What needs to be on XBLA? #6 - New Power Stone

With Namco announcing they'll be releasing the original Soul Calibur to the Xbox Live Arcade - lets have a small trip down memory lane - back to the Dreamcast. Last time we discussed Chu Chu Rocket, now lets discuss the crazy Capcom multiplayer fighter knows as Power Stone!

Power Stone is an Arena Fighter - where you run around a 3D arena finding more ways to pick off your opponent. Like normal fighters, you go through 8 or so levels against new opponents until you reach the final boss, however most of the game isn't about your direct attacks - it's about grabbing the closest crate and lobbying it at your enemy. Players can also pick up wacky weapons from an Umbrella to a Rocket Launcher.

The games namesake however is the Power Stones. During a battle, pieces of the power stone can be picked up by the player. Pick up 3, and your character will transform into a super form and be able to blow your opponent away very easily. If someone has one of the gems - beat it out of them!

There were a few Arena Fighters before Power Stone - Bio F.R.E.A.K.S and Virtual On could be considered Arena Fighters. The difference being that you have complete control of your character - you don't always have to face your opponent. You can run around freely in the confines of the level and attempt to get a new weapon or attack them face to face. The game is pretty much a Beat-em-up game in a similar vein to Streets of Rage, but now in the confines of an arena.

The original game only supported 2 players, but the sequel upped the ante with 4 player mode. Power Stone 2 also brought in dynamic levels, where levels could fall apart, revealing a new level or setup. You could fight on a collapsing airship, or on two submarines that crash into icebergs!

Now sure, Capcom COULD just port both or one of these games over. Hell, they did it with this series before - you can get the Power Stone Collection for the PSP - but that was 2006 Capcom! Now we're with 2008 Capcom with a download initiative! With Bionic Commando, Commando 3 and 1942 on the horizon, Power Stone seems like a very good fit for the Xbox Live Arcade.

However, I can't see Capcom getting together with Backbone to do it - it has a very Japanese style to it, and would be the perfect type of game for Capcom Japan to use to get off their arses and to start supporting the downloadable game initiative. The unfortunate thing is that games like Powerstone isn't considered 'meaty' enough for a disc release - similar upcoming games like Hail the Chimp - despite probably being a good game in that genre, doesn't "feel" like a 50-60 dollar game, or even the $40 price point it's being released at. It's too "arcadey" now, which is a damn shame.

I certainly paid full price back in 2000 for Power Stone and had a blast with it - but the more expensive a game is, the smaller the online community, which would be the whole point of a new iteration.

New maps, new characters, HD graphics and a swell of new weapons. A Sequel to Power Stone would be fantastic, and with full featured releases such as Soul Calibur XBLA and Vigilante 8 coming, a new Power Stone would make an excellent addition to both the XBLA and Capcom's digital portfolio. The main draw would be a great 4 player online battle game, in which the only other game is the poorly received Small Arms. There is a hole in the lineup - and Capcom has the right plug.

And in a way, would also be a great way to bring some classic Capcom characters back into the fold. They're all wacky anyhow - The Bionic Commando, Mega Man, Viewtiful Joe, Final Fight's Haggar, Devil May Cry's Dante, which Gamasutra also agree with. I'd love to keep the original characters, but you can't say some cross promotion wouldn't be a bad thing, right?

Previous "What needs to be on XBLA?" entries:

- #1 - Death Tank Zwei
- #2 - Sonic 3 & Knuckles
- #3 - Tyrian
- #4 - The Sparkster Collection
- #5 - Chu Chu Rocket!