One thing people seem to forget about the retro era is that good ideas were absolutely done to death - probably just as much as they are now, in fact. Even the largely similar Dragon Spirit (from 1987, five years later) aped the central mechanics, but comes across now as just another generic vertical shooter with nothing to make it stand out in the slightest. Somehow, a combination of the weedy gun and unimaginative visuals, it's one of those basic old titles that laid the groundwork for other titles but feels incredibly primitive now. Much the same can be said for Xevious, an immensely basic scrolling shooter that was progressive for the time - not only because of the moving vertical playing field, but the ability to shoot ground targets too. Rally-X is as basic as retro gaming gets - driving around a top-down maze trying to capture flags while avoiding the attentions of several pursuing vehicles - and again, fun but entirely inessential. Bosconian is a decent eight-way shooter that has you destroying larger space ships while avoiding oncoming waves, but is one that's set on a frustratingly small portion of the screen and therefore somewhat broken by design. Of the less famous in the list, Mappy (the mouse, of the Micro Police) has you bouncing around a museum, seizing stolen goods from a bunch of thieving cats in a game that's fun for a while, but doesn't quite hit the mark. Them was rotten days Ms Pac-Man, I wanna kiss ya. Just outside that list, Galaxian is a fantastic (but basic) Space Invaders clone, worth revisiting if only for the terrifyingly primal sound effects, and Dig Dug still feels original even now, like an underground Pac-Man where you have to blow up the netherworld beasties before they get you (or escape overground). So, Pac-Man and its more varied, superior sequel Ms Pac-Man share top honours with Galaga - by far the most enduring Space Invaders variant ever released. Now if only they'd release these over the Live Arcade on 360 and we could take our skills onto a worldwide leaderboard.
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Of course, in comparison with any modern game they smile while they slide the knife into your back, but that seems to be part of their inexplicable charm Almost without exception, they're as hard as nails, for sure, but they had to be - these were literally money-making machines specifically designed to extract your loose change, kill you off and leave you wanting more.Īdmittedly, if you've played them to death like we have, you probably won't need yet another compilation to add to your groaning collection, but there's still fun to be had - if only to see whether you've still got what it takes to get near your old high score.
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It's like hearing a classic 60s pop song that's hugely naïve out of context, but somehow spirits you back to a simpler, less cynical era. Games like Ms Pac-Man and Galaga, in particular, are so pure in their uncomplicated brilliance that even returning to them 25 years on is something special. Aside from technical quibbles, it's a solid, unspectacular package.