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If anyone visits this site with any frequency, they know that when they read my articles they can expect a few things.  I’m probably going to make fun of NamelessTed, I’m probably going to start/get involved in an argument, and I’m probably going to compare video games to the movie industry.

After all, the similarities are there, aren’t they?  The old “art imitates life imitates art” thing should be modified for our generation to “video games imitate movies imitate video games,” because that’s the point that it has essentially gotten to (damn, this article writes itself – just throw in some self-deprecating humor and we’re good).

Now, normally this means video games adapting films or characters or in some cases, even spinning off stories or continuing the story as a sequel of sorts in game form.  But the industries themselves have begun to emulate each other.  Take, for example, remakes.  Classic games are getting remade (or re-released) lately with the advent and growth of the newest consoles having full online stores.  These online stores are filled with back catalogs from their respective consoles histories.  Now, the game industry has the luxury of re-releasing these classics by calling them “re-armed,” or “throwback,” or “re-shelled” and in most cases, gamers don’t scoff at the idea as much as movie goers scoff at the idea of their favorites getting a modern face-lift.

Take for example, two icons from their respective camps.  Let’s compare this year’s remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Tecmo Bowl Throwback on XBLA/PSN.  You may be wondering why these two would even be mentioned in the same article.  Well, they have more in common than you think.  They are both pop culture icons in their respective genres/mediums, they both were at the height of their popularity in the early 90’s, and have both been “re-imagined” this year for a modern audience.

The similarities don’t end there.  They both were re-imagined by taking elements that made the originals successful and giving them an upgrade for 2010; namely visuals.  Freddy comes out of the wall in ANOES 2010 the same way he did all the way back in 1984.  However, this time it’s done with “high end” visuals provided by CGI that some fans would argue looks fairly fake, even by today’s standards.  When compared to the original that just had Robert Englund pressing his face through some thin rubber to create the same scene, it’s just not an improvement, and doesn’t feel right.  Now, take Tecmo Bowl Throwback.  The entire game has been given a full 3D makeover, and for an 800 point XBLA game, looks damn good.  In fact, it’s one of the best 3D games for download at that price point.  It’s actually too good.  A game for $10.00 shouldn’t have better visuals and textures than a game like Blitz: The League II, which was a next gen release and initially sold for $49.99.

The visuals are nice, but they just don’t fit.  They don’t improve the game and aren’t necessary other than to justify you buying a new game.  Now, you can switch back to the old visuals at the touch of a button.  No, really, it’s true!  You can actually hit the RB on the Xbox Controller (assuming it’s R1 on the PS controller) and immediately switch back to the old school look, even in the middle of a play!  How dope is that!?  Right?!  Well, I mean, it’s cool…  but what’s the point?  If I’m going to use the same old visuals, why would I pay for a game I literally have sitting in my SNES under my TV?  To play online?  Maybe…  but how many Xbox 360 owners are going to want to play a game they played almost 20 years ago?  It’s likely that if you know someone you want to play it with, you can call them up and hook up in your living room.  Now, I realize that the game is very nostalgic for some (hell, I bought it), but did we really just pay for a 17-year-old game?  Yep.  Sorry.  It’s that old.  Get over it.  No refunds on XBLA.  Suck it.  Lunch money = gone.

I guess after all the rambling and words are put onto this screen, the ultimate point is this: how long before gamers begin to yawn at the idea of all of their favorite games getting remade or “re-imagined”, as Hollywood calls it?  Games have been around a substantially smaller number of years than movies, and they are already running out of ideas for new IPs that they have to run back to 15-20 years ago for games that we loved and give them changes that may or may not be well received by the very fans they are trying to attract?  There are always going to be two camps: those who are welcome or accepting of games being redone and those who want their classics to remain that – classics.

I understand what they are trying to do here and I’m buying into it myself in some ways.  I sprung for Turtles in Time: Re-Shelled, I bought Tecmo Bowl Throwback and Double Dragon, and I’ve been really disappointed by all of them.  I think that the new visual coat, smoother frame rates, and non MIDI soundtracks actually take away from the nostalgia factor of these games and in some cases, ruins the great, great memories.  It’s the same idea as the girl who gets killed in her bed in A Nightmare on Elm Street; in both versions she gets lifted up, she gets tossed about, she gets slashed, she bleeds a lot, and she dies.  The question is, was it really worth our time to pay to see the same scene happen all over again with a new paint job, or should we have just dusted off the classic VHS and watched it that way?

Sega recently announced what many gamers have been hoping for years: a return to the 2D roots of the series. After years of failures in the 3D realm, Sega has made the move back to the fast paced 2D side scrollers that put them on the map as a console maker. Before you go getting too excited and all nostalgic, let me remind you that even this switch back to 1991 is going to suck. When is the last time that you dusted off your Genesis or hell even bought one the old titles on the current generation of consoles download services?

Let’s take a short history lesson here. Sonic The Hedgehog (That’s right, capital ‘T’ in ‘The’. First, Middle, Last name as trademarked by Sega) in its 2D form exist as Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3 and also Sonic and Knuckles. The original Sonic The Hedgehog was produced and packaged with the Genesis console and was intended to be the Mario killer to get the Genesis to compete with the SNES. It was a decent game but also the first game in the series and it didn’t quite have all the kinks worked out. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 nailed it and stands out as the gem of the franchise even though it introduced us to one of the worst game characters of all time with Tails. Sonic 3 was a step backwards and Sonic and Knuckles took the legs out of the franchise literally. It slowed the game way down by adding more platforming elements and jumping puzzles.

Now back to the present day and keeping in mind that the 2D games are not nearly as good as you remember them to be, the new release is already setup for failure. The game is going to be sold exclusively as a download on WiiWare, Playstation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade. What this should tell you is that they don’t have a good enough game with enough content to put it on a disc and sell it in stores. With the recent success of a game like New Super Mario Bros Wii, you would think that Sega would be chasing those dollars down just as they have been doing with the Mario Factory for years. Sega has released game after game that is nearly a direct descendant of a recent Mario game from 3D platformers to arcade racing sims to DS RPGs. They have even been collaborating with Nintendo on the Mario and Sonic at the Olympics games but this attempt to duplicate the success of NSMB Wii will fall short.

So what’s the final verdict here? While it’s a relief to see that Sonic won’t be suffering through a new 3D piece of crap, don’t get your hopes up for this one. Sega needs to let Sonic go the way of the Dreamcast and live on fondly in the memories of our childhood. Or perhaps he can die a slow death at the hands of Mario in the new release of the Smash Bros series just as he has been doing on store shelves for years.