Microsoft has done it again. No not in a bad way this time; they've actually done something I can appreciate as a gamer: Microsoft's Game Room.It's an old gamer's paradise with titles from companies that rocked the late 70's and 80's such as Atari and Intellivision. It's design is similar to PlayStation's Home apartments where you can place furniture in an apartment or "space" and have friends visit. Its much better in the sense that you have multiple levels with possibly hundreds of ways to make your Arcade different from the next guy's. Even better than just visiting your Arcade your friends on XBL can actually play your games that you have displayed in your different rooms and try to beat your high scores.
Now we all know that Microsoft never gives us anything for free....or do they? They actual Game Room application is free to download to all and upon doing so you are taken to the "Showcase Arcade" which is pretty much like a new car show room; it displays the props and decor you can attain and they even let you demo the full version of all the games once. Upon entering you're given 20 Tokens which you can use for extra plays and such for the showcase and for your friend's Arcades as well. You get more Tokens by having your friends visit your Arcade so the more you have and the more enjoyable it is, the more likely you'll have a lot of tokens coming to you.
Like I said you can only demo the games once. What if you want to keep that game so you and your friends can play it? You have to cough up some good old MS Points. In all actuality, its a very decent price for these games; 240 MSP for owning the game on your 360's Game Room or 400 for owning it across all platforms. All Platforms? Yep, if you have a Window's Live enabled phone or even your Windows computer you will be able to play your games where ever and whenever you have your devices. Not too shabby MS....not too shabby....
But what kind of games are we talking about here? Most of us don't want to sit around playing Football in there all day long. Microsoft has answered that too. These are the games that I grew up playing in Manhattan arcades and my buddies' Atari way back when; day one released two game packs that had a total of 30 games ranging from some of my personal favorites like Lunar Lander, Centipede and Yar's Revenge to some such as Adventure, Night Driver and Sub Assault. Not only that but starting sometime late April, we're going to be getting about 7 new games every week!
Another great thing about the Game Room is that these are copies of the original games; there's no boost in graphics or sounds and no crazy modifications to them either. Keeping to the roots of the games was something I was honestly worried about but after playing all 30 of the games, I can say that I approve. The only thing I can see wrong with the Game Room though is that there is no "head-to-head" mode where you directly go against a friend. Also there are several two-player games but unfortunately, multiplayer is restricted to local only.
Customization is an interesting system in the Game Room. You start off with the same knick knacks that everyone has, the same themes for your rooms and the same layout. In order to get more items and themes you have to buy and play the different games to achieve different medals for each of them. The medals are all worth different point values and all contribute to your level. Bronze is 2, Silver is 3 and Gold is 5. Once you get enough to add up to 20, you *insert FFVII sound here* level up! all the way to 50 if you're tough enough. This allows you to receive a lot more items and let's you make your Arcade your own. You can place up to 8 game cabinets in each room and you have three floors with four rooms on them in a circular fashion (see picture above). Instead of just filling it up with cabinets you can add things such as jukeboxes or giant 80's sneakers and from the ceiling you can hang a disco ball if you want. That's only the 80's theme though, there's a "Lost Temple" theme, "Haunted Mansion" theme and more with props that fit.
From someone who grew up beating high scores on some of these games, I honestly thank Microsoft for bringing a simpler time back to us. Its good not to forget our roots or how difficult games were back then. I can beat Halo 3 on Legendary with every skull on in a day but landing a lunar module on the side of a cliff with 53 fuel left? Yeah, its hard. My verdict for Microsoft's Game Room is a 4.5/5, a definite must have for anyone who's a fan of the glory days.
-Armand
