A remake of Yars’ Revenge, a classic from the Atari 2600 library, is due soon on Xbox Live and PSN. Originally released for the 2600 in 1981, Yars’ Revenge had started out as a home game licence of Cinematronics’ successful arcade game Star Castle. Atari programmer Howard Scott Warshaw juggled the play mechanics around when the deal with Cinematronics fell through, and Yars’ Revenge was born.
The sequel boasts updated graphics, of course, but loses the free-wheeling feeling of the original by being a rail-shooter, keeping the player on a straight track from which there isn’t much deviation. In this regard, it appears much less original than its 2600 brethren. Expect it to hit consoles soon.