Konami has jumped on the classic-gaming bandwagon with a collection of its old arcade titles. The collection is a relatively low-frills compilation, but the quality of the games more than makes up for a deficiency in the history department.
Most of the games in this collection are standouts. Who can forget great games like Yie Ar Kung Fu, Time Pilot, Scramble, Super Cobra, and Gyruss? The collection also includes some slightly lesser-known games, namely Pooyan, Circus Charlie, Shao-Lin's Road, Roc 'N Rope, and Road Fighter.
All the games control very well, giving you the option of using the digital pad or the analog stick, though considering that all of these games used digital control in the arcade, there's no real advantage to using the analog control. The games make pretty good use of the vibration feature on the Dual Shock pad, which is a nice update that doesn't get in the way of the retro experience.
The graphics are identical to those in the arcade games, though many of the scores and little things - like the fuel meter in Scramble and Super Cobra - have been moved to the right side of the screen to better preserve the original resolution. The sound is also identical to that of the original versions.
A small history section that includes the games' US release dates and a brief paragraph about each game rounds out the package. Also, the games load up with a coin already in each of them, so you never see any of the attract modes. Since this prevents you from seeing the message "Invade the base and carry away booty" in Super Cobra, it's a little disappointing. But if you hold any of these games (Yie Ar Kung Fu and Time Pilot are my personal faves) in high regard, you'll find that they still play well with a PlayStation controller, and this package is definitely worth picking up.
