Sadly I couldn’t make it out to LA for this year’s I am 8-bit art show this year, which is a real shame. I’ve loved the 2 I’ve been able to attend, even though it was beyond crowded and in a tiny gallery. Well this year has seen an upgrade in the size of the gallery, but from what I hear was still packed! People just seem to love their video game inspired art!

My friend Rachel was in attendance for the opening last night and did me a huge solid and took a bunch of photos, so we can all live vicariously through her! Looks like it was fun, and just like every other year there’s kick ass art all over the place.

Many many pics after the break!

[Thanks Rachel for the pics!]

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I was pretty excited when the new Bionic Commando: Rearmed was announced. The old NES game was a classic (to me) and I really could never figure out why they never revisited the franchise. Problem is that got me to thinking (and that’s never good).

To put it simply there are some classic games that have been criminally slept on when it comes to releasing a proper sequel/remake. How is it an IP like James Pond gets multiple games to it’s credit while out and out classics are left to gather dust? It boggles the mind. And that’s where this post comes in.

It didn’t take long to think of a pretty hefty list of games that seemed to deserve… nay, demand an update of some kind. Whittling that list down was the hard part. What we’re left with is 4 games that rose to the top of my list. And with that, I present what I believe to be the top 4 games begging for proper sequels or fresh remakes.

Feel free to disagree or throw other games in for mention in the comments. But if you do, give us a reason… not just “I can’t believe you didn’t include game X!!!!!! ZOMG1!”
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When most people think of the video arcade, they think of the early eighties. Those were the days of wine and roses (and Pac-Man). Of course it didn’t last very long. The bubble burst and, for the most part, the arcade scene died a quick and painful death. During my formative years however the arcade scene had a brief but successful resurgence. The early nineties saw a number of great titles that brought the popularity of quarter-munching electronic entertainment back to the forefront. Games like Street Fighter II, Lethal Enforcers, and the six-player X-Men Arcade ruled the day. But tucked away in the back of the arcade was one cabinet that few of us knew what to make of. It usually cost a little more than the rest, but it didn’t have just one game. You could choose from two, four, or — if your local arcade could afford it — up to six different games. The big red cabinet didn’t have much in the way of art to draw you in, just big white letters in a generic font . They read NEO-GEO. From the second I put my first fifty cents into that machine, I was in love.

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During this year’s Comic Con NYC weekend, I got a chance to check out Erick Scarecrow’s Soopa Coin Up custom vinyl show over at the Concrete Jungle. Just in case you didn’t know: a “Soopa“ is a vinyl toy that has a shape reminiscent of an old school Coleco Tabletop Arcade from the 80’s. As you would guess, there were quite a few video game based custom designs. It ranged from such classics as Super Mario Brothers to Centipede. My favorite piece from the show was the broken Arcade cabinet; the detail on it was amazing and it even lit up. Great customs all around! You can see more from the show over at Saki’s Flickr page, as well as her blog at Sakiwrotewhat.com. You can also see some more custom after the jump.

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