The original open world game, Midwinter, is getting a remade with all the wonderful things modern game development can bring to the table. The original, released in 1989 and developed by Mike Singleton, took place in the year 2099. The world’s gone cold following a meteor hit Burma and caused global cooling and it’s on you to organise a guerilla war against General Masters, who is trying to take the island of Midwinter for himself.
The remake will cover the same ground but with prettier visuals and “fully realize Mikel’s ambitious design without the limitations of 16-bit hardware.”
“Midwinter was a seminal game, and a huge influence on the open world sandbox genre, but Mike [Singleton’s] vision was held back by the technology of the time,” creative lead Dan Whitehead told USGamer. “Our aim is to bring Midwinter back into the modern gaming environment, combining the depth and variety of the original with today’s cutting-edge visuals and processing power. The goal is not to merely remake the game, but to fully realize Mike’s ambitious design without the limitations of 16-bit hardware.”
The game was hugely ambitious. You controlled multiple characters who all had interlocking relationships which alter their shared abilities and skills. Plus, the game wasn’t laid out with a linear structure. You travelled the island and attacked Masters’ fortress at your own discretion.
It’s closest living relative is probably something along the lines of DayZ. Though colder and fewer zombies. And it’s singleplayer. And there’s a lot of skiing. They aren’t that similar.
There are plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign later this year and release the thing in 2015.
In lieu of game footage, here’s Foreigner singing “Cold As Ice”: