Video game preservation has become more of a talking point in public forums over recent years. People are finally realizing how important and how difficult it is to keep titles alive and accessible as technology progresses. One does not have to go back far to see games that have been gobbled up by the abyss and are barely playable, even if someone has a physical copy.
These third-person shooters are not ancient, but they are unavailable for purchase in any official capacity. One would hope that digital storefronts would usher in a new era of preservation, but each entry below stresses the importance of physical media.
It is comical to think about rebooting the olderSpec Opsseries, butThe Linehas nothing to do with those old military shooters. This game instead provides a harshcriticism of other military shootersand their role in normalizing war and the USA’s involvement in foreign conflicts.
The story plays with the idea of choice in video games and its narrative is a loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad’sHeart of Darkness, the novella that also inspiredApocalypse Now. Unfortunately, the game was delisted because of licensing issues and there is no sign that it will come back.
It is not unheard of for delisted games to come back without fanfare or a remaster.Alpha Protocolwas shortly delisted before coming back to digital storefronts.
350 Cent: Blood On The Sand
The Name Is Not Lying, Players Control The Famous Rapper
It is not unheard of to mix hip-hop music with video games, with examples includingDef Jam VendettaandWu-Tang: Shaolin Style. The first game starring 50 Cent, or Curtis Jackson, was calledBulletproofand was met with dreadful reviews.
To the series' credit, it stepped up its game for the sequel and produced a surprisingly fun third-person shooter. Those without an original copy interested in playing will have to just imagine what it was like, though, since it is inaccessible on modern platforms and PC. If people just want to see 50 Cent shooting things, they can always watchThe Expendables 4.
Games are always trying new things and experimenting with the format to see what new ideas stick, but few games were as ambitious asDefiance.The game launched alongside the TV show of the same name and the two were in synch with each other.
For the show’s three-season run, players could see the game world react to what was happening in the show. The game’s story did not end when the show was taken off the air. Servers continued until 2021 and there was a PS4 version calledDefiance 2050.Like all living games though, it did come to an end.
As the servers shut down, it rendered the discs useless and the game was taken off of marketplaces. The idea behindDefiancewas exciting and though eight years is not a long run, it cannot be called a failure either.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistenceintroduced online multiplayer to thelong-running series. The fourth numbered entry in 2008 brought a new version of the competitive mode with more modes and refined gameplay from the then-new title. In Japan,Metal Gear Onlinewas eventually sold as its own stand-alone game.
There was even an arcade version made for people to test their skills against each other face-to-face.Metal Gear Onlinewas shut down and all those disc copies were transformed into e-waste (at least maybe they look pretty on a shelf).Metal Gear Onlinewas not perfect but it feels like it should have lived longer than it did.
What About Metal Gear Solid 4: The Guns Of The Patriots?
Metal Gear Solid 4is still playable if one has a PS3 and a copy of the game. It is, however, one of the last games in the series to not receive any modern re-release. It was even notoriously unwieldy on emulators for a long time. It sold well so physical copies are not difficult to find nor expensive.
All the same, even having a working PS3 is not a luxury most gamers have these days so it is not the easiest game to get a hold of.With Konami doing more in the gaming space recently,maybe that will change.
