Hey guys!
This is an old argument that's been around gaming communities for something close to an ice age now, but I'm interested to see what the gamers of the GOF have to say about it all.
Are HD remakes and HD re-releases of games from previous systems worth buying?
Now, a number of you are probably prepping to throw a back fist at me for suggesting such a hypocritical statement seeing as I'm a bit of a sucker for HD remakes/re-releases (especially since I just picked up Final Fanatsy X/X-2 HD Remaster last week and haven't put it down since
). This is also coming from the guy who bought Resident Evil 4 three times! (On Gamecube, PS2 and on Wii...another tale for another time...) but it is just interesting to know where others stand with this point. That and I can't stand the fratboys and trolls on gaming websites to post in comment sections, would rather talk to people I can get a proper response from rather than "FIRST" or "Cooking Mama > COD" or some such crap nuggets
From my point of view, as if it were not obvious already, I have a bit of a weakness for them. For me, it's not the HD rescaling or remodelling of scenes, characters etc that does it for me. It's the ability to dive back into a game I know I've tried and like or loved from a gaming era gone by. I've picked up titles like God of War Collections, Devil May Cry HD Collection, Sega Megadrive Ultimate Collection, Silent Hill HD Collection, Metal Gear Solid Collection, Zone of the Enders Collection, Kingdom Heart 1.5 HD Remix (God damn it Square Enix! Why you gotta come up with such stupidly long-winded names for remakes!) amongst others. I've also played the ICO/Shadows of the Colossus HD Remake and seen Ratchet and Clank Collections, Jak and Daxter HD Collections among others. Now, common sense would say, I've played these games and I've already have them on previous consoles, so why the hell would I need to fork out of the same game again just to play it on my most recent machine?! Logic would say, I shouldn't. Even with the promise of additional content or extra modes/features etc. if I already own, have played and finished the game, why should I be buying it again at full retail price X amount of years later?
I suppose I can almost answer my own question in the sense that I'm a sucker for nostalgia but I'd say that that is more of an age thing. Being a kid growing up with the mainstream of games in the 80s and 90s, I'm always happy to pick up an old game and go "Wow! Haven't play this is a while!" and go back to it for a time. I must have started Final Fantasy 7 over from the start about 4 times in a year coz of that nostalgic twinge I get every now and again. I don't play it through to completion by any means but just replaying that opening hours of the game I genuinely found quite satisfying.
As another point to mention, working in a school, I despair at kids going on about the latest COD or Assassin's Creed or any brain cell erosion game whose goal is to "shoot the other dude in the face" and revelling in that and sneering at games like Super Mario, Zelda, Sonic and Ratchet and Clank and dismissing them as games that "look too easy" or " are too kiddy". Now I'd wager if they put their grim, grey shooters down for a sec and actually played something like DK Country (SNES or Returns), they'd probably get their arses kicked coz they underestimate the sense of challenge and the ingenuity that these games possess from testing your skills. I run the risk of falling into a completely different argument here so I'll try to stay on track, these re-releases (I appreciate that there is a technical difference between a remake and a re-release but just go with it for now...) also help to show younger generations of gamers what games were like way back when. I'm currently running a project with a friend of mine in a school playing games from the 90s and educating kids at the same time about how games used to be and how they have developed now and their appreciation for these games has shown in droves. I also granted gamers the chance to experience games from a gaming generation they may have missed, even me. I'm still in two minds about playing Sly Cooper even thought I saw it for PS2 years ago and the PS3 collection is a nice incentive to experience what I may have missed.
So, apologises for the essay guys but I'd be interested to hear what you think. HD remakes/re-releases? Good idea or bad idea? And do you tend to go for them?
