In art and literary criticism, there seems to be an unbridgeable chasm between two schools of thought. One perspective attempts to reward anything that happens to be original, oftentimes ignoring its quality altogether. Another side recognizes the power of using an established genre or format and doing it very well. Video games, like any artistic outlet, have certain elements that have become interwoven in the fabric of the medium.

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1080p resolution. Bloom lighting. Normal mapping. 8-bit graphics? The latest wave of consoles is more high tech than ever, but old-school gaming is surprisingly still in vogue. All three next-gen consoles offer services that celebrate the best of our gaming heritage. A pleasant side effect of this dedication to preserving past classics has been a retro revival; re-releasing older titles is just the tip of the warp pipe. Leave it to long-time industry trendsetter Capcom to rock the retro boat by announcing that Mega Man 9 is being built from the ground up for the Wii, 360, and PS3 in glorious 8-bit. Commence cheering, gaming geezers – everything old is new again.

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