It's hard to deny the resurgence of "old school" in our society. People often long for things from yesteryear, never really letting go of things long dubbed passé by everyone else. Then something happened a few years back and people long for the days when "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" were cool, Legos were still fun and Clinton was macking on White House interns.

But this revival doesn't stop here — far from it. Perhaps at the forefront of it all is the rebirth of old-school video games over the last few years. The gamers who first fell in love with the likes of Mario and Link so many years ago are now able to recreate those games for a whole new generation to enjoy. So this week, we at Nerd Alert are tossing on our Starter jackets, listening to a little Weird Al and taking a look at old-school video games reborn. Game on.

Ryan:

Some of my fondest memories as a child involve old-school video games. I can remember playing "Super Mario Bros." and "Tecmo Super Bowl" for hours on end, enjoying the gaming goodness. Then came the Genesis and Super NES, and my favorite thing to tell my parents about the new games I wanted was, "Such incredible graphics." A few generations later and I'm enjoying my PS2 and looking forward to yet another generation of amazing consoles this year.

But isn't it fun to stop every now and then and take a stroll down memory lane? It was, in multiple ways, all made possible with today's technology. Perhaps most instrumental in bringing about this renaissance of yesteryear's games was the perfection of console emulators for computers. By downloading one of these programs, not only can one play literally every game known for the console (with maybe the exception of "Duck Hunt"), but do it all for free.

So long as you already own a copy of the game (hey, we keep it legal at Nerd Alert), you are free to download the emulated version of the same game and play it using your computer. Toss in a Logitech USB controller so you can avoid using the keyboard and you're set. Better yet, some incredibly inventive gamers have found a way to rewire an old NES controller into a USB peripheral for the ultimate in nerdy endeavors (www.joystiq.com/2004/09/07/how-to-make-a-nintendo-controller-into-a-pc-joystick).

With emulation programs constantly improving, gamers are now treated to almost perfect ports of NES, SNES, Genesis, Atari and Game Boy games — with likely more on the way. Will gamers someday be able to play "Shadow of the Colossus" using an emulator? I certainly hope so.

Sundeep:

While emulators are one way to relish old-school games, some often worry about, well, the illegality of it all. Most people who use emulators are technically guilty of the same crime music pirates are guilty of. If you don't own the game, you technically don't own the emulation.

But you want to play "Mario Bros." or "Snake" or something 8-bit like that — what to do? That's where the Nintendo Revolution comes in.

Nintendo's newest console will be completely backward compatible all the way to the days of NES. How would they do that? Easy. Yay for the Internet. Yes, that's right, you'll be able to purchase the games right off the Internet and have them downloaded straight to the Revolution.

It is certainly possible that games may be re-released in sets, or "albums," the way iTunes has famously sold music. More precisely, you might be able to purchase all of the "Zelda" games (the original "Legend of Zelda" all the way to "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask") as a package. However, there is no word on just how much one might have to pay to enjoy Mario and Co. from the 8-bit, 16-bit and 64-bit days. In addition, Sega has also expressed interest in the Revolution's backward compatibility, so players might also enjoy a slew of "Sonic" games.

In addition, current Gamecube owners will be able to play their games in the Revolution.

Ryan:

Companies are taking note of the rising demand to play these old games and are releasing ports and remakes aplenty. Capcom is really taking the demand seriously, churning out countless "Collections" for gamers to gobble up. The "Capcom Classics Collection" (C3) is certainly a worthy purchase, featuring titles like "Final Fight," "Ghosts 'n' Goblins" and "Street Fighter 2." For a mere $20 (seriously, it's that cheap), this is basically the game you'd be stupid to not get. Capcom has also brought back everyone's favorite reploid with the release of the "Mega Man X Collection." The games hold up incredibly well against today's best; plus, buying this title for your PS2 or GameCube may be the only way to get actual copies of "Mega Man X2" and "Mega Man X3" without selling your first-born. $30 vs. first-born? It's a tough one, but I'll take $30.

Sega has also jumped on the bandwagon, releasing its "Sonic Mega Collection Plus." Anyone who knows anything about gaming lore will likely tell you that Sega's "Sonic the Hedgehog" series is one of the better platforming experiences to be had. This collection features all of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" titles released on the Genesis, as well as a handful of "Sonic" titles from Sega's Game Gear. But the "Plus" means it's even better, right? Quite right. Sega has thrown in a heap of special features, including hidden games like "Flicky," "Ristar" and — the perennial favorite — "Comix Zone." It's hard to argue with the $20 price tag, given the sheer volume of gaming gems included on the disc.

Sundeep:

If there's one way the gaming industry knows how to make money, it is by capitalizing on the success of the past. One way to do that is by re-releasing classics. However, the second tends to be my personal favorite: remake. A complete remake of a classic video game lures players with the possibility of reliving their favorites while never leaving a game's original greatness.

I'm personally very excited about Sega's newest "Sonic" game for the Playstation 3, still appropriately re-dubbed "Sonic the Hedgehog." So far, trailers feature the same old Sonic jumping from boxes and loops and whatever else is around him with one major twist: he's doing it in the third dimension and the scenery looks phenomenal, while the robots look mean … really mean.

If Sonic's not your thing, Lara Croft is. Who doesn't like Lara Croft? "Tomb Raider" returns to the gaming world, remade for next-generation consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) with "Tomb Raider: Legend." So far, it seems like the same old "Tomb Raider" setup: go around, solve puzzles, shoot things. It's perfect. What's best, of course, is the new graphic overhaul. Lara Croft never looked so good (Shut up. I know what you're thinking.).

Along the same vein as "Tomb Raider," "Resident Evil" will also return with its fifth installment for the PS3. I don't need to tell you about "Resident Evil 5." It's going to be what you want and it's going to be better than it was last time around. Enjoy.

Ryan ([email protected]) and Sundeep ([email protected]) are hopelessly addicted to video games. Sundeep is playing "World of Warcraft." His friends and family miss him. Ryan recently picked up the "Mega Man X Collection," as you can probably tell. He's quite pleased.

Versus

Zero:

While X often gets the credit in the "Mega Man X" series, Zero is clearly the better robot. He never needs to level himself up — he was already built to kick ass. And powers from robot masters? Please. Zero doesn't concern himself with that nonsense.

With trusty plasma sword in tow and his hydraulic body running like a dream, Zero is a force to be reckoned with. True, Sigma once took him out of commission, but he'll never admit to it. He was simply "on vacation — from kicking ass."

Ryo Hazuki:

Following the death of his father, Ryo takes it to the streets of a small-town Japan to find the killer. Throughout "Shenmue," Ryo feeds kittens, plays soccer with local boys, asks where he can find sailors and eventually fights hordes of thugs.

When the plug was pulled on the third installment of his quest, Ryo turned to the same streets to make some money. Make no mistake about it — he's still looking for sea men … just a bit of a different kind.

And the winner is …

The battle gets underway with Ryo trying to seduce Zero with promises of fame and fortune if they were to team up. Zero, always faithful to his weaker friend X, answers Hazuki's proposition with a mighty swipe of his plasma sword — slicing off his hand.

Ryo, in a feat of pure adrenaline, picks Zero up and begins trying to tear apart his robotic limbs. After losing one of his arms, Zero somehow shakes himself free and, with one remaining arm, blasts a mighty plasma shot into Ryo's head, completely incapacitating him.

Winner: Zero