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What wonderful news! I get to pay even more money for games I've already experienced!

Huh?

For those who don't know, Sony is rereleasing Ico and Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 3 early next year. And listen, I'm sure there will be improvements on the frame rate, a high-definition coat of paint thrown on for good measure, and gameplay tweaks for each game. But who cares? It's Ico and Shadow of the Colossus…again.

Sarcasm aside, this rerelease really excites me.

But do you ever get the feeling that "nostalgia" is a buzz word  — at least concerning video games — that a public-relations flunky somewhere produced to elicit strong feelings of a bygone era. You know: a time when the sun shined more brightly, and lollipops tasted like magic?

Somehow, through an unspoken, general agreement, the video game industry has obtained almost exclusive rights to proper use of the word "nostalgia."

And I'm a total sucker.

 

One of my favorite PS3 games is Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. And I just "rebought" Starcraft because the box had the number "2" on it. Both are phenomenal, and I would purchase them again without hesitation. But come on, I've already played these games! What is wrong with me?

I've been pretty good about taking risks lately. Thanks to Bitmob editor James DeRosa, I bought Drawn: The Painted Tower (fantastic game), and thanks to community member Daryl Bunao, my next purchase is going to be Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (I've already spent a good amount of time with the demo). Basically — long and short of it — I'm trying new things and experiencing alien genres.

And you know what? It feels good…. It's refreshing.

But sometime next year — if Walmart.com and Famitsu are to be believed — I'll be walking into my local game store and asking the cashier to fetch me a copy of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus…again. And while I love those titles, I've purchased the previously with money I don't have anymore. But, I will politely hand the clerk more money that will no longer be mine. Then, I will thank him for allowing me to be a sucker — experimentation with strange titles be damned.

Indeed, I'm a sucker for nostalgia. We all are, and we should be aware of it. At least when it comes to great games.