The 10th Hour 11.06.09: Arcade Games

Posted by Adam Larck on 11.06.2009

From fighters to pinball and everything in between, see what 411’s Adam Larck likes to play at the arcade inside.


Welcome back to another week of the 10th Hour. I'll be taking the helm for the next few weeks, so I'll start off with my usual update.

- It's been difficult finding a copy of Borderlands here, but I finally got a rental copy of it. It's a great multiplayer game, but single player seems to be lacking a bit. I love the variety of guns and the different classes in the game. Look for a review up on it within a week.

Reader Feedback

I know it's been a while, but my last column was on Top Mario games. Let's look at a few comments, shall we.

First up is Ryan Bates, with my lack of a certain series.

"I would swap #2 and #3, but that's just me. I love SMBRPG and wish I could find a copy of it, since I had to give my copy back to my friend who I borrowed it from.

Meanwhile... I cannot believe you left out ALL OF THE MARIO Party games!!! They were innovative and fun, even without alcohol! (Line up the shots though, and boy howdy!) I look forward to each new edition and the mini-games that come out every time. No Mario Party games? Adam Larck is NOT the Superstar."

I'll admit, I overlooked the Mario Party games. However, even if I hadn't done so, I think they still would have come in low on the list. The first few were fun, but after that I just felt that the series had become repetitive. Even the new Wii version felt like much of the same to me, just with a bit of waggle now.

Next, we have Deathpool with a comment I think is quite true about this list.

" All the games others are mentioning are good as well, but that's kind of the point, there are A LOT of good to great games starring Mario. A metric ton. A top ten is hard to do. I personally liked Paper Mario: 1000 Year Door more than Super Paper Mario, but I don't fault anyone for putting it higher, both were good. You could do a top 25 of nothing but good Mario games."

I definitely agree with this statement. I went through three or four revisions on this list trying to come up with my top 10. I probably could have tried to do a top 20 and still have gone through the revisions trying to cut the number of games down.

Finally, we have Will with his list. What would he have put on the top 10?

" Havent played them all but my favs are

Mario RPG snes
Mario 3
Mario World 2 Yoshi Island
Mario Superstar Saga GBA,,,Mario 64
Mario Golf 64
Mario 2
Mario Party 2 64
Paper Mario thousand door
Mario Kart snes"

Thanks for the list. Remember, I always like to see your top 10 list, so keep them coming.

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The 10th Hour – Arcade Games

A few weeks back I did a review on the Pinball Hall of Fame for the 360. That got me remembering all the fun times I had at arcades. Whether it was just trying for a high score or playing against other people, the arcades were a fun part of my gaming life and something I've missed as they've started to disappear.

So, this week's 10th Hour is all about the arcade. From light-gun games to pinball tables to retro games, read on to find out what made my list and why. I also want to add honorable mentions of the X-Men and Simpsons arcade games. Those beat ‘em up games were good, and may spawn a 10th Hour of their own in the future.

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10. House of the Dead 2 - I like most of the HOTD series, but 2 is the main one I like at the arcades.

I've always been a fan of light-gun games, as seen by the multiple light-gun games on my list. However, HOTD has one thing these other games don't: zombies. Being able to kill the undead in the arcade with a friend is a fun experience. I just wish some of my local arcades had this game when they were still around. I could only find this game at Dave & Busters.

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9. Ghost Squad - The newest game on my list, I've started seeing a lot of these machines pop up lately at Buffalo Wild Wings.

I like the option of choosing your own equipment in an arcade game. Not only that, but there is a distinct feel for each gun and the firing modes they have. It's just a great touch. As far as gameplay goes, it's average. But, it's still fun to play in arcades.

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8. Cruis'n Exotica - I like all of the Cruis'n series, but wanted to put Exotica on here for it's broad variety of areas.

Racing through various places on the world, and even Mars, was cool to see. The cars were great in the game, and it was always fun to have the car flip and wheelie during the race. Plus, being able to keep track of your own records in the game using a PIN really helped when it came to high score bragging rights.

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7. The Grid - I've only seen this game at one location in St. Louis years ago, but still remember the fun I had with it.

The game was reminiscent of Smash TV. It was supposed to be a show where you had to destroy everyone to advance. However, the fun came in when you had a lot of friends to play against. The Grid I played on had three different cabinets and chaos normally ensued once you saw Sub-Zero and Scorpion running around with guns trying to take you out.

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6. Soul Calibur 2 - The Soul still burns with me. I like the console versions of the game as well, but have fond memories of this at the arcade.

I always like buying fighting games for consoles, but it can't replace the fun of playing against someone face to face on a cabinet. I had a blast with Nightmare, and this was also my introduction to Raphel in the game. Taking a close sudden death game was always a great feeling.

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5. Pin-Bot - I wanted to put at least one pinball table on here, and thought my favorite table should be included.

Don't get me wrong, I like Black Knight as well, but I've always loved playing Pin-Bot. The bumpers are set up out of the way and makes you feel rewarded if you hit them (even if they can launch the ball right out of the game. But, the big thing for me was seeing Pin-Bot come alive and let you activate multiball. Great memories.

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4. Galaga - You knew that some retro games had to be on this list at some point. Well, the first of the two games here is Galaga.

It's a simple game, yet I've always had fun playing it. Just destroying waves of aliens with your ship trying to stay the longest was great. Plus, this game let you control two of your ships at once by rescuing it, which was cool.

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3. Pac-Man - The other retro game on the list, it just wouldn't have been a complete list without Pac-Man.

Few games can actually be simpler then Pac-Man. Gobble pellets and avoid ghosts, that's pretty much all you have to do. There really isn't much else to say about this game. I never have made it to the killscreen (I never had that much time to kill), but have seen images of it. For those of you that have made it, I say congrats.

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2. Time Crisis 2 - I have a ton of memories playing this game with my friends.

I always loved the hiding mechanism they had in this game and using the foot pedal to come out to shoot. While I didn't mind playing this game by myself, it was the Link Mode that made it fun. Whether it was random strangers or friends, trying to coordinate which enemies to go for always made for some interesting on the fly strategies. Only my No. 1 choice has more fond memories.

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1. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - If you've read my previous columns, you know how much of a fan I am of MvC 2. So, is it any surprise it's at the top of my list?

The number of characters in the game made for some great match-ups with people. Plus, getting a Hyper Combo finish against someone always let me have some self-satisfaction after a match. However, MvC 2 also gave me one of my most annoying arcade moments. I don't care who you are; challenging when someone is one hit away from beating the final boss without asking is low.

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Well, that's all I have for this week. Like or hate what I said? Shoot me an email at [e-mail] or leave a comment below. Any feedback is appreciated.