Since purchasing the leftovers of Acclaim’s estate in 2006 Canadian studio Throwback Entertainment hasn’t really done a great deal with the ex-publisher’s portfolio.
The rights to RC racer Re-Volt were sold off to Korean publisher We Go Interactive in 2011 but other than this Throwback has simply focused their attention on their own mobile titles. Things are about to change, however, with the announcement that they’re about to start rolling out re-releases of Acclaim’s past hits.
Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance, released in 2003 on PlayStation 2 and Xbox, will be the first to arrive. The grizzly hack and slasher – developed by Acclaim Manchester – is set to receive a Windows Store/Windows Phone release this spring with an Xbox One version due later this summer. Don’t expect it to receive a complete current-gen facelift though. As the video below shows, the resolution is being bumped to 1080p and that appears to be about it as far as enhancements are concerned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_305-A0XOs&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DV_305-A0XOs&has_verified=1
The price tag looks set to make up for the visual shortcomings – it’ll be free on the Windows Store with the option to remove adverts for $5.99. With a bit of luck the Xbox One version will debut with a similar price tag. We dare say that it’ll be something of a hard sell otherwise – back in 2003 it was met with barely above average review scores, and chances are that time hasn’t been too kind.
Other Acclaim games in Throwback’s possession include Vexx, XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association, Aggressive Inline, Fur Fighters: Viggo’s Revenge, Dakar 2, Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, Speed Kings and Vanishing Point. With futuristic racers thin on the ground these days we hope that XGRA is next on the agenda.
