"Some of the best and most challenging games are arcade games"

Much like PCs, it’s hard to review arcade machines in terms of their technical aspects and such because every one is different. Arcade machines generally are about as powerful as consoles available at the same time, and some even use a modification of console hardware. Generally speaking arcade games have impressive graphics and audio since they are designed to grab your attention immediately and keep you away from other arcade machines.

For the most part, arcade games redefine the word “difficult.” Arcade games are designed to be played and completed in a short period of time while killing you enough that you have to keep feeding the machine your money. As a result arcade games have little or no plot development but are half hour to an hour of intense combat.

Most arcade games are either fighting (e.g. Mortal Kombat, Capcom vs. SNK), shooters (e.g. Gradius, R-Type, various FPSs), or sports (Racing, Baseball, Track & Field), or action games such as The Simpsons or Ninja Gaiden.

While there are certainly bad arcade games, arcades have a much higher percentage of good and great games than consoles, portables, or PCs. The fact that the games can be so difficult, and yet you still want to keep spending your money on them says a lot.

Almost all arcade games have some sort of multiplayer aspect, which is really what arcade gaming is about. I cannot think of a single fighting or sports game that does not have a Vs mode or an action or shooter game that does not have between 2 and 4 co-op play.

There is more to arcade games than just the game, there is also the experience of playing the game in an arcade that makes it so much fun. Playing an intense game against random people in a huge building dedicated to gaming is just something you can’t get from PCs or consoles, even with online games.

Like everything else, there are drawbacks to arcade gaming, and the biggest one is the cost. Nowhere else can you dump $10 worth of quarters into a machine in an hour or two and not even notice. A dedicated arcade gamer can easily spend more money in a year than a person does on a console and have nothing to show for it.

The other drawback is finding and getting to an arcade. If you don’t have a decent one around you, then you are out of luck. This problem and the costs have been solved with emulation, which is pretty good for the most part. Of course, emulation is in a legal gray area and you lose out on the experience of gaming in an arcade. But if you don’t have an arcade with the games you want available, then you really don’t have another option, aside from not playing the games.

Best of the arcades
Action - The Simpsons, Ninja Gaiden, Alien vs. Predator
Shooters - Gradius, R-Type
Fighters - Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Capcom vs. SNK
Old-School - Pong, Tempest, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, Centipede

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/18/04