PixlBit

When it comes to re-releasing older content, he is still but a padawan.

Recently, the complete Star Wars collection of films was released on blu-ray. It was something that fans of the venerable movie franchise had been clamoring for, but what they got wasn’t exactly what they wanted. George Lucas, now known more for tinkering with his previous works than as a creative force, once again made some baffling changes to his original trilogy. Fans were angry, as fans often are. While it should have come as no surprise that Lucas would be tweaking his movies yet again, this time the changes were a little more head-scratching than Greedo shooting first.

It is understandable why people would be upset. Television technology has advanced by leaps and bounds while home movies have barely been able to keep up. People who grew up with the original trilogy simply want to be able to enjoy those movies exactly as they remember them, but they want those movies to look good on a TV that can display images at a 1080p resolution. They may buy Star Wars on blu-ray, but deep down, it’s not the Star Wars that they want.

Video games are in a similar situation, with the games that came out just a scant 6 years ago looking nigh-unplayable on modern televisions. So here comes the HD remake to the rescue, allowing gamers to enjoy their favorite games from the previous generation in glorious high-resolution. George Lucas could learn a thing or two from the video game industry when it comes to repackaging an older product for a newer format. Lucas is certainly no stranger to video games; not only is his software company, Lucasarts, responsible for some highly-regarded games, but he has been personally involved in large projects like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. His longtime colleague, Steven Spielberg, is an avid gamer in his own right, and was partly responsible for the creation of the Medal of Honor series. So with that being said, let’s take a look at some recent HD re-releases and an upcoming one to see what a different approach the video game industry has taken from the man behind the Jedi.

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection

It’s not a very elegant name, but on this disc you will find two of the most elegant games ever made. Ico was one of the games that began the entire “are games art?” debate, and is always one of the first games to be mentioned in any discussion of the subject. The same goes for Shadow of the Colossus, which was a game that was simply too much for the aging PlayStation 2 hardware to handle, but still struck an emotional chord with many players.

These games have been lovingly translated into HD, with Ico getting a new wide-screen display and some new texture work. Shadow of the Colossus benefits most from a solid frame-rate, which makes the game a joy to play; something that could not always be said of the PS2 original. Both games can be played in 3D, but that is a completely optional addition that in no way impacts the gameplay. Other than that, no changes have been made to the game, besides the addition of trophies. There are no heavy-handed tutorials added to Ico, no gaudy-looking button prompts telling you where to attack on Shadow of the Colossus. These are the games that you enjoyed in 2001 and 2005, but looking gorgeous on an HD television. And for you North American players, you can finally unlock the hidden ending to Ico that was previously only seen in Japan and Europe.

Street Fighter 3: Third Strike Online Edition

Again, “love” is the operative word here. Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is regarded by many of the hardcore Street Fighter fans as the pinnacle of the series, and Capcom went the extra mile to make this the definitive version of the game to own. By default, the game is in a smoothed-out graphics mode, which cuts down on the jagged pixilation that marred the original release. A new set of in-game awards can be earned by fulfilling certain game objectives, and these are kept track of on the edges of the screen, away from the main action. It’s a cool feature that really opens up all the different elements of the game and gets players to experiment with techniques that they may otherwise ignore. On top of that is a very detailed set of practice missions that serve as an introduction to new players, or a refresher course for rusty veterans. And what would a modern release of a classic fighting game be without online play? In this case, it is powered by GGPO, one of the most-respected systems for setting up online fighting matches.

That’s by default, though; this is all optional content. Don’t like the smoothed-out sprites? Set it back to the original ones. You can stretch the game out to fill the screen, or if you’re an arcade purist, you can make the screen look like an actual arcade CRT monitor, complete with scan lines and flicker. The awards and achievement tracking can be turned off as well, and if you don’t want to mess with online play, all you need to do is invite a buddy over for some old-school couch beatdowns.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Somehow the most conservatively named game on this list, MGS HD Collection comes out on November 8^th. It collects Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which came out last year on the PSP. It should be noted that these are the Substance and Subsistence versions of MGS 2 and 3, respectively. What that means for fans is that this is the definitive collection of these classic Metal Gear games, and should also include the MSX versions of the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake that were included with the Subsistence disc.

While Hideo Kojima is a controversial game director and a film buff as well, it should be noted that there appear to be no additions or changes to these games. Peace Walker is getting online play, which the PSP version had, but it should be far easier to find partners via PSN and Xbox Live. It is almost expected that there would be some new crazy features or modes added to these games, but it looks as if Konami is simply giving MGS the much-needed HD treatment and giving it to gamers the way they remember it.

You may have detected a theme with these three HD examples. All of these are much-beloved games, and fans begged for them to be re-released in high-definition. While some of them may have new features and upgrades, they are by and large optional and do nothing to alter the basic experience of the games as they were originally conceived. In this way, these pieces of gaming history are preserved and brought, not only to the people that remember them, but to an entirely new audience. And that’s an important thing that Mr. Lucas doesn’t seem to understand: there is merit in being able to experience a work as it was originally created. In constantly altering those original Star Wars films, he has changed the tone of entire scenes, and even the motivations of characters. If people want to share that first experience that they had with those films, they have to track down VHS or Laserdisc versions of them, and watch them on an old television, which is out of reach for many people in this culture of “bigger, better, faster” technology. You may never be able to watch the classic Star Wars films in HD as you remember them, but all you have to do to experience the beauty of Ico again is to pop it into your PS3.

And it doesn’t take the Force to know that that’s all people want.