Welcome to GameSpot Q&A, a weekly section where we ask our staff and readers an interesting discussion question about video games. Look at this as a forum where you and others can discuss and compare your opinions of this beloved hobby of ours. So don’t hesitate to let us know what your answer is to this week’s question in the comments below!
This week’s question is as follows:
Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem
What two game series do you want to be in a crossover together? And what kind of game would you want it to be?
Kevin Van Ord
Wheel of Time and Elder Scrolls. This is a bit of a cheat, because Wheel of Time has only had one significant game, but I want an exploration-heavy role-playing game in the Wheel of Time universe so badly I’d cut off my left pinkie toe to see one come to life. Game of Thrones has captured our culture’s imagination, but Wheel of Time’s greater focus on magic gives its world’s politics an edge ripe for exploring in interactive form.
Eddie Makuch
I’d like to see the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises team up for a crossover fighting game. OK, so they’re not just video game franchises, but there have been enough good (and bad) entries in both to consider each a video game series, I’d say. The benefits of such a fighting game are plenty, but one obvious positive is that we could finally answer the question “Who would win in a fight?” Gandalf or Dumbledore? Frodo or Harry Potter? Smeagol or Dobby? Both franchises are owned and operated by Warner Bros, so it could totally happen!
Mass Effect 3
Chris Watters
The Mass Effect universe is one of the richest realms in gaming; it’s absolutely bursting with untold stories. And you know who’s great at uncovering fascinating stories in a rich world? Geralt of Rivia. Give me solar systems to explore and a ship captained by the Witcher. Don’t shackle me with any kind of save-all-carbon-based-lifeforms quest, and I’ll roam the stars with a song in my heart. (And if it sounds like I’m describing my ideal Cowboy Bebop video game, well, I am.)
Matt Espineli
I’d want a stealth action RPG crossover between Metal Gear Solid and Deus Ex. Given their cyberpunk narrative themes, they’d definitely compliment each other well. I can totally imagine Snake sneaking around trying to uncover some kind of illuminati conspiracy. I can even see him constantly fighting against a JC-Denton-like agent character that slowly uncovers the same conspiracy over time. But in terms of gameplay, it would be great to see the RPG elements of Deus Ex mix in with the stealth/combat and Mother Base recruitment mechanics of the newer Metal Gear Solid games.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy
Justin Haywald
I love working my way through brainteasers and devious mental challenges, so I search out and complete every puzzle in the Professor Layton games. But as much as I enjoy hunting around the cartoony, 2D setpieces, it’s a game I’d love to see in 3D. I imagine mashing Layton up with another of my favorite games, World of Warcraft, would create some amazing possibilities. The game would look like Layton but play like Blizzard’s MMO (minus the combat). NPCs in the world with a glowing exclamation mark over their head would stand out as puzzle distributors. Instead of attacks, you could dole out mini-challenges to other players when you meet them. Instances and raids would be a massive gauntlet of puzzles to try and overcome (but puzzles wouldn’t respawn, of course). And just imagine a bustling London to explore done in the Professor Layton style but on the scale of Stormwind!
Rob Crossley
Hearthstone has changed my life more than I’d like to admit; it’s an outstanding game of wits that requires constant thinking and rethinking. But I don’t really know Warcraft’s lore too well (never played WoW, etc.), so swapping its cards with characters from the Half-Life series (or Game of Thrones, even) would probably result in blissful bankruptcy and a barren social life.
Gradius V
Peter Brown
I would love to see a Gradius and R-Type crossover. Arcade shooters aren’t as popular as they once were, but I still love them, and it would be a treat to see a crossover shooter based on my two favorite series in the genre. Mix up mechanics, bring over the full range of ships, create a new setting, and G-Type (the made up name for this unlikely game) could easily carve out a niche all its own within the modern shooter fold.
Alexa Ray Corriea
I just want Telltale Games to make a Mad Men game. It makes total sense. A story-driven adventure game about navigating the relationships that come with big business and complicated personal lives. It doesn’t even have to be a story about Don Draper. Forget that guy. What about a story about Bob Benson? Or maybe even a tale about Joan’s younger years in the early era of Sterling Cooper, her origin story? I think the franchise leaves so many of its smaller, yet still important, characters out of the loop, and I’d love to see more of them, perhaps during times when they were first starting out. Origin stories of Mad Men characters, in which you have a serious hand in determining just how screwed up their lives get. It’s a perfect match.
Dark Souls
Daniel Hindes
Dark Souls and Dishonored. I love the hostile world of Dark Souls and its sequels, but I’m growing tired of its combat style and the way I feel rooted to the ground. I want to play a Dark Souls game with Dishonored-style powers: the ability to teleport around the environment, possess and confuse enemies, and generally play more stealthily.
Danny O’Dwyer
I’d want Mario Kart and Mortal Kombat, and in both directions. Every time I see the “MKTV” logo in the replay screen in Mario Kart 8 I dream of a world where Scorpion and Sub Zero get to race side-by-side against those Koopa Kids. And the other way around; I want to watch my boy Wario rip Toad’s head off and use his stupid face as a football. I mean, worst case scenario, getting some of those Smash Bro’s skins into the PC version of Mortal Kombat X shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae
Zorine Te
I would like to see Final Fantasy cross-over with the Warcraft universe. Imagine a role-playing game where you live out Thrall’s journey both in the World of Warcraft and beyond. The boss fights would be awesome, strategic, and they’d take place in turn-based combat, of course. Thrall could chest-bump Cloud in a victory fanfare every time a battle was won. Grom would argue with Sephiroth. It would be majestic chaos.