NEW RETRO ARCADE Shows What True Game Immersion Can Be
I post this knowing full well the game is six months old, but I'll be damned if anyone else lives in the darkness of this great game. Perhaps "game" is a term that should be used loosely, as while you can play the games, the experience is the core of what makes New Retro Arcade so great. You are placed in the utopia of late '80s gaming arcades. The black lights and neon are plentiful, the floor galacticly themed, and not an out of service cabinet in sight. This is the arcade of your dreams, and there are no lines, no quarters to spend, and plenty of games to play.
Essentially, New Retro Arcade is a hub for emulators. Players can play their favorite arcade cabinets ranging from the classic Galaga to one of my personal favorites — Simpsons Arcade. Arcade cabinets aren't the limit, however, as the game also features emulation for SNES, Sega Genesis, Gameboy, and a very rudimentary version of darts and bowling. These games are available all around the web, but New Retro Arcade offers an immersion unseen in past gaming experience.
When you're playing Street Fighter 2 on the arcade cabinet, the glare of the overheated cabinet shows in certain areas you move your head. Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" blares in cohesion with the game volume, and just out of the corner of your left eye you can see a Ghostbusters poster. If ever there was a game to justify the purchase of an Oculus Rift, this is it.
The experience is greatly heightened with Oculus Rift, which is great as it has been struggling to find its home within the gaming community as of late. Just playing regularly on the PC, while fun, can be a bit of a trial as tilting your head to see the game properly as well as playing the game can wear on you, but it's still cool as hell.
Did I also mention the game is fully customizable? New Retro Arcade allows you to change the cabinets, movie posters, games, music... you name it. For all intents and purposes, this is THE PERFECT GAMING SIMULATION for both nostalgic and young gamers who don't remember the arcade era... save one thing.
Can you imagine how bad ass this game would be if it had the ability to play multiplayer? After all, what was better back in the day than taking on some random stranger in some Mortal Kombat or teaming up with three other guys for a Gauntlet throw down? If there is any room for improvement for this game, it's that I would like to see that. Of course, the downside is much of the content and rom's you'll use for this game are illegal, but also super fun.
My ultimate hope is that its creators, Digital Cybercherries, has the attention of the big three and will one day work on bringing a project such as this to current or next gen consoles. I can only imagine the fever a digital arcade would spark amongst the gaming community, and I'm hoping I get to see the day very soon.