Console games missing on PC

Rockstar recently announced a PC version of hit detective thriller LA Noire. These days most big games hit the two most powerful consoles and the PC, but a few titles are still notable in their absence on the industry’s oldest platform. Here we take a look at the console games we want on the PC.

Red Dead Redemption

Come on Rockstar. Read Dead Redemption is one of the highest-rated, biggest-selling games of this console generation, yet for whatever reason PC gamers have been left out in the cold, clutching their copies of GTA 4 and looking longingly into the distance at LA Noire. Considering LA Noire is coming with 3D functionality and smarter visuals, we want the same in the PC version of Red Dead Redemption.

In his Red Dead Redemption review Neon said:

“This is a magnificent piece of work that everybody should play. John Marston may not quite be the next Jack Sparrow, but in the realm of cowboy games, Red Dead Redemption is clearly the genuine article.”

Halo 3, ODST and Reach

PC ports of the the first two Halo games arrived within a few years of their console counterparts. It’s been four years since Halo 3, four, and not a single Halo game has hit the ‘puter since. In terms of Halo 3, ODST and Reach, PC gamers have been well and truly snubbed.

Martin’s kind words in his Halo: Reach review makes its absence on the PC even harder to come to terms with:

“It’s an incredible campaign, and its less bombastic plot and clear-cut story stop it from getting bogged down in the sense of being overworked.”

Gears of War 2 and 3

Similar to Halo, the first Gears of War game arrived on PC; where the devil is Gears 2? And while we’re at it, why isn’t 3 on its way too? Epic has a talent for making hardware sing – imagine how shiny Gears of War 3 might look running on a high-end desktop. Sadly it doesn’t look like this will be happening any time soon, but it’s a pleasant thought.

The third game in Epic’s testosterone fuelled shooter is shaping up rather nicely, hoping to score a hat-trick by getting another ten-out-of-ten from VideoGamer.com when it releases in November.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

Pac-Man CE DX was welcomed with a barrage of perfect scores when it was released last year. It boasts an incredible 93 on Metacritic, in fact, making it one of the highest rated games of all time. Still, you can’t play it on PC, despite the fact it’s a small arcade title perfect for downloadable platforms such as Steam.

Martin offered nothing but praise in his Pac-Man Championship Edition DX review last year:

“When the actual game is compared to the finest of its score-hungry contemporaries – Trials HD, Super Stardust HD and Geometry Wars 2 – Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is a titanic event of equal worth.”

Rock Band 3

Plastic guitars and drums can plug into a PC just as easily as an Xbox or PlayStation, right? So why have PC gamers been denied Rock Band loving? Sure, crowding a group of friends around a PC monitor isn’t quite as easy as around the TV in the living room, but STILL. This is one of the few experiences missing from the PC’s otherwise extensive range of genres.

It certainly went down well here at VideoGamer.com; in his Rock Band 3 review, Martin says the game “might just be the most important rhythm game to date.” Bold words, indeed.

Metal Gear Solid Collection

It was revealed last month that a Metal Gear Solid HD collection – featuring Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and a high-definition re-imagining of the PSP’s Peace Walker – would be heading to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Considering we haven’t seen Snake on computers since Metal Gear Solid 2 in 2003, wouldn’t it be nice to see this on PC, too? You bet your bandanna and cardboard box it would.

Alan Wake

Mr Wake was originally headed to the PC, but didn’t survive the trip. “We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience Alan Wake was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive,” said Microsoft once, justifying his absence. Needless to say, PC folk were pretty cheesed off.

It wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea – many people took quite a disliking to the poor writer, in fact – but Tom enjoyed it, claiming in his Alan Wake review that it was a “a stunning action game, a superbly scripted adventure and a technical showcase for the now-ageing Xbox 360 hardware.”

Sadly, Remedy has claimed that a PC version isn’t on the cards.

Shadow Complex

Like Pac-Man CE DX, Shadow Complex is another game that lends itself perfectly to digital distributors on the PC. True, there’s a lot of this kind of thing on the PC already, but Epic and Chair Entertainment’s “Super Metroid for the Gears of War generation” boasts production values many indie games in this vein could only dream of.

“In short, Shadow Complex is a triumph, a new standard for downloadable games,” we stated in our review.

Forza

Forza is all about customisation; sharing paint jobs and liveries with the Forza community (in addition to driving cars quickly around a track, of course). This, more than anything else, makes it an ideal candidate for a PC port. Imagine creating your own designs without the limitations of a control pad, and then sharing quickly and easily over social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It’d be lovely. Shame as it’s not looking likely it’ll happen with Forza 4, either.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

While critically successful, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West failed to meet sales expectations. Surely a PC release – even if it was just a Steam version, cutting down on manufacturing costs – would have helped out somewhat? Despite a huge marketing budget, Enslaved needed word of mouth. A PC version would have helped here.

Here’s what Tom said in his Enslaved review: “There are certainly better hack ‘n’ slash games on the market, built around deeper combat, but few games can match Enslaved’s excellent fusion of gameplay and storytelling.”