I recently took some time to visit the Internet Arcade and it was like a time warp to the after school hours of my elementary school and junior high years when my friends and I would rush over to the ice cream parlor that also served as our town's arcade and spend hours playing video games. The Internet Arcade is a web-based library of more than 900 arcade (coin-operated) video games from the 1970s and 1980s. Wow! you can really see how far technology has advanced when you spend some time playing these classic games that were state-of-the-art during their time and compare them to those we can play now on home video game consoles, tablets, or even our phones. Still while the games in the Internet Arcade may not have high def graphics or dazzling special effects, they can still provide you with a lot of fun. Oh, and by the way did I mention they are also all FREE to play!
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| Capcom's AVENGERS |
One of my all time favorite video games was called AVENGERS and I spent countless hours and an unimaginable amount of quarters enjoying brawling through its levels with my friends when I was in eight grade. I haven't seen this game since junior high though I've always kept in eye out for it over the years...even considering looking to maybe buy one of the original arcade machines for my house if I could fine one. Lo and behold the first game I stumbled across on the Internet Arcade was the AVENGERS! how about that...I just blew through an hour before writing this post having a blast fighting my way through Paradise City feeling like I was twelve years old again.
The game that was right next to AVENGERS at my local arcade hangout is also on the Internet Arcade: INDIANA JONES & THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. I thought that game was so cool at the time and you look at the graphics now and just winch, but it is still fun running around a maze on the screen snapping at snakes and bad guys with your whip in one level and racing through tunnels in a mine car through the next one.
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| Atari Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom |
A nice feature is that if you have a game controller for your computer the games will recognize it and you can play like you are using an arcade machine's joystick. If you don't have a video game controller for your computer...like me... than most of the games use the arrow buttons, Ctrl, Alt, and Space Bar tabs on your keyboard to control the action. Each game is different though and unfortunately they don't do a good job of informing you of what the control buttons are so lots of time it is learning by just pounding keys til you get a grasp of things...which can be very frustrating.
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| Taito Jungle Hunt |
I wish I had a game controller because the keyboard controls just aren't as much fun but they are doable, especially for games like Burger Time, Frogger, Jungle Hunt and Pacman. I had a good time playing these games with the arrow buttons as my primary controls. Unfortunately, I found not every game works with the keyboard. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi just would not work! On the other hand the racing game Outrun worked great!
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| SEGA Outrun |
For some retro fun take a moment to swing by the Internet Arcade to play some video games old school style. Visit archive.org/details/internetarcade for all the fun of going to an arcade without the expense of the quarters. These games are all FREE to play but you do have to click on an insert coin button to start each game just to keep the experience legit.
For more information on exactly how these game platforms work through your web browser or if you are having trouble getting them to work CLICK HERE for "A Quick Guide on How to Play on the Internet Arcade"
