3D Dot Game Heroes

This HD homage to the Nintendo games of yore adds a third dimension while maintaining their 8-bit pixel pointillism. Applying a PS3-friendly sheen (depth of field blur, faux lens flares, etc.) 3D Dot Game Heroes is a cubist dreamscape. There's also a character editor so you can re-create, pixel-by-pixel, your favourite old-school game characters. Essentially, that's what they did for the game itself. Set in the kingdom of Dotnia, 3DGH liberally cribs from Legend of Zelda. While some Nintendophiles are crying foul over the over-familiar gameplay, it's both tribute and winking update, peppered with retro-references and in-jokes. Longtime gamers are often torn between their need for nostalgia and their itch for the next iteration. 3D finally hits their sweet spot between retro-fetishism and meta-modernism.