Monday, March 29, 2010

Game Room was made for me

So, I don't know about you but I miss arcades more than anything in the world. I miss the atmosphere, the sounds, the insane cabinet art, and being able to have a bitchin' afternoon with twenty dollars and still being able to remember it. That's why I was so pumped when XBLA announced Game Room. You can download arcade classics for about 3 dollars, and stick them in your own virtual arcade space that you design. Friends can come over and play on your machines, which then gives you tokens to go and play on theirs. Everything is a perfect recreation, from the outrageous cabinet art that looks amazing but ultimately has very little to do with the game proper, to the arcade background noise that is expected from such a crowded and chaotic venue. Everything that was put in this game was added with love and care, and I appreciate that. Currently I have six cabinets: Finalizer, Battlantis, Shao Lin's Road, Tutankam, Asteroids Deluxe, and Centipede. They offer classic home console games too, but I'm really an arcade rat by heart, so I stick to what I know. There's supposed to be weekly releases of games too which is nice. Also I forgot to mention that when your friends go into your arcade they can bust up your high scores and send challenges and a bunch of other cool stuff. It adds a level of competition that I didn't think would be possible in a virtual setting. All in all, I think this is one of the best ideas ever to be implemented on XBLA, and I people really give it a chance. Because, honestly, everyone should know what the golden age of arcades was all about.

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