The Return of the Arcades: The Best Modern Arcade Machines

Little by little we're putting together our modern arcade hall. In the previous episode, we chose among the indie arcade machines. Today we're going after those new games, from after the death of the classic caverns where we used to go play. There aren't many, and in general they're pure visual show, but they're fun and that's all that matters!

After filling our new arcade hall with indie arcade machines, it's time to choose the best modern games to keep them company, to get it ready with a great variety of experiences. Because yes, it's true, the arcade craze ended a long time ago, but there is still a market that demands them. A market made up mostly of bars, shopping malls, amusement parks, hotels, among a long etcetera. And if there are people willing to pay, there's an industry behind that demand.

One of the most active companies today, at least in the West, is Raw Thrills, responsible for many of the games we present on this list. However, companies like Capcom, Bandai and Konami still make, from time to time, an arcade with their old (and new) franchises. Such is the case of Galaga, Pac-Man and, even if you haven't played it, the Silent Hill arcade.

Personally, the experiences delivered by these modern machines don't seem as authentic to me as those that emerge from indie arcades, which were designed precisely to vibe with that scene. These arcades are too generic to earn a place in my heart, but they still look super fun! Let's go for them!

Galaga Assault

In a good arcade hall, no matter how modern, there always has to be a touch of nostalgia, familiar images and sounds that allow us to travel through time and space. That's why nothing better than a renewed classic. That's Galaga Assault, an arcade machine designed specifically to win tickets (the kind you later exchange for teddy bears or My Little Pony pencils). It's a much faster and more psychedelic version than the old one, and although we won't be giving away teddy bears in our hall, we will have the promotion: "100 tickets for a beer."

Time Crisis 5

Have I ever played Time Crisis 2 with friends in the arcades of the past! That's why I think its latest version (from 2015) will be an invaluable acquisition for our establishment. It has dual pedal, online play to battle back-to-back with a friend, and allows you to save individual games (through Bandai Namco's Bana Passport). The action remains as hot and hurried as ever. The clock runs, enemies shoot, and two pedals that serve to move from one side of the scene to the other. Action!

Armed Resistance DLX

Action and shooting in third person, for those who love PC games and resist the charm of the classics. In Armed Resistance DLX you must choose one of six transformer robots and launch into a "deathmatch" style battle, very similar to all the deathmatch battles we've already played on computer. The robots are controlled with levers and each one has a type of transformation that gives it different characteristics. If you die, you "respawn" seconds later, but you lose places in the ranking.

Pump it Up Prime

The dance game to move your butt a bit and look like a fool can't be missing! To be honest, these games are still the same as they were in the old days. This is the 2015 version, with updated tracks, a fairly large song database (400) and a ranked mode that allows you to compete for points against users from all over the world. For a Saturday night fever.

Pac-Man Battle Royale

Pac-Man Battle Royale is not the same classic game we all know, but a competition game for up to 4 players, in which each one controls a Pac-Man of a different color. The last Pac-Man standing wins. Players must take down their clones, either by eating them after ingesting a Power Pill or by pushing them into the ghosts, who remain just as lethal. Great championships can be organized in our arcade hall!

Infinity Blade FX

Infinity Blade FX is the arcade adaptation of the iOS game and it shows, because the movements are made by touching the touch screen, like a smartphone. It's a fighting game but against artificial intelligence in the vein of Punch Out!, from Nintendo. That is, a single-player fighting game where enemies "anticipate" their moves in some way. After a few games, and after studying each one's strategy, it becomes evident how to beat them. Not without having invested a few bucks in our hall! This is also a game that gives out tickets to exchange for beers.

Batman Arcade

There are plenty of driving games, they never stopped coming out, maybe due to popular demand. Most of these games are racing, with real cars in famous tracks and circuits. My prejudices tell me that those games will attract more gearheads and engine fans than to the "true players". That's why, to make our hall only suitable for nerds, very elitist, we're going to choose Batman's driving game, which has speed, shooting, and comic heroes and villains. With a Batmobile that turns into a Batplane to keep fighting in the sky!

Aliens Armageddon Arcade

From the creators of the sensational arcade Terminator Salvation, and of the upcoming The Walking Dead Arcade, Aliens Armageddon is a nearly insane shooting game, with infinite violence and too many aliens, too many! And they come from everywhere! Aliens Armageddon is violent action and in the beginning, until you learn it, it eats your coins without any shame. More money for the house! A super cinematic and frantic arcade, the kind you enjoy playing with friends.

Frightfearland

If we don't have a shooting game as absurd as the House of the Dead series, with its dialogues as stupid as they are laughable, our arcade hall will be a failure. That's why this absurd and fun gem from Highway Entertainment, the company also responsible for the equally absurd Haunted Museum, cannot be missing. The story is silly, as we like them. An investigation into 100 missing people leads a duo of detectives to an amusement park full of diabolical clowns, possessed jugglers and other equally horrible things. The game consists of alternative paths, hostage rescue, a hilarious and ridiculous script and giant bosses at the end of each level. Just like House of the Dead!

Half-Life 2: Survivor

This one is a bit old (from 2006), but it can't be missing. It's Half-Life 2, after all! It was released only in Japan, so I'm cheating here, since that's material for another of these reports about "The Return of the Arcades", but I don't see anyone complaining. The game is an FPS shooter, which uses a lever that controls direction and two pedals on the floor that control movement (like a driving game). Half-Life 2: Survivor has three game modes: Story, Battle and Mission, to extend its lifespan and leave more money in the till.

Silent Hill: The Arcade

Another old one, since Silent Hill: The Arcade has been amazing players since 2007. But it's a heavyweight, which will surely attract people just by its name. Another "clone" of House of the Dead, but in the darkest city in the entire video game world. Instead of zombies, faceless nurses and the classic monstrosities of Konami's Survival Horror. Yes, many shooting games on the list, but they are among the few that survived the consoles, possibly thanks to the use of special peripherals that not everyone has at home.

Well, that's all for now. But we'll keep talking about arcades in the future! Which one from this list would you have in your room?