When does something become mundane and lackluster? If you asked my partner she would probably say the day after she met me. When it comes to video games though we seem to have a different standard, and it’s now a perfectly acceptable trend to dig up old games and “remaster” them.

Time has a strange way of changing our perspective. Sometimes everything in the past is seen through rose-tinted spectacles. We forget everything that was bad, those dodgy camera angles, awful controls and frustrating levels and label it a retro classic.

 

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and (kinda) Love Reboots

I guess for me, the biggest issue I have with remastered games is the reason behind the remaster. Obviously first and foremost, it’s a financial reason to bring a loved titled back as a remaster but it’s the secondary reasons that interest me. If the team are respectful to the legacy of a game and want to do it justice, as a solid remaster, with a love letter to the fans and with a ground-up remaster, that’s when it more than likely becomes a good reboot and something to experience again. However, there are some awful remasters out there and some just baffle me. For instance, games being considered a remaster after the original was released three years ago. What is that about?

They brought out a remastered edition of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

If you bought a book and the next month Amazon email you and say “I’m really sorry but this book wasn’t what the author wanted, as when he wrote it, we didn’t have the best printers so if you could pay for another copy, this is the remastered book and it’s slightly better as the words look nicer.” What the fuck is that all about? I’m sorry but if you remaster a game four years after releasing the original, the original clearly was not ready for initial release or it’s just a clear money making scheme. I’m calling it out for what it is.

 

It’s great when done right, but it can wrong too

I’m now going to use the term remaster lightly, in the same sense that you could paint an old IBM 5150, slap some stickers on it and call it a remaster.

So with this in mind, the much loved Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, from everyone’s favorite developer Naughty Dog, now in the hands of everyone’s least favorite publisher – unless it’s a Call of Duty title – Activision. Set to release on the 30th June for the low low price of £29.99 as a “remaster” and not a “remake”, this basically means it’s a exact copy of the original game. There’s no new levels, no developer commentary, just better graphics.

In my opinion, completely worthless unless you are a die hard fan and want to play a PlayStation One game in pretty 4K colours, even if it doesn’t quite look like other 4K games. If you buy this I don’t think you’ll be blown away by the story or innovative gameplay, the graphics won’t stun you as you slowly check out the landscape and you will more than likely be playing a game you played as a kid that involves smashing crates of apples and jumping. If however, you’ve not played the games before I can imagine it being somewhat fun.

A HD version of the original Resident Evil was released to coincide with the new generation of HD consoles

Or, you could take your £30.00 and purchase a innovative new Indie IP and support the creation of new games and show big publishers that we aren’t cash cows to be milked every year with a new FIFA, Call of Duty, Assassins Creed or a “remaster”.

If you would like a list of fantastic games for under £30.00 you could play instead of this feel free to comment below and I will happily provide you with a great list of games you may of missed!