After looking at the insane mashup that Sega, Namco and Capcom have put together for the upcoming Project X Zone on the 3DS, it got me thinking about other gaming brands I’d like to see pushed together. These could be games pitting legends against each other in a fight to the death or something involving them working together. Publishers and IP owners can be very protective over their brands, but here’s a selection I think would work well together given half a chance.

Lollipop Chainsaw + Bayonetta = Rainbow Slaughter

Sadly, we’re going to have to boot Suda 51 off the dev team early on, as we can’t spend the whole thing listening to wank jokes and seeing the camera rocket up skirts every chance it gets. We loved the combat in Bayonetta, hell it may be the best hack n’ slasher out there, but she just doesn’t work as a character. Juliet Starling on the other hand seemed a bit more grounded (despite the outfit), but was lumbered with dull combat. Platinum own the scene after Revengeance and we’d love to see them combine two of this generation’s poster girls. No, not like that you perv. Well…

Skylanders-Style Portal + Marvel / DC / Games Workshop = Toy Chest Gold

Skylanders makes an absolute shit-tonne of money for Activision. Let’s face it, with the Disney/Pixar pedigree, Disney Infinity could wipe the floor with it. Selling toys that appear directly in-game is marketing genius and we can see other companies wanting a piece of the action. We wouldn’t bet against Moshi Monsters (another huge kids brand you’ve never heard of) getting involved soon too. But we fancy something a little less cute (ahem: because we’re too cool for Disney, honest) so we’d like to see something from Marvel/Star Wars (highly likely since Disney now own both), DC or maybe the companies that make collector’s figurines for gaming brands. And what about theWarhammer brands at Games Workshop, I imagine they’ve had their eye on this scene for a while. Watch this space, it’s about to get crowded.

Jak & Daxter + Ratchet & Clank = Ottsel La Vista Baby

Jak and his weasel have been out of work for a bit, but we reckon Insomniac’s planet-storming duo could help them out. Jak has superb platforming skills, but has all the gun-wielding ability of a camel. Perhaps it’s time Ratchet tooled him up with some melee upgrades instead, giving the two of them the best of both out on the battlefield. Ratchet’s All 4 One was a good attempt at co-op, but we’d be sold in advance if Jak got involved, as long as he’s not as much of an emo ball-ache as he was in Jak II.

Bad Company + Battlefield = The Complete Package

Around Battlefield: Bad Company 2, console gamers started to sit up and take notice of DICE’s excellent multiplayer. However, when Battlefield 3 came along the Bad Company boys were nowhere to be seen, with a gutless excuse of a filler campaign mode accompanying the excellent multiplayer. We like the lads in Bad Company and think they’re much more entertaining than the generic grunts seen in the last game’s campaign or recent Medal of Honors. Do us all a favour DICE, send the boys back in for another tour, they’ll do you proud.

LEGO + Toy Story = Pixar Perfect

How has this not happened already? We can only presume it’s been considered then dumped, possibly due to the sides not agreeing terms. Given the continued success of the Lego titles, we think it’s time Disney and Lego had a sit down and made some magic happen. Watching the characters climb around in the films, from Sid’s bedroom to Sunnyside Daycare, shows some great potential for platforming sections. Action scenes can take inspiration from the films and from ‘playtime’ elements where Andy is imagining action scenes or we’re playing through an episode of the Buzz Lightyear TV show. See, it’s all there people. You can sell Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully DLC to us too if you must.

Uncharted + Tomb Raider = Gaming’s Avengers

We’ve been saying this one for ages. But after seeing Lara in the best form of her life in the recent Tomb Raider reboot, we absolutely must have it. Drake has the most fun when competing/flirting with someone as we saw in Uncharted 2 with Chloe and Elena. We don’t need Drake and Lara to become an item (he’ll never leave Elena anyway) but the chemistry between them could be amazing, especially if they start arguing about who’s been at this whole adventure thing the longest. We all know Sully will try and have a crack at Lara anyway. Co-op play could be fun in parts although we appreciate it can be difficult to create an intense atmosphere with a partner by your side as we saw in Dead Space 3. Both series have reaped the benefits of each other’s success over the years and this could be the best way for them to say thanks.

LA Noire x (Kane & Lynch + Army of Two) = Firing Squad

Hold on, you might like my plan here. Instead of playing as one of these cretins you’d play as a team dedicated to hunting them down and/or locking them up for crimes against humanity (and gaming), banishing them from further sequels. This could be another cookie-cutter third-person shooter, but how about something with a little more meat to it? Think darker and add in some detective work to track them down through leads, evidence and maybe the odd car chase. More along the lines ofHeavy Rain and LA Noire. Player choices will affect the story, with some horrific consequences if they’re not careful. We get actors repeatedly playing villains in different films, this is as close as we can get to that sort of thing, so isn’t it about time some of gaming’s most notorious baddies really got what they deserved?

Well that’s my list and with so many quality potential pairings out there, some tough choice had to be made for the final cut. But that’s where you readers come in. What mashups and crossovers would you like to see happen in gaming?