Modern video games, including casinos not registered in UK, as we know them today, originated from a time when brave gamers found themselves gambling in arcade halls. In their heyday, they offered an unparalleled gaming experience long before arcade machines could fit into our living rooms or home consoles were available on the market. With the popularity of game consoles today, such halls are more of a rarity. What remains, however, is the enormous influence of arcade games, which can still be found today on all handhelds, PCs, and consoles and provide gamers with a lot of fun gambling. Below are the best arcade games (in no particular order).
MARIO BROS
Nowadays, everyone can probably imagine Mario, the plumber dressed in red, and his brother in green, Luigi. Mario Bros. was a game released by Nintendo as a successor to Donkey Kong, which is also on this list. The game came out in the year 1983. The game system of Mario Bros. is simple. It is Mario’s task to defeat and kick away enemies in the form of turtles through various levels. An important element in the game is the tubes from which the turtles appear. These were implemented after developer Shigeru Miyamoto walked past a wall with many tubes on his way home. The tubes were his solution to the problem that without an effective spawn and despawn system, there would probably be too many turtles in the game world after a short time. Mario Bros. was the most defining game of the Mario series as we have come to know and love it. In Mario Bros. for example, elements were introduced that will be used throughout the future game series. Here, for example, it was integrated for the first time that Mario works as a plumber and also the green tubes are probably now a very iconic element of the game.
PAC-MAN
This classic arcade game hardly needs an explanation. Everyone knows Pac-Man. Developed by Namco in Japan in 1980, the game went around the world and still sticks in people’s minds today. In the arcade version of the game, you control Pac-Man with the joystick. The goal of the game is to eat points in a maze and run away from ghosts. However, there are so-called “power pills” that allow the player to also chase the ghosts for a short time. Sometimes symbols appear on the board, such as cherries, which can be collected for extra points. If the extra symbols are not collected, then they simply disappear after some time. Pac-Man is one of the most popular arcade games. The levels in Pac-Man do not differ in their design or game objective, but only in the increased game speed. This increases the difficulty level more and more. Meanwhile, you can play Pac-Man for free on a large number of websites. One example is Google, which has developed its own Pac Man Doodle game.
STREETFIGHTER II
Streetfighter II is a popular Japanese arcade game that Capcom released in 1991. It is the most famous title of the series of the same name, which achieved worldwide success. In Street Fighter II many elements of its predecessor Street Fighter can be found. Two opponents fight in front of exotic scenery, and through button combinations, the player is able to carry out special maneuvers. In Street Fighter II, for the first time, the player had the option to choose between different game characters, all of which had different fighting styles and maneuvers. The new characters also offered backstories not seen before. Street Fighter II received much praise upon its release for its great graphics, intuitive controls, and game design at the time. The game achieved such a cult status that the series continued for many years and even inspired a movie. Nowadays, like so many other arcade games, Street Fighter II can be played online for free.
SPACE INVADERS
Standing alongside Pac-Man in the early development of arcade games and later video games was Space Invaders. In 1978, the game programmed and designed by Tomohiro Nishikado was released and distributed by Taito. Space Invaders reached popularity never seen before in video games at that time. In Japan, shortly after the game’s release in arcades, 100-yen coins became scarce the country. The game system of Space Invaders is as follows: The player controls a cannon at the bottom of the playfield. The cannon itself can move from right to left and fire projectiles. From above, steadily synchronized rows of aliens approach. The player’s goal is to shoot the aliens with the cannon before they reach the ground on which the cannon is placed. The player himself has unlimited ammunition to defend himself against the aliens, but a new shot can only be fired whenever the last shot has disappeared from the screen. The player starts each level with three lives. These can be lost by aliens shooting the cannon, or an alien reaching the ground. The player also has green blocks behind which he can hide until they are shot either by the aliens or himself. Every now and then spaceships also appear on the screen, which the player can shoot down. This earns valuable bonus points.
Conclusion
No matter what generation you belong to, you’ve probably come into contact with old arcade games at least a few times. Nowadays, you don’t even have to go to the arcade anymore, but can easily play them online.
