Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond.

Screenshot from the forthcoming Rise of the Triad remake, rebuilt from the ground up using Unreal Engine 3.

It’s quite easy to remake something, be it a tv show, movie, or video game. Maybe that’s why there are so many of them. At worst, a remake can be nothing more than a simple cash grab aimed at nostalgic fans. At best however, it can bring back what fans loved about the original work while introducing it to a whole new generation of fans. It’s not hard to make a good remake either, especially in gaming. There are 4 simple steps to making one:

1. Preserve (and enhance when and where necessary) what worked the first time around
2. Fix (or get rid of) what didn’t work
3. Add in new features that enhance the original experience without diluting it
4. Give it a graphical makeover. It doesn’t have to use today’s cutting edge graphics (and in some cases, it probably shouldn’t, just so as long as it looks better than it did the first time.

Here are 5 of the best remakes in video games. They’ve gone above and beyond simply reskinning and re-releasing the original game, they’ve added to it, and in some cases changing it completely while preserving what players loved about it so many years ago. Check them out, and sound off below if there is a remake that you enjoyed or that you want to see.
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THQ is bringing retro flavor to Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network this November with “Voltron: King Zarkon Returns” video game.

Interspersed with footage from the original series, gamers will find themselves able to play either online in seamless 1- to 5-player co-op or offline in 1- or 2-player co-op. Players will select a Lion based on a number of strengths, resistances and elemental attacks, and will battle it out on Planet Arus against familiar Robeasts.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade (800 Microsoft Points) and PlayStation Network ($9.99).

Looks like we’ll be getting a new game based on the Batman franchise, albeit without Batman. Gotham City Impostors will be a downloadable game for Playstation Network and XBox Live Arcade.

Make no mistake, this is the latest entry in Konami’s Contra franchise. For real, check the main menu theme and game over theme. Despite it’s anime look (courtesy of developer Arc Systems) and sci-fi setting, this entry contains all the hyperactive shoot-em-up action that you expect from the series. The story is pretty generic, with the typical evil government and you as a former soldier out to stop them, but who plays a Contra game for the story? You (and a buddy if playing co-op) grab your guns, and blast everything that moves, picking up weapon upgrades you find en route. You can play in traditional arcade mode, or an all new ‘Rising’ mode where you can earn new moves and weapon upgrades. Extra characters are available for download. Uprising is part of Konami’s attempt to start a spin-off franchise with Hard Corps (originally released on the Genesis during the 90s), and if future titles are as good as this, Hard Corps will represent a new direction for the Contra franchise just as it did all those years ago. Weather you’re a fan of Contra, or just like old school 2D action, you’ll want to download this title.