Skip to main content
TechRadar TechRadar the technology experts
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
RSS
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Phones
    • Popular Phone Brands
      • iPhone
      • Samsung Galaxy
      • Google Pixel
      • Nothing
      • Motorola
      • OnePlus
      • Xiaomi
      • Honor
      • Oppo
      • Huawei
    • Operating Systems
      • Android
      • iOS
    • More from Phones
      • Network Carriers
      • Phone Accessories
      • Phone Reviews
      • Phone Buying Guides
      • Phone Deals
      • Phone News
  • Computing
    • Laptops
      • Chromebooks
      • MacBooks
      • Windows Laptops
      • Gaming Laptops
    • PCs
      • Desktop PCs
      • Macs
      • Gaming PCs
    • Software
      • Windows
      • macOS
    • Components
      • CPUs
      • GPUs
      • Storage
      • Nvidia
      • Intel
    • Internet
      • Websites & Apps
      • Wi-Fi & Broadband
      • Social Media
      • Wordle
    • Security
      • Antivirus
      • Cyber Security
    • Tablets
      • eReaders
      • iPad
    • VR & AR
    • Peripherals
      • Monitors
      • Keyboards
      • Webcams
      • Mice
    • Popular Computing Brands
      • Dell
      • HP
      • Lenovo
      • Acer
    • More from Computing
      • Computing Reviews
      • Computing Buying Guides
      • Computing Deals
      • Computing News
  • AI
    • AI Platforms & Assistants
    • OpenAI
    • ChatGPT
    • Gemini
    • Apple Intelligence
    • Claude
  • TVs
    • TV Insights
      • TV Reviews
      • TV Buying Guides
      • TV Deals
      • TV News
    • More for your TV
      • Home Theatre
      • Soundbars
      • Streaming Devices
      • Projectors
      • Blu-ray
  • Streaming
    • Entertainment
    • Netflix
    • Prime Video
    • Disney+
    • Apple TV+
    • HBO Max
    • Hulu
    • Paramount+
    • How to Watch
  • Fitness
    • Fitness
      • Smartwatches
      • Fitness Trackers
      • Exercise Equipment
      • Fitness Headphones
      • Fitness Apps
      • Smart Rings
    • Watch Brands
      • Apple Watch
      • Fitbit
      • Garmin
      • Google Pixel Watch
      • Samsung Galaxy Watch
    • Wellbeing
      • Sleep
      • Oral Health
    • More from Fitness
      • Fitness News
      • Fitness Reviews
      • Fitness Buying Guides
      • Fitness Deals
  • Audio
    • Headphones
      • Earbuds & AirPods
      • Wireless Headphones
    • Speakers
      • Wireless Speakers
      • Sonos
    • Hi-Fi
      • Turntables
      • Portable Players
      • DACs
    • Audio Streaming
      • Spotify
      • Apple Music
    • More from Audio
      • Audio News
      • Audio Reviews
      • Audio Buying Guides
      • Audio Deals
  • VPN
    • VPN Services
    • VPN Security
    • ExpressVPN
    • NordVPN
  • Cameras
    • Camera Types
      • Mirrorless
      • DSLRs
      • Compact
      • Action
      • Video
      • Drones
      • 360 Cameras
      • Dash Cams
    • Camera Brands
      • Canon
      • DJI
      • Fujifilm
      • Nikon
      • GoPro
      • Insta360
    • More from Cameras
      • Camera Accessories
      • Camera Lenses
      • Camera Reviews
      • Camera Buying Guides
      • Camera Deals
      • Camera News
      • Photography
  • Home
    • Smart Home
      • Home Security
      • Smart Speakers
      • Smart Lights
      • Smart Scales
      • Smart Thermostats
      • Amazon Echo
    • Small Appliances
      • Air Fryers
      • Air Quality
      • Coffee Machines
      • Hair Care
      • Vacuums
      • Robot Vacuums
    • Home Brands
      • Dyson
      • Philips Hue
      • Ring
      • Shark
      • Ninja
    • More from Home
      • Home Reviews
      • Home Buying Guides
      • Home Deals
      • Home News
  • EVs
  • Browse
    • By Type
      • News
      • Best
      • Reviews
      • Deals
      • Versus
      • How To
      • Opinion
      • Coupons
    • Popular Brands
      • Samsung
      • Sony
      • Microsoft
      • Apple
Tech Radar Pro Tech Radar Gaming
  • Phones
    • View Phones
      • iPhone
      • Samsung Galaxy
      • Google Pixel
      • Nothing
      • Motorola
      • OnePlus
      • Xiaomi
      • Honor
      • Oppo
      • Huawei
      • Android
      • iOS
      • Network Carriers
      • Phone Accessories
      • Phone Reviews
      • Phone Buying Guides
      • Phone Deals
      • Phone News
  • Computing
    • View Computing
    • Laptops
      • View Laptops
      • Chromebooks
      • MacBooks
      • Windows Laptops
      • Gaming Laptops
      • Desktop PCs
      • Macs
      • Gaming PCs
    • Software
      • View Software
      • Windows
      • macOS
    • Components
      • View Components
      • CPUs
      • GPUs
      • Storage
      • Nvidia
      • Intel
    • Internet
      • View Internet
      • Websites & Apps
      • Wi-Fi & Broadband
      • Social Media
      • Wordle
    • Security
      • View Security
      • Antivirus
      • Cyber Security
    • Tablets
      • View Tablets
      • eReaders
      • iPad
    • VR & AR
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Monitors
      • Keyboards
      • Webcams
      • Mice
      • Dell
      • HP
      • Lenovo
      • Acer
      • Computing Reviews
      • Computing Buying Guides
      • Computing Deals
      • Computing News
  • AI
    • View AI
    • AI Platforms & Assistants
    • OpenAI
    • ChatGPT
    • Gemini
    • Apple Intelligence
    • Claude
  • TVs
    • View TVs
      • TV Reviews
      • TV Buying Guides
      • TV Deals
      • TV News
      • Home Theatre
      • Soundbars
      • Streaming Devices
      • Projectors
      • Blu-ray
  • Streaming
    • View Streaming
    • Entertainment
    • Netflix
    • Prime Video
    • Disney+
    • Apple TV+
    • HBO Max
    • Hulu
    • Paramount+
    • How to Watch
  • Fitness
    • View Fitness
      • Smartwatches
      • Fitness Trackers
      • Exercise Equipment
      • Fitness Headphones
      • Fitness Apps
      • Smart Rings
      • Apple Watch
      • Fitbit
      • Garmin
      • Google Pixel Watch
      • Samsung Galaxy Watch
      • Sleep
      • Oral Health
      • Fitness News
      • Fitness Reviews
      • Fitness Buying Guides
      • Fitness Deals
  • Audio
    • View Audio
    • Headphones
      • View Headphones
      • Earbuds & AirPods
      • Wireless Headphones
    • Speakers
      • View Speakers
      • Wireless Speakers
      • Sonos
    • Hi-Fi
      • View Hi-Fi
      • Turntables
      • Portable Players
      • DACs
    • Audio Streaming
      • View Audio Streaming
      • Spotify
      • Apple Music
      • Audio News
      • Audio Reviews
      • Audio Buying Guides
      • Audio Deals
  • VPN
    • View VPN
    • VPN Services
    • VPN Security
    • ExpressVPN
    • NordVPN
  • Cameras
    • View Cameras
      • Mirrorless
      • DSLRs
      • Compact
      • Action
      • Video
      • Drones
      • 360 Cameras
      • Dash Cams
      • Canon
      • DJI
      • Fujifilm
      • Nikon
      • GoPro
      • Insta360
      • Camera Accessories
      • Camera Lenses
      • Camera Reviews
      • Camera Buying Guides
      • Camera Deals
      • Camera News
      • Photography
  • Home
    • View Home
    • Smart Home
      • View Smart Home
      • Home Security
      • Smart Speakers
      • Smart Lights
      • Smart Scales
      • Smart Thermostats
      • Amazon Echo
    • Small Appliances
      • View Small Appliances
      • Air Fryers
      • Air Quality
      • Coffee Machines
      • Hair Care
      • Vacuums
      • Robot Vacuums
      • Dyson
      • Philips Hue
      • Ring
      • Shark
      • Ninja
      • Home Reviews
      • Home Buying Guides
      • Home Deals
      • Home News
  • EVs
  • Browse
    • View Browse
      • News
      • Best
      • Reviews
      • Deals
      • Versus
      • How To
      • Opinion
      • Coupons
      • Samsung
      • Sony
      • Microsoft
      • Apple
Tech Radar Pro Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Best VPN
  • Back to school
  • Best laptop
  • ChatGPT
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best web hosting
Don't miss these
Art for Sargon jumping through time in Prince of Persia the lost crown
Nintendo Switch Underrated Switch games to play in 2025
A screenshot of the party members from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Gaming I couldn’t wait until the end of the year to talk about my favorite games of 2025, so here are seven I can’t recommend enough
A purple Game Boy Advance against a red background
Consoles & PC The 11 best GBA games to play in 2025
Sea of Stars cover art showing protagonists stand back to back against a moonlit forest backdrop
Consoles & PC The 19 best indie games to play in 2025
Demon's Souls knight approaches a castle gate as enemies advance holding torches
Gaming The 14 best video game remakes to play in 2025
Baldur's Gate 3 official artwork showing Astarion, Showdowheart, Gale, and Tieflings
PC Gaming The 22 best PC games to play in 2025
Dutch and the rest of the Van Der Linde gang ride out across a snowy field
Consoles & PC The 20 best story games in 2025
Hi-Fi Rush main cast pose while fighting in a colourful, bustling futuristic city
Steam Deck The 16 best Steam Deck games 2025
Kratos stands in gold armor at the entrance to a fire-lit temple
Gaming The 23 best single-player games to play in 2025
Master Chief and Cortana, standing side by side
Gaming Okay Microsoft, where the heck is the next Halo?
Several Apple devices showing a generic skateboarding game.
Macs Apple's WWDC 2025 has a lot to offer - but forget Apple Intelligence, what about the games?
The 1986 Electron game Sprog!
Claude I asked AI to recreate my classic 1980s platform game, and it failed miserably, but I'm still impressed by the tech
Leon S Kennedy, Evelyn Parker, and Isaac Clarke
PC Gaming Steam Summer Sale is even better than I thought – here are the most worthwhile deals
A knight on horseback walks through a lush, green forest
Gaming The 20 best Steam games 2025
an image of a guard in a courtyard in Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow
Virtual Reality Gaming PS5’s Thief VR could make me love my PSVR 2 again
  1. Gaming

