Just about every media industry, especially film and gaming, has a slight obsession with remakes. Everything from Alone in the Dark to Sid Meier's Pirates has been remade and done to death, sometimes with great fanfare but most frequently with dubious results. But what happened to a time when we played Duck Hunt and Mario on the NES? Thanks to a group of game developers who are part of a trend of "game DE-makes", the retro gaming scene has a chance to get revenge on those money-grubbers who made our beloved characters spin in their graves.

Enter Gang Garrison 2. In its essence, it's both a parody and an ironic statement about the gaming industry. Rather than remaking another game, Faucet (a play on Valve Software) has taken Team Fortress 2 and stripped it down to an 8-bit side-scroller version of itself. Every sound, every graphic, every menu, and every single niche has been "de-made" into an NES-style experience, right down to the menu font.

If you've played Team Fortress 2, you already understand the basic gameplay concept. If you've never played or heard of Team Fortress 2, it's a multiplayer first person shooter in which two teams compete in various scenarios, especially capture the flag and assault. Each player selects a specific character with some specialty. For example, there are spies who specialize in assassination and cloaking, engineers who specialize in building turrets and reloading/healing stations, and heavy weapons specialists who wield unusually large machine guns.

Rather than being an FPS, however, Gang Garrison 2 is a side scroller, and a darn good one at that. Most of the gameplay remains intact, albeit altered or with elements removed. Don't worry, though: the game is fun even if the gameplay isn't exactly like the game it's based on; that's the beauty of a demake! The game is not only stripped down visually, but in terms of gameplay.

Of course, there are a few minor complaints. The ping and lag are issues, especially for those with low-end connections. Also, there isn't a huge variety of servers, and there are a few occasions where you'll find the only open servers are completely laggy.

Even if you're not a big fan of "retro" games, this one is definitely worth a try. If the 8-bit style presentation is not your bag, the gameplay will hook you, regardless. Funny how a game with practically no budget and stripped-down gameplay can be (in my opinion) better than its original.