For years now, all we have heard regarding arcades is that they are dead. While they haven’t been completely eliminated – there are still some great arcades in amusement parks and casinos – the locally owned small town arcade has all but disappeared. One of the reasons is that the price of arcade hardware went up which caused the price for the consumer to rise. Basically, kids blow through their allowance too fast when games are $1-2 a pop so they stopped going to arcades.
Another big reason for the fall of arcades is that the home consoles finally caught up to the arcades in terms of graphics. Arcades used to dominate home consoles in terms of speed and graphical capabilities. Home ports of arcade games were usually watered down, hacked up, former shells of themselves because consoles couldn’t handle them. Eventually, home systems equaled and then exceeded what was possible in the arcade so there was no reason to go anymore because you could get the same experience at home.
Down But Not Out
Well, that statement is only partly true. Sure you can play the same games at home as you can in the arcades, but that is really only part of the arcade experience. Part of the thrill of the arcade is sitting down behind the wheel of a racing game or having to use a stick for a fighting game or getting to dance on a mat or beat on a drum in rhythm games. The excitement of moving around and controlling a game with something other than a controller is a big part of the attraction arcades used to have and still do have among the hardcore gaming community. Another big draw of the arcade is the human competition. Standing toe to toe with another person in a fighting game or racing side by side is absolutely amazing. Arcades are a haven for like minded individuals who love games and just want to play and compete and have fun. You have to put up with some negative aspects such as greasy joysticks, kids running around, and the occasional whiff of BO coming from your opponent, but when you can witness a single match in Tekken 5 with $200 on the line or sit down at a game and actually attract a crowd because you are doing so well, the little annoyances are worth it.
Getting the Arcade Experience at Home
So why all of this arcade love from me all of a sudden? I recently vacationed at a casino in Reno, Nevada and spent more time in the arcade than in the casino. I made some new friends, got a new appreciation for arcades, and played completely through Marvel vs. Capcom 2 twice on one set of tokens (a feat I’m darn proud of) so I figure it was a better use of my money than to dump it into a slot machine. When I left, I had a renewed interest in arcade games and a hunger for getting that same sort of feeling at home and this guide is the end result.
I’ll recommend what games fit into the arcade experience as well as the hardware required to get the right feel. Most of the items in this guide will be for the Xbox unless otherwise noted because playing online is a big part of the overall experience. There are some great PS2 games out there as well as some offline Xbox titles that will also be included. You can find reviews of many of these games – the Xbox games at least – in our Review Section.
Continued on Page 2 - Fighting and Driving Games