10 forgotten gaming classics that we'd love to see rebooted

News
By Pete Donaldson published 15 April 2017

Bring them back, NOW

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

With the Power Rangers and Beauty and the Beast raking it in at the box office, The Hardy Boyz chucking ladders around the wrestling ring, and Brits squabbling over blue passports...who would deny gaming the opportunity to take a breather and retreat into itself and seek solace in titles we enjoyed in simpler times? 

With that in mind, here are ten forgotten titles that are just crying out for a reboot...

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Chase HQ.

Chase HQ.

First released in 1998, the original arcade cabinet gave players the chance to spend around ten minutes in the company of Tony Gibson, a police officer in charge of something called the 'chase special investigation department', which sounds very much like a police department trying to justify a budget surplus. 

Along with your partner Raymond Broady (a way more sexy name, let's face it) you're given the job of burning up vast lengths of US highway, pursuing and eventually ramming some proper naughty sods off the road. 

Ralph, the Idaho slasher, thinks he's untouchable in his White Lotus Esprit? Hope you like being rammed from behind, sir. The LA kidnapper thinks his kidnappees are safe in the miniscule boot of his Ferrari 288 GTO? Think again, buddy. They're getting proper squished with my squad car. 

Five different perps in five different sports cars, leathering it across desert, through tunnels and over wasteland, culminating in a breathless automotive battle with the final baddie, an Eastern Bloc spy - though why said spy thought a red Porsche 928 was an inconspicuous choice, we don't know - the exciting part for those of us playing on home consoles, Spectrums and Amstrads was the use of digitised speech. The distorted, almost incomprehensible terse squawk of 'let's go, Mr. driver' still gets the blood pumping to this very day. 'Let's go, Tony Gibson' might not have had the same effect. 

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Urban Chaos

Urban Chaos

An open-world city-based brawler and the first title developed by the now defunct Mucky Foot for the Dreamcast and PC, Urban Chaos came out a full year before Grand Theft Auto 3, a game which would go on to define the genre.  The lead, a hard-nosed African-American called D'arci Stern.  She was authoritative, she could batter criminals with wanton, wilful abandon, but also deftly coax suicidal polygons from the ledges of tall buildings.  Though a sassy, Pam Grier-esque caricature at times, there still hasn't been a female video game lead that's come close to holding a candle to that stocky bovver-booted heroine.  And that's a damn shame.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Zool

Zool

Perhaps the most unlovable system-shifter ever conceived, Zool (working title – 'Pootz' for crying out loud) was a ninja-ant thing designed to give the Commodore Amiga a figurehead that might rival Sonic and Mario. 

