Starting today I will be doing a regular feature entitled Franchises that Shouldn’t Die, focusing on classic games from the past that haven’t yet reached their shelf-life. Today’s installment of Franchises that Shouldn’t Die addresses a genre of gaming that seems to have faded away, but also one of the games in the that helped define and evolved the genre. I’m talking about the death of the Space Shooter, and the classic Psygnosis franchise Colony Wars.

Psygnosis was a UK developer and publisher known early in its existence for innovative Amiga titles, but not much else. It had a brief foray into the console market with the Sega CD, and porting its popular Lemmings title to multiple platforms. But it didn’t hit its stride until the release of Sony’s Playstation console and the advent of 3D gaming. It seems as if Psygnosis was better able to handle the foray into 3D better than anyone. Sony realized this and capitalized on their expertise, purchasing the company and releasing their titles as a second-party developer. Of those early titles, many became franchises spawning multiple titles over the years. WipEout, Destruction Derby, Formula 1, and G-Police. But one of my favorites has to be Colony Wars.

The Space Shooter genre had roots in the early days of console gaming, but really grew roots on the PC in the early 1990s. Most notably, LucasArts’ X-Wing and the Wing Commander series were the most critically and commercially accepted, but others such as Descent: Freespace, X-Com: Interceptor, the failed MMO Earth and Beyond, and probably the last great space shooter, Microsoft’s own Starlancer series.

But on console or PC, nothing captured that cinematic and graphically immersive experience as Psygnosis’ Colony Wars. At the time, it was the first to provide advances in 3D graphics to a home console. The high-action space battles were made that much more impressive and enhanced the mission objectives, and the gameplay was benefited by a brilliant branching system that resulted in multiple story campaigns. In addition, the movie-quality CD soundtrack was something that was never done before in a space shooter, and truly brought the genre to the next generation. It was popular with critics and audiences, and like other titles in the Psygnosis family, it spawned other titles in the franchise. Colony Wars: Vengance, the second title in the franchise, introduced ground-based battles into the mix, but personally I felt it was a little lacking in both gameplay and presentation. By the third title, Colony Wars: Red Sun, Sony had turned its back on the franchise, albeit a great return to form. Midway had published the title to little fanfare, and it seemed as if it was the last hurrah for both the franchise and Psygnosis, which soon after folded into Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

Since then, the space shooter genre has seemed to evolve into more PC strategy titles with Homeworld, Nexus, and the MMO EVE. The console has seen even less, as FPS and hybrid titles push the pure Space Shooter out to die. I can think of only a few console shooters of the current generation: Robotech, Battlestar Gallactica, and Battle Engine Aquila, which was really more of a ground-based, mech title. Regardless, these titles weren’t exactly stellar in their gameplay, and didn’t give much reason for fans to pick them up.

In my opinion, not one of these titles came close to the presentation and gameplay that the original Colony Wars had introduced in the mid-’90s. And it’s unfortunate, because as consoles evolve and graphical capabilities increase, the worlds that can be created in the genre truly have no limits. Also, the online capabilities of consoles truly stretch the virtual universe that can be traversed, and online collaboration such as voice chat can bring the player closer to that utopian gaming experience.

In contrast, Sci-Fi has become increasingly popular over the years on television and feature films. Of course, the most popular is Star Wars, but also shows such as Star Trek, Stargate, Battlestar Gallactica, and Babylon 5 have captured devoted fanbases, respectable ratings and critical approval. But yet, more and more space-themed games have taken the route of the FPS or third-person action title.

If a resurgence of the Space Shooter is to be made, the Colony Wars franchise is probably in the best position for it. Not only does it have an established fanbase and history behind it, but it also seems as if the license may be available for a developer to pick up, since the last title in the franchise was published by Midway. If a developer treats a new Colony Wars title with the necessary passion and care, it would do much for the fading genre, as well as bring a new audience to the franchise that it so definitely deserves.