Internet Arcade Brings 900 Classic Video Games To Your Web Browser

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!

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.

Atari Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom

These games work through emulating the original software through the processing power of an Internet browser.  While they work on most browsers the most effective ones to use are Firefox and Chrome to obtain the best game play.  Also these games don't work on tablets or phones even if you have Internet access...at least not when I tried to access them via my iphone and ipad...so you'll need to access them through a PC.

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.

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!

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"

There really is a Fix It Felix Jr video game!

Growing up in the 80's one of my biggest thrills was a trip to the local arcade and playing the high-tech 8-bit games of the time, like Donkey Kong, Burger Time, Q-bert, and Pacman, with their neon blinking lights and chirping sound effects that left us kids in awe and amazement.  My favorite video game of the time was Popeye which I spent hours upon hours playing with dollars upon dollars of quarters.  You played the famous comic strip sailerman trying to grab the hearts thrown out by your love Olive Oyl as the bully Bluto chases after you trying to knock your block off.  But if you gained enough points and grabbed a can of spinach you could super punch Bluto off the screen and keep him from kidnapping your beloved Olive Oyl.  Compared to today's three dimensional high definition games that you can play online against dozens of people who can be located anywhere in the world at once Popeye is really "old school" but it is still one of my favorite games of all time and I have really fond memories of those arcade visits of my youth.  I really wish someone would make an adaption for my Ipad or Iphone of Popeye like they've done for Pacman and Frogger. Unfortunately, Popeye is a Nintendo creation which at the moment won't publish their games, like Donkey Kong & Super Mario Brothers, for smartphones and tablets because they see it as competition to their own game counsel business.

I rented the Disney movie Wreck It Ralph and watched it with my kids last night.  The movie brought back a lot of nostalgia for those arcade games of my youth.  In the movie Ralph is the bad guy in an arcade game called "Fix It Felix Jr" which is celebrating its 30th anniversary thus putting it's origination at around the time period games like Popeye and Donkey Kong were popular.  Ralph "wrecks" an apartment building in the game and throws bricks at Felix Jr, the "hero" of the game who fixes the damage caused by "Wreck it Ralph" with a magic hammer. "Wreck it Ralph" becomes tired of being overshadowed by Felix Jr. and being treated poorly by the other characters in the game so he sets out to turn himself from "villain" to "hero" in which the movie's adventures ensue.  For more about the movie visit the official Disney site  http://disney.go.com/wreck-it-ralph/  

 While watching Wreck it Ralph my kids were asking me if they could get the "Fix It Felix Jr." video game to play. I smiled and told them I didn't think it existed and was just a part of the movie but curiously typed "Wreck it Ralph" into the Apple app store search feature on my Ipad.  Low and behold what did appear? The "Fix it Felix Jr." video game did exist and it was available for FREE on the app store!  Disney has recreated the "Fix It Felix Jr." game from the movie in all its 8-bit graphics glory.  My kids and I have had a blast playing  it this weekend ... I guess you can go back to the arcade again! I really enjoyed sharing an experience with my children that was similar to my own childhood experiences where we all had fun playing together.  Whether or not you grew up in the Pacman/Donkey Kong generation I think anyone will have a good time trying out this fun retro themed video game.

CLICK HERE to download the "Fix it Felix Jr." video game from the Wreck it Ralph movie.

I'm an ios guy with iphone, ipad & itouch mobile devices so most of my posts about tech stuff will have Apple app store links ... that doesn't mean there aren't similar apps for androids, windows, etc just means I may not have looked for them.