Instead what we got was a designed-by-commitee cynical air-guitar performing 'cool dude' who would pootzle around game worlds covered in Chupa Chups. Back in the days before shader technology and 3d polygons, graphics pervs would have to get their cheapies waxing lyrical about the smoothness of screen switching and parallax scrolling.  Maybe that's what the devs spent the Chupa Chups money on. Either way, don't we all need a sai-weilding ninja ant in our lives? Hello? 

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Gregory Loses His Clock

Gregory Loses His Clock

Back in the days when one man could bash away in assembly language over a matter of a fortnight and come up with a clunky, chunky platformer about a poor chap who's had his alarm clock stolen by a horrid ghost, Gregory Loses His Clock was stupid in all the best ways. That was the weird thing about the 8-bit era in Britain, games were almost encouraged to be a little subversive, a little satirical, and they'd habitually be set within the confines of one house. 

Pyjamarama, How To Be A Complete Bastard and Jet Set Willy - it was as if Thatcher was stealing our scope as well as our school milk. 

So, then - who wouldn't want to leg it around a terraced two-up two-down trying to find clock pieces before you're stuck in a dream world forever?

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Pushover

Pushover

Another bizarre British snack food-ant themed game, Pushover was a neat domino-rally puzzler where a garden pest is tasked with rescuing bags of quavers for the popular crisp mascot, Colin Curly (who really should have access to more than just one packet.) Voiced in the TV ads by comedian Lenny Henry, Colin would later go on to feature in a sequel of sorts, 1993's One Step Beyond. What became of our termite hero, we may never know – only a well fleshed-out reboot can answer this question.

Trivia: one of the members of the Hello Games dev team is a friend of a friend of your writer, and after wondering why nobody had seen fit to steal the conceit of this truly excellent game for a mobile title, I dropped him a Facebook message with a proposal. The very next day, Hello Games unveiled the very first trailer for No Man's Sky. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but they totally could have bashed out a potato-starch themed puzzle game in under a year, and perhaps wouldn't have received quite so many death threats. They probably would have been considerably poorer to boot, and isn't that the lot of the developer?

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Moonstone: A Hard Day's Knight

Moonstone: A Hard Day's Knight

A game that was perhaps bloodier than it was actually good, Moonstone was a heavily-pirated smash, released in 1991. Those three disks truly were valuable schoolyard contraband..  Developed and published by Mindscape, this hack 'n' slasher was perhaps the goriest experiences ever created – a turn-based action brawler that allowed up to four players to suit up and deck a load of mythical creatures in a wood. 

The object of the game was to gather four keys - either by finding them or taking them from one of the other three knights, to access something called the 'valley of the gods' and return the titular moonstone to Stonehenge. That was the rather hackneyed plot, anyway – the only reason anyone played it though was to watch the great crimson arcs of guttage spraying from the chest cavity of a werebeast as you systematically swung your broadsword up and over your shoulder like a cricketer at the world's most unpalatable test match. Imagine the life Nvidia’s hair and fur tech could breathe into foulness such as this, the blood collecting on follicles, shining in the moonlight. Gripping stuff. 

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Interstate '76

Interstate '76

Around the turn of the century most parochial nightclubs every Saturday would be running a god-awful seventies night, Leo Sayer was playing polytechnics the length and breadth of the country and no doubt picking out designs for a new kitchen with the proceeds. Funk and disco and capacious trouser legs were very much back in vogue, for better or worse. 

In 1997, Activision put out a driving game where in some alternate timeline the Yom Kippur war and ensuing US oil crisis never ended, and much of the US southwest had become an unforgiving wasteland, where vigilantes and bandits would do battle over limited fuel reserves. With a kick-ass funk soundtrack, Groove champion, his partner Taurus and their mechanic skeeter glided over mile upon mile of desert road, blasting the merry snot out of mad-max style muscle cars and their drivers. Stylish as hell, and long due a comeback! 

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Toki

Toki

Known in Japan as the pleasing-to-utter 'Juju Densetsu', Toki was a 1989 run and gunner starring an enchanted ape who must take out wave upon wave of jungle monsters using energy balls fired from his mouth. You know, like they do in the wild. He wasn't always an ape - enchanted or otherwise - he was turned into one by an evil wizard. Honestly, the union of evil wizards really need to hire a good PR; their stock has never been very high. 

Speaking of stocks, Apes are massively under represented in gaming, and apart from Winston from Overwatch and that massive skyscraper-twatting chimp from that 80s Rampage arcade game, they're rarely seen. More apes, please. Gibbons if possible. 

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Bonanza Bros

Bonanza Bros

A classy, classic hide em' up from 1990, this game at first did seem a little reminiscent of 1984's Spv vs Spy in that if you took your eyes off the screen for a second you would often spend a good ten seconds trying to figure out which character on which half of the screen was yours. 

