PixlBit

Rise from your grave! And embark on a mediocre adventure!

Altered Beast was Sega’s showcase game for the Genesis debut, doing its best to attract extreme-minded 90s teens with its muscular protagonist who could transform into kick-ass werewolves and dragons. Although I was smack dab in the middle of the game’s focus group at the time, I was dorkier than Sega ever imagined and wasn’t interested in the least. With M2’s 3D conversion of Altered Beast hitting the 3DS, I figured it deserved another chance, and boy am I completely indifferent about my experience.

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Jordan Mechner's latest remake plays it safe.

Remakes can breathe new life into classic games, which despite being paragons of their time, are now becoming relics of the past. They represent a chance to update more than graphics and sound, but also gameplay and value to match contemporary standards without compromising the timeless elements for which they were originally known. Karateka, a remake of the 1984 martial arts-themed Apple II game of the same title, is true to its roots but aims unfortunately low in terms of bringing something new to the table.

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They just don't make 'em like they used to.

There's little more important when creating an HD remake than ensuring you've at least duplicated (even better, exceeded) the functionality and feel of the original title. Apparently Robomodo didn't get the memo when creating Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, which represents a remix of the first and second game in the series. The HD "upgrade" is noticeably clunkier and more cumbersome, not quite matching up to the extremely fluid titles on the PlayStation, N64, Dreamcast, and Xbox.

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The first game in the Oddworld series is getting a "from the ground up" remake.

The Oddworld series is a beloved franchise, but outside of a the recently released Stranger's Wrath HD port and the upcoming Munch's Oddysee rerelease not much has been heard.  The Hand of Odd is still coming, but no one really knows when, but that's okay since Just Add Water keeps on giving the series some HD love, as it has been announced that the first game in the series, Abe's Oddysee, will not get a HD remix as originally planned, but a full-on remake.

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It’s all '80s, all the time.

Double Dragon is one of those games that everyone has played, or at least heard of. From its humble beginning as an arcade brawler, the franchise has gone on to make an appearance in some form in almost every console generation. The original title was ported to nearly every available system at the time, including the Atari 2600 in 1988. (And you thought this console generation was long!) Brothers Jimmy and Billy have been in one on one fighting games, have teamed up with the Battletoads on the SNES, and had the Double Dragon world predominantly featured in a completely over the top fan tribute to the NES called Abobo’s Big Adventure. Needless to say, Majesco and WayForward have some pretty big shoes to fill.

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