Arcade Smash Hits review - Sega Master System

In days of yore, the Atari Corp begat unto the world three arcade games. And lo, their names were Centipede, Breakout and Missile Command. Many people flocked to the arcades to play these hallowed machines, until they were pushed into obscurity by superior technology, hydraulic cabinets and Virtual Reality.

Then, one day, Virgin Games decided to convert these three classic games unto the Master System, to spread their message of killing insects, blasting nukes and smashing bricks to new gamers everywhere. And so, the three game compilation cartridge Arcade Classics was born unto the Sega Master System.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

Aaaghh! What I thought would be a fun-packed stroll down memory lane has turned into a miserable charabang trip through naff conversion land! Considering that the original arcade machines were simple in the extreme, these Master System copies should be nigh on perfect. But they're not, and are instead awful hatchet job versions. They're sort of fun for a while in their own simple way, but don't offer half the entertainment and nostalgia that they would if they'd been properly researched and playtested. An opportunity missed methinks. Hopefully we'll see an Arcade Classics II which makes full potential of its games. And if such a game is to be made, my vote is for Scramble, Hunchback and Asteroids Deluxe. Or maybe Phoenix, Carnival and Zaxxon...

Arcade Classics is probably one of those things which seemed like a good idea at the time. Get three classic games, spruce up the graphics and sound and release them all on one cart. Unfortunately, the programmers of Arcade Classics neglected to update the gameplay. This means that, with the exception of the timeless Missile Command, the sheer simplicity of the games is their undoing. Breakout is mildly amusing for about three minutes, except for the epilepsy-inducing scrolling backgrounds and grating, repetitive tune, but all too soon the lack of features makes even Crackout seem innovative and entertaining. Centipede is just a dire excuse for a game by anyone's standard, the controls are over-responsive and the collision detection is ludicrously bad. Even Missile Command has lost its appeal somewhat. The switching between sites is okay once you get used to it, but by an ironic twist of fate, the one enhancement made to the package seals the doom of its top game. The path of the missiles is not tracked as it was in the coin-op, which makes predicting their flight much trickier and more time consuming, especially as they seem to change direction! Arcade Classics might be fun for a while, especially if you remember the originals and fancy a quick nostalgia fix. Sadly, the package is a remarkable disappointment with each game actually being inferior to their aged arcade counterparts.