Unlike Spy vs Spy however, it was a straightforward platformer with our two titular brothers having a very simple job to do – nicking as much loot as possible from various buildings and escaping via the roof.  Basically The Blues Brothers in robot form -  and on the home Sega Mega Drive version, they would shout 'shit' if they got hit by the PoPo. Got a lot of time for that sort of caper. 

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Darkseed

Darkseed

A point and click adventure that used real digitised film footage in a chilling horror all about a man whose head is fertilised with an alien embryo. An embryo, which, at one point he tries to destroy with a couple of aspirin. We've all had hangovers like that. 

Released in the early '90s – a time when a programmer with a massive John Oates 'tache and donkey jacket could effectively strongarm investors into spaffing thousands on getting Alien artist H.R. Giger to do the backgrounds for his game, then insisting on giving himself the lead role. There totally should be more of this sort of unprofessionalism in gaming. 

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Pete Donaldson
Pete Donaldson
Pete Donaldson, when not spending his time hiding behind a bin in Hitman, plays Nickelback songs on Absolute Radio to an ungrateful nation, and complains about Lynx Africa's Alan Pardew on The Football Ramble podcast.
Read more
Art for Sargon jumping through time in Prince of Persia the lost crown
Underrated Switch games to play in 2025
A screenshot of the party members from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
I couldn’t wait until the end of the year to talk about my favorite games of 2025, so here are seven I can’t recommend enough
A purple Game Boy Advance against a red background
The 11 best GBA games to play in 2025
Sea of Stars cover art showing protagonists stand back to back against a moonlit forest backdrop
The 19 best indie games to play in 2025
Demon's Souls knight approaches a castle gate as enemies advance holding torches
The 14 best video game remakes to play in 2025
Baldur's Gate 3 official artwork showing Astarion, Showdowheart, Gale, and Tieflings
The 22 best PC games to play in 2025
Latest in Gaming
Promotional images of Lego Voyagers.
I could look at Lego Voyagers for hours, but that's not the only reason why this co-op adventure might be the next Split Fiction
Cronos: The New Dawn
'Cronos: The New Dawn is a bit about togetherness and humanity' – Lead Writer Grzegorz Like on the themes underpinning Bloober Team’s latest foray into horror
Gamescom entrance
I spoke to Gamescom's organizers about the event, its future, and the city of Cologne - 'the entire city is transformed into the gaming capital of the world'
The antagonist, Voss, in the Vatican in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
The Indiana Jones and the Great Circle DLC will seamlessly adjust its difficulty depending on how far you are in the game – which sounds like the perfect excuse for a new playthrough
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hollow Knight: Silksong's price and release time have been confirmed – and the hotly anticipated sequel is a lot cheaper than you might think
Screenshot from the game Hell Is Us.
Hell Is Us review: a somber but intriguing adventure with one foot in the soulslike genre
Latest in News
Apple CarPlay Ultra ADAS
Don’t have a pile of cash? Don’t worry: you may soon be able to get an affordable car with Apple CarPlay Ultra
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) REVIEW
Apple just declared three MacBooks are now obsolete – here’s what that means and why you need to upgrade more than ever
IPVanish VPN running on a Macbook Pro
IPVanish lets you bring your browsing to the cloud, directly from its desktop apps
An L-mount alongside the rear of an L-mount lens, with graphic merging the two together
Praise be – Viltrox joins L-mount, bringing its incredible cheap lenses to Leica, Panasonic, Sigma cameras and more
A padlock icon next to a person working on a laptop.
Hackers are using fake Zoom or Microsoft Teams invites to spy on all your workplace activity
Professor Flitwick holds a speaker up to his mouth
HBO’s Harry Potter TV show reveals Warwick Davis return as Professor Flitwick, and I no longer get why we’re bothering
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    'Cronos: The New Dawn is a bit about togetherness and humanity' – Lead Writer Grzegorz Like on the themes underpinning Bloober Team’s latest foray into horror
  2. 2
    Don’t have a pile of cash? Don’t worry: you may soon be able to get an affordable car with Apple CarPlay Ultra
  3. 3
    Considering a camera for your Nintendo Switch 2? You might want to think again
  4. 4
    I reviewed Nanoleaf's first rope light, and there are 4 good reasons to skip it – fortunately, I’ve got the perfect alternative
  5. 5
    This Eizo 4K creative monitor has something that no other rival offers - an unmatched 5-year limited warranty

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...