Overview of Three Popular Arcade Games

Modern arcade games have been around since the 1970s, although the more popular ones that most people are familiar with were created in the 1980s and early 90s. Currently, arcades are not as thrilling as they once were, especially since home consoles and computer games nearly rule the video game market. Many of the popular arcade games have been transferred to a console setting, so if you still want to play a classic arcade game, you can do so from the comfort of your own home.

Of the many arcade games that have been invented, there are a few that warrant in depth analysis due to their monumental impact. Mortal Kombat, created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, was released in arcades in 1992. It was a response to the hit game Street Fighter II, which at the time was one of the highest acclaimed fighting games. What made Mortal Kombat special, and controversial, was the incredible amount of violence. By pushing a unique combination of buttons, players could perform fatalities, which were intensely graphic ways of killing one's opponent.

The games developers did this on purpose, as a way to generate controversy and thus publicity for the game, and their plan worked quite well; in fact, almost too well. Due to Mortal Kombat and a few other games like it, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, commonly known as the ESRB, was created to give ratings to games (such as E, T, and M). Mortal Kombat has been released on several different consoles, and two film adaptations have been made.

Street Fighter was conceptualized more than five years before Mortal Kombat, and was developed by the well known Japanese company Capcom. The game features several characters, the most popular being Ryu, who was only one of two characters (the other being Ken) available for play in the first street fighter. The ten other characters shown in the game could not be controlled by the player. The first Street Fighter did not develop much of a following, although it set the stage for sequels, all of which would gain a better following than the original.

Specifically, Street Fighter II initiated a strong fan base and essentially launched the fighting game genre in to widespread popularity. This was because eight characters could be played, and each had their own unique fighting style. The variety of characters enabled enhanced and prolonged game play, and some people even credit the game with extending the arcade era by a few years.

Rampage allowed up to three players to play at once, controlling various monsters with the purpose of destroying cities. The three monsters included a giant gorilla (George), a gigantic lizard (Lizzie), and a large werewolf (Ralph). Players could destroy buildings by punching, kicking, or jumping on them. You could also climb buildings and eat people and food along the way. Resistance was provided in a variety of forms, such as police, helicopters, tanks, and the army.

In addition, if you tried to eat the wrong thing, like an electrical appliance, you would take damage and fall off the building. When one's life ran out, the monster would revert in to a naked human and walk embarrassingly off the screen. If multiple players were participating, another monster could even eat their human comrade. Several sequels have been created, including some of the Playstation 2, Gamecube, and Wii. No new installments are set to come out in the near future.

Why 80's Arcade Games are the Best

Reminiscing the 80s would never be complete without mentioning about 80s arcade games. An arcade game is a coin-operated gaming machine that you would usually find in entertainment centers, video arcades, and even in restaurants. Popular arcade games are redemption games that give players rewards based on their score in the game; computer-controlled video games; and pinball games wherein the player manipulates one or more metal balls on a playfield.

Flashback

Arcade games began to be so popular in the early 70s. Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney made Atari that released the Pong video game (based on ping-pong or table tennis) that became almost everyone's favorite. The success of the Pong video game spawned lots of imitations and created more and more avid video players. Eventually video game arcades abounded through the 80s. They can be found in the malls, department stores, bars and even in restaurants and movie houses. They're everywhere in the United States

Popular 80s Arcade Games

In the 80s, arcade games became even more popular. Some of the most influential 80s arcade games were the following:

Space Invaders - This game, one of the predecessors of modern video games, was created by the Japanese Toshihiro Nishikado. It was first released in 1978 in Japan. This arcade game mimics a shooting gallery with a movable laser (resembling a cannon) placed below the video screen. There were video aliens that were designed to disrupt the game by passing across the screen and by raining bombs and rays that are deadly. The goal of the player is to avoid those deadly rays and bombs and shoot the aliens so that they won't reach the bottom of the screen or else, he or she will lose in the game.

Pac-Man - This was created by Namco and was first distributed in 1980. It game remains to be popular today though it has already taken new forms. Compared to many 80s arcade games, Pac-Man was not violent, was easy to play and was enjoyable, which explains why it clicked both to young and old, girls and boys alike.

The yellow circle with a mouth called Pac-Man makes people remember this game so well through the years. The game is played by maneuvering Pac-Man through the maze, letting him eat small dots and different item prizes along the way. Ghosts named Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Clyde on the other hand chase Pac-Man.

Donkey Kong - Another video game that emerged so popular among other 80s arcade games was the Donkey Kong. It was made by Nintendo and was introduced in 1981. Basically the game is played by maneuvering the chief character, Mario (formerly Jumpman),across a series of platforms. As Mario goes through the platforms, he has to get rid of obstacles that prevent him from rescuing a damsel in distress from the hands of Donkey Kong.

The abovementioned are only some of the most popular 80s arcade games. There were also the Battlezone, Pengo, Tron, Tetris, Rubik's cube and many others. The craze for 80s arcade games only began to subside in the late 80s when newer forms of entertainment were being introduced such as advanced home video game consoles but 80s arcade games didn't totally die out until the coming of fighting games like the Street Fighter ll that required two players.