With more 80's flare than the A-team, Game Room brings the 80's back like a blast from the past! B-B-Boom!
Introduction:
Game Room is the result of the development teams at Krome studios and Microsoft to bring back a blast from the past in the form of ancient arcade, Atari 2600, and Intellivision titles playable on the PC and 360. The premise of "Game Room" is to allow gamers to outfit their own virtual arcade with downloadable (At 240 Microsoft Points) arcade cabinets while offering more custom arcade décor unlocks obtainable by leveling up through playing and earning medals in your purchased titles. The majority of the downloads include 3 types of medals in the typical gold, silver, and bronze variety which include a Point Buster medal for high scores, a Survivalist medal for time spent alive, and a Time Spender medal for the amount of time spent playing a certain title. However, it should be noted that while most titles include the ability to win 3 medal types there are a few titles that only offer the "Time Spender" medal (An excellent spreadsheet has been offered with special thanks to Edward Hyena at http://www.tinyurl.com/GameRoomMedalChart that includes wonderful information on medal conditions and medal types per title). Finally, Microsoft expects Game Room to have a 3 year life with content downloads weekly, offering new titles, themes, and arcade mascots.
Note: It should be noted to those weary of achievement ratios and scores that entering the "Showcase Arcade" from the title screen will forever unlock the "Show Me" achievement eternally brandishing "Game Room" to your played titles. In addition, it should be noted that gamepacks are not free games! These are simply demos of the games you have the option of purchasing outright (240 MSP or 40 MSP per session).
The Good:
• Great Features-Game Room excels with features including leaderboards (Top 20 players per title), the ability to rewind time and change game variables in classic play, the option to send challenges and compete against friends with similar titles, and the chance to visit friends arcades through Xbox live.
• A Blast from the Past-Offering the ability to play forsaken, forgotten, and hard to find titles at the portion of the cost of the original hardware.
• Updates-With a 3 year run of weekly updates in the works, Game Room will eventually have a very extensive library of old school classics.
• Environment and Sound-Game Room truly captures the feel, sound, and flare of the arcade without distracting from the actual gaming experience.
The Bad:
• Everything comes with a Price-Nothing about Game Room is free. You can demo each title once but subsequent plays cost Microsoft points and in order to unlock most of the achievements you MUST purchase titles. (240 Microsoft Points)
• Old and Outdated-Most of the games available for download are older than the gamers who'll be playing them. Subsequently, graphics, sound, controls, and every other aspect of the titles are as outdated as the games themselves.
• Limited Market-Most of the games in Game Room won't appeal to anyone aside from those who still glorify in the bygone days of arcades past.
• Achievements-As with everything in Game Room, even achievements come with a price. In order to obtain a complete 1000 Gamerscore you'll need a minimum of 25 titles, which at 3 dollars a pop will cost you a minimum of $75.
• Fun Factor-The titles offered by Game Room may be appealing to some but most gamers will find the games trivial, frustrating, and generally boring.
Conclusion:
While the idea behind "Game Room" is good in theory, the limitations, general lack of appeal in retro games, the cost of titles and achievements, and overall fun factor, result in a poor gaming experience. Though "Game Room" isn't without appeal, the irony of paying for achievements or games older than most gamers will undoubtedly be appreciated by only a few.
Saigo Says: Give it a try if you're curious or retro games appeal to you. The download is free and allows you to demo each game once without cost. However, if you're worried about achievement ratios or your gamerscore percentages be weary on the options you select as achievements will unlock with the download.
~Saigo Out~
As always if you have any questions or complaints feel free to email me through the site and I will address them accordingly.