Arcade video games
Video games got their start in the arcade, beginning with the freestanding Pong and continuing through such classic titles as Asteroids, Centipede and Pac-Man. For a long time, the bulk of this industry’s money and time was spent in the improvement of arcade games, and countless innovations such as Dragon’s Lair’s laserdisc architecture and Pole Position’s multi-console engine were invented here. More recently, fighting games such as Mortal Kombat, Streetfighter and Tekken drew young people back to the arcade in droves. Today the same arcade pioneers are credited with the rise of home gaming.
Of course, the earliest attempts to port such complex games into home systems were generally considered lackluster at best. Although Pac-Man was a breakout hit for the Atari 2600, a number of similar games received disappointing reviews. Of course, home systems quickly grew in speed and graphical firepower, and today some of the most popular games for the home market are considered even better than their arcade-bound forbears. A quick review of the industry for arcade games will undoubtedly please anyone with a vintage sensibility.
What made Mortal Kombat suck a sensation back in the 90’s was its real-time mano a mano play, and the latest 2D revision of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for the Xbox 360 delivers the same thrills and then some. Instead of having to host the party yourself, however, this version of the popular franchise lets you approximate something far closer to the arcade experience by matching wits with strangers. Xbox Live is improving all the time, and even the most hard-bitten MK fans will find the real-time telemetry exceptional here. If you have a broadband connection and a subscription, get ready to rumble.
The PS3 hosts its share of throwback thrills as well in the form of the newly released Ridge Racer 7. Boasting much of the momentum-based mayhem that has made this franchise popular since the arcade, the game re-ups with significant improvements in speed, precision and detailed graphics. Some of the tracks might be familiar here to fans of the RR6, but the game engine is all new and more responsive. If you have played before, you already know much of the trick is about letting your car whip around corners – see the same effect rendered by the PS3’s NVIDIA-SCEI RSX card and you’ll never want to go back.
Of course, you don’t need to invest hundreds of dollars in a new console just to revisit the old classics. Emeritus arcade stand-by Konami has re-released its stable of hits repeatedly over the years, and these days much applause has been heaped on its latest creation: Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits. All the best games are here, from Contra and Scramble to Track & Field and Road Fighter. Ported to the Nintendo DS, the games inspire both glee and competitive fervor as erstwhile gamers revisit the titles of their youth. You can even play against your friends to settle decades-long bragging rights.