Missile Command
When it comes to games from the pre-8-bit era, such as old arcade titles, old Atari games and pong, most of them don't really hold my interest. If I had been around in the 70's I'd imagine myself turning my nose up at 'electronic games'; although I may have had interest in text based adventures since I did love computers as a kid and there really wasn't much else to do on them at the time. Really that and Bannermania..
But one game that I always seem to come back to; one game that if I spot in a retro arcade beeline for, is Missile Command. I had never played Missile Command in the arcades as a kid, but I had played various clones including one on my Dad's PC which featured Canadian flags and a Toronto skyline instead of the usual cities.
Missile Command is really just one of the few skill-testing, no-story, quarter-munching games that I can't help but keep going back to. It's easily one of my favorite 'retro' arcade titles. Part of what makes it such a neat experience is the giant weighted trackball. Many ports of this game have you using a mouse or a controller, but it really isn't the same. The proper arcade cabinet features a extra-large trackball that is easily a few pounds. It feels like perhaps there is more repercussion to your input than just the cursor on the screen. As you get it's momentum moving, rolling the cursor to the part of the sky you want to launch your counter-missiles, you have to start rolling it against itself to counter it's momentum and start your cursor on it's way to the other end of the screen as a new wave of missiles have started to arrive. Unique controls like this (not that these are that unique.) are one of the great things I enjoy about arcade cabinets. That experience you just can't get at home.
There's a lot of love going around lately for retro arcades. With home consoles and PCs becoming so affordable over the past couple decades there's no need to go to the arcade to get your gaming fix. With the internet, global hi-scores are available for competition and there's no waiting in line for your favorite game. But time makes the heart grow fonder and the old CRT screens that I couldn't get away from fast enough now have a certain blurry, glowing appeal you can't find anywhere else. Everytime I attend PAX East the local American Classic Arcade Museum is in setup and I get a chance to play myself a whole bunch of Missile Command. Which is simply awesome. And if you look around, you can find more classic arcades popping up. Toronto has a few, including the Get Well bar where Capy games hosts their monthly Torontaru meetup. Just keep your eye's peeled.
When it comes to games from the pre-8-bit era, such as old arcade titles, old Atari games and pong, most of them don't really hold my interest. If I had been around in the 70's I'd imagine myself turning my nose up at 'electronic games'; although I may have had interest in text based adventures since I did love computers as a kid and there really wasn't much else to do on them at the time. Really that and Bannermania.. But one game that I always seem to come back to; one game that if I spot in a retro arcade beeline for, is Missile Command. I had never played Missile Command in the arcades as a kid, but I had played various clones including one on my Dad's PC which featured Canadian flags and a Toronto skyline instead of the usual cities.
There's a lot of love going around lately for retro arcades. With home consoles and PCs becoming so affordable over the past couple decades there's no need to go to the arcade to get your gaming fix. With the internet, global hi-scores are available for competition and there's no waiting in line for your favorite game. But time makes the heart grow fonder and the old CRT screens that I couldn't get away from fast enough now have a certain blurry, glowing appeal you can't find anywhere else. Everytime I attend PAX East the local American Classic Arcade Museum is in setup and I get a chance to play myself a whole bunch of Missile Command. Which is simply awesome. And if you look around, you can find more classic arcades popping up. Toronto has a few, including the Get Well bar where Capy games hosts their monthly Torontaru meetup. Just keep your eye's peeled.
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