[Multiplatform] Golden Axe: Beast Rider (PS2 Altered Beast all over again?)

Wow, does this look like a disaster in the making. They couldn't just do the logical thing and make a 3D installment of the original game? And of course most of the focus is on the scantily clad chick.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

That's pretty much it. They're taking what amounts to a completely different game and slapping a nostalgia-laden name on it to attract more interest than the game would have garnered on its own. I suspect it's going to be "Golden Axe" in name only.

Case in point, the chick doesn't look anything like I remember her from the games. And considering how much wiggle room you get when the original is a grainy sprite, that's saying a lot. That could be ANY chainmail bikini barbarian chick.

I just don't get marketing types. I'd pay money for a good updated Golden Axe game in all its faux-Conan glory. Why don't they actually MAKE that game instead of trying to sneak some unrelated game on us with name trickery?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Oh no, Sega and Nintendo hardly the only people who think that they can base their entire marketing strategy around nostalgia. Final Fantasy 13, anyone? FF7 spinoffs? Hell, Capcom's a pretty bad offender at this, too. There's a bajillion Resident Evil games out, Devil May Cry is on its fourth sequel, and they very nearly destroyed their Megaman property by running it into the ground and beating it with a shovel. Ubisoft gave us three Prince of Persia remakes, even.

Then there's Hollywood. I think there's just a general atmosphere of fear permeating the entire entertainment industry. Everyone is AFRAID to try something new. The shareholders do not forgive when your experiments occasionally flop, so all anyone does is stick to the tried and true. If you can't deliver a reliably good product, then by God TRICK them into buying your product with name recognition!

How ya doing, buddy?