon.org/projects/windom
17/11/2010 at 09:23 Nallen says:
Played it on the Atari 2600 crew, checking in
17/11/2010 at 16:06 BeamSplashX says:
I’ll buy it if there’s a one-liner to the effect of “Yar gonna regret this!”
17/11/2010 at 16:42 Dave says:
Whoah, flashback. HSWWSH !