X-Men Arcade Review

Now let me start off by saying that this was my first experience with the game so nostalgia is not a factor here. Let's get to it.

X-men Arcade is old-school, 2-D, side-scrolling beat-em up. You can choose to play as some of your favorite X-Men, or Dazzler. You fight your way through waves of enemies and try to take as little damage as possible.

This game takes 15 minutes to beat. You can play with as many as 6 players online (any locally on a ps3). This is one of the very few downloadable titles out there that supports this many players. You can get a group together on XBLA or PSN and have a bit of fun.

It is an extremely simple arcade port. Due to that simplicity, it may be end up being a strong party game for those looking to get everyone involved.

Backbone Entertainment did nothing in the way of updating the graphics, so the game looks as old as it is. If nostalgia is your thing, and you fondly remember this experience, then you’ll be happy to know that nothing has changed, except the need for coins. Now you may think, “Great, now I don’t have to pour quarter after quarter into this game until I beat it, I own it!” Well, I would wager that you will actually spend more money buying this game to own it then you would by paying per quarter to work your way through the game anytime the mood struck you.

This game suffers for a common problem many other arcade ports have suffered from in the past. Now that there is no inserting of coins, all you have to do is press start to continue. This takes all of the difficulty out of the experience. Also, the most entertaining part of all is that if you beat X-Men Arcade, after the credits, the game begins again. So, since you cannot die, the game doesn’t end.

What many gamers don’t realize about these classic titles is that they were built to be time wasters, not epic adventures. Some would argue that XBLA games are precisely that, but the cream of the crop on XBLA are full-feldged experiences. Games like Deathspank and Shadow Complex are epic experiences that will give you a full game experience for a very acceptable price.

At regular price, X-Men Arcade sells for $9.99. Even if you’re a fan of the comic, I wouldn’t suggest paying any more than $5 for this classic yet shallow beat-em up dinosaur.