The Videogame I’d Most Like to See Remade: ‘Body Harvest’ (N64. 1997)
Though ‘Body Harvest’ was not a huge hit upon initial release, its place in gaming history is significant. This was, to the best of my knowledge, the first completely non-linear 3D ‘sandboxer’ (i.e players could, as in ‘Grand Theft Auto’, do more or less as they pleased within the gaming envonment) to appear on a games console.
Its piece of the gaming puzzle fits snugly between the 1997 2D Playstation ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and the 3D Playstation 2 ‘Grand Theft Auto 3’ released in 2001. It was made by DMA design, who later renamed themelves Rockstar North and become one of the most successful games manufacturers on the planet following the 2002 release of ‘GTA Vice City’.
‘Body Harvest’ plays a bit like a sci-fi B -movie ‘Grand Theft Auto’ but instead of a criminal, the protagonist is a genetically engineered soldier who travels back and forth in time to rid the world of giant insect like alien invaders.
Crucially, while doing this, you get to drive (and destroy) cool vehicles and can even run over innocent people in the best ‘GTA’ tradition, if you are so inclined.
The original game was ingenious, cinematic and atmospheric, while running with the brand of post-modern black humour that Rockstar originally employed in ‘GTA’ and would later make their forte.
It was admittedly a little rough around the edges. The graphics were not terribly impressive by the standards of the day, but it had ideas in spades and was loads of fun- particularly the early 1950’s USA-set levels, which recalled the cult Amiga title ‘It Came from the Desert’.
The thought of Rockstar remaking ‘Body Harvest’ with ‘Red Dead Redemption’ standard presentation is tantalising. Sadly, there are currently no signs of this happening.
Oh well.
