"Not completely gone yet but far from forgotten...."

Arcade games. Who can forget the good old days when you would stand around popping quarters into slots in an effort to beat the highest score or a computerized or human opponent. I got my introduction to arcade games during the early 80s, the Golden Age of arcade games. Back then almost every movie theater had an extensive arcade, and you usually didn't have to look hard to find an arcade in your part of town. Many old-school fans remember the days of Frogger, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders; just to mention a few. At that time the video game industry was beginning to emerge from the Pong Age and diversify the market. Although consloes such as the Atari 2600 also developed the titles mentioned above, they were far inferior to their arcade counterparts. I would often beg my parents to go to the theaters mainly to play arcade games,not to see actual movies. The video game crash of 1983 affected home consoles more than arcade games, but still had detrimental effects on the market. The NES saved the video game industry, but to me it still couldn't match the arcade experience.

In the early 90s, arcades introduced a new genre of games: competitive fighting games. Crowds would gather at the arcades to watch others play Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and sometimes wait 30 minutes or more to play. Joining these were beat em ups like TMNT, Final Fight, and the Simpsons (I am surprised no conslole has picked that one up). Arcades were more than just entertainment; they were socialization and places to meet people. The SNES and Genesis began importing many arcade games into their systems; which were on par with their arcade counterparts. The consequence of this was that the arcade scene slowly started to fade away. By 2000, many old-fashioned arcades had shut their doors permenantly. Solid games like Soul Caliber, Gauntlet Legends, and Star Wars 1998 couldn't halt the encroachment of new generation hme consoles. The advent of on-line gaming was one of the final nails in the coffin for arcades.

While arcade games will probably never go out of style in movie theaters, they have been greatly scaled back. The only places these days where you are likely to find extensive arcade game galleries are at specialty party venues like Dave and Busters, Diversions game room, a few kids places like Chucky Cheeses. It is a real shame because arcades were superb places to meet people and see the latest video game innovations. Now everyone plays Xbox live or MMORPGs, which don't match the excitement and social interaction of arcades. While arcades these days generally feature physical games like Dance Dance Revolution, Skeeball, pinball, there are a few that still have old fashioned games. So if you are lucky enough to find one, spend a few quarters to relive some cherished moments of a past age.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/07