Waypoint Wishlist: Original Xbox Edition

The original Xbox was a technical marvel back when it was first released. Being able to store music directly on the hard drive and not needing a memory card was huge back in 2001. The turn of the millennia had just happened, and we finally got the opportunity to dive into the new world of gaming. On this week’s episode of Waypoint Wishlist, we chat about the games from the original Xbox generation we’d love to see get another chance as a full-blown remake, or just a standard remaster.

welcome to waypoint wishlist

Matt Vatankhah – Contributor

Sure, the series continued with Revenge and Paradise, but nothing comes close to the perfection of Burnout 3: Takedown. I’ve never been a fan of realistic racing sims, so having a chaotic arcade racer where the main gimmick is causing the most destructive crashes possible was absolutely my jam. Takedown took everything good about the first two games and made them better. The crashes were more impactful, the moment-to-moment driving more aggressive, and the game modes infinitely more fun.

We haven’t had a proper Burnout game since 2008. And in a gaming world full of Gran Turismos and Assetto Corsas, we need a Burnout 3 revival more than ever. You can have your racing simulators. I want to side-swipe other racers into oncoming traffic, watching in slow-motion satisfaction as the sparks fly and the steel crumbles.

SHaun Cichacki – COntributor

I’ll be upfront and honest; I love Mad Dash Racing because Gex is an unlockable character. Back in this time, he was unstoppable and showed up just about anywhere you could imagine. Even Hot Shots Golf 2 on the PlayStation 1, somehow. Gex was inevitable… until we never saw him again after Mad Dash Racing. Yes, I plan on mentioning Gex in nearly every Waypoint Wishlist because he deserves it, damn it.

It’s a goofy title in itself, where a bunch of bipedal creatures race to the finish while drifting and using power-ups. But as Matt said above, it’s about time we started getting some goofy racing games once again. The funniest part of it all is that once again, Gex was voiced by somebody completely different. Billy West is supposedly the one who voiced him, but if you ask me? It sounds like Charles Martinet. You can be the judge.

Dwayne Jenkins – Managing Editor

Let’s see… it can’t be Fable, they’re doing that. Can’t be Psychonauts or Jet Set Radio Future. Okay. So, this is cheating just a smidge because it was technically remastered a few years ago. But, my choice must be Voodoo Vince. This is one of those “fever dream” games I played as a child. When I got older, I had no idea if it actually existed or if my overactive imagination conjured it. Voodoo Vince was an Xbox-exclusive platformer with a unique premise! You play as Vince, the titular voodoo doll, who’s on a quest to save his creator, Madam Charmaine.

Voodoo Vince was wacky and fun, using the American Deep South as inspiration for its main settings! Plus, Vince had a quirk where if you did enough damage, you could use a “voodoo power” to destroy all nearby enemies. The developers clearly had a ball with that feature! I vividly remember seeing so many different animations for Vince doling out self-pain so he could hurt others. (There’s a sentence I never thought I’d type.)

Also, the voodoo powers could be used to solve challenging puzzles and take on bosses using different methods! Voodoo Vince deserves a top-to-bottom remake that fully embraces its American Deep South identity while modernizing the platforming elements.

Look, it was either Voodoo Vince or Blinx: The Time Sweeper! Xbox respects most of its older IP enough to where this Waypoint Wishlist was genuinely difficult to come up with a good answer! (Voodoo Vince is a woefully underrated game, though.)

Anthony Franklin II – contributor

Jade Empire has remained my unrequited love in gaming. To this day, no one will ever be able to properly explain how this martial arts RPG didn’t get a sequel. It’s one of BioWare’s best games and I’d put it up there in the top 3-5 without question. The combat was fun, the story was great, and it was everything I could have imagined delivering hand-to-hand fades in an RPG could be. I will never stop asking for a sequel. I did make Gex happen, after all.

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No matter if The Duke was your controller of choice, or you finally got your hands on the stylish and sleek S model, the original Xbox was a beast and a half of a console. With so many killer games on the system, there’s not enough time or energy to chat about all of the ones we’d love to see, so we’ll just need to keep it at these four. Until the next Waypoint Wishlist, keep on gaming and keep on loving what you play.