Ready for a trip down memory lane? There's nothing
like taking in a few more hours of those games you might have
played at the local burger joint, or pizza joint. Spending
quarter upon quarter on coin operated machines, or better yet
the table top versions that became so darn addictive. Now that
we're living in the 90's, is it really necessary to re-visit these
times? Well Microsoft seems to think so, as they've put together
their third collection of classic arcade games entitled 'Revenge
of Arcade'. Previous compilations included Microsoft Arcade
(Asteroids, Centipede, Battlezone, Tempest and Missile
Command) and Microsoft Return of Arcade (Pac-Man, Dig Dug,
Galaxian and Pole Position). This time around, we're treated (I
use that term loosely) to such classics as Ms. Pac Man, Xevious,
Rally-X, Mappy and Motos.
Pac-Man will always be considered one of the
greatest arcade classics of it's time, and Ms. Pac Man wasn't
too bad itself. Claiming to be the wife of Pac-Man (although I
still cling to my theory that Pac-Man underwent a little surgery
to revitalize his sagging career), Ms. Pac Man sports a red bow
and lipstick as she goes around collecting snacks while
evading ghosts. Ms. Pac Man was a nice improvement over the
original Pac-Man, as they incorporated more complex mazes
and more varieties of snacks around each maze. Xevious is a
shoot 'em up, as you take control of a pilot in enemy airspace.
Your objective? Defend yourself against the endless swarms of
baddies attacking from the ground and the air. I could have
sworn there was no ending to this game. Rally-X was a racing
game, where the objective is to maneuver your way around
each course, searching for flags while evading enemy cars and
other nicely placed obstacles. Mappy is a game of cops and
robbers... cat and mouse style. The objective is to move
through each house recovering stolen items while evading the
naughty Mewkies. Finally, Motos is a strange futuristic game,
where you control some kind of vehicle and the object is to
knock enemy vehicles off the playing field. Do any of these
sound familiar?
Graphically... what do you expect? These games are
decades old, therefore the graphics are as outdated as disco
(then again, disco is making a come back too it seems). This is
meant to be a nostalgic collection, so Microsoft laid off any
improvements to these games. There is no 3d support, or
anything of the like. The aim was obviously to replicate the
coin operated machines as best they could, and I suppose they
did a good job at that. Of course though, that means that many
people who might not have experienced these games in their
time, will be turned off immediately by the graphics. Can you
blame them?
The sound in the games are just as basic as the
graphics, so you shouldn't expect much there either. The
controls are incredibly easy to grasp, as are the concepts of
each game. Each game is easily customizable as well,
allowing you to change everything from rate of fire, to the
number of lives you wish to have.
There's not a great deal I can tell you about this
collection of games. I guess the aim of these Microsoft
compilations isn't to wow gamers, but rather to provide a five
to ten minute diversion while at work or at home. I suppose
instead of opening up a game of Hearts, you could chomp on
some ghosts in Ms. Pac Man (Pac-Man in drag I tell you) or
something of the like. It's nothing more, nothing less... well
maybe it's less.
There is not much to describe about this game,
Basically the name says it all. Microsoft, yet again, brings you a
compilation of old arcade classics. In ' Return of the Arcade',
you get to choose from: Ms. Pacman, Rally-X, Xevious, Motos
and Mappy. These games are pretty much ancient now, but its
great to see that 10 years can make a very big difference in the
gaming industry.
Ms. PacMan is very much identical to the original
Pac-Man, so there isn't much difference between the two. You
basically just go around the level eating dots and while you eat
dots you have to make sure you don't get eaten by the
monsters. Monsters can be eaten if you eat a Super-Dot which
only lasts for a few seconds. Rally-X is a game where you have
to go around the levels collecting items while not being hit by
a red car which are the enemies. They can be dodged using
the smoke key. Xevious is shooter where you take control of a
ship and shoot space objects which are your enemies. Motos is
a sort of a strategy game where you must bump into these
colored balls and you have to bump them off the platform but
at the same time you bump with them so you have to make
sure you don't fall off. Mappy is a game where you basically
jump around the levels and collect stuff also. Most of the
games aren't exciting and basically are boring.