How Many Can You Beat?

So I'm flipping through feeds on a slow news day and suddenly my geek radar goes PLING! (Okay, actually it doesn't go "pling," but sounds rather like William Shatner orating "Must... resist... clicking... link..."). The link in question? "Play all the old video games you grew up with online and free...Nintendo, Sega, Gameboy and more!"

Lest you fear I'm about to launch a screed about a right proper hoodwinking courtesy some spam sham, don't worry, the site's for real and it ponies up. As in: hundreds of original NES games, remarkably ad-free. While marquee franchises like Zelda and Castlevania are MIA (blame, you know, the law) the site does have fully intact gems like Kung-Fu, Contra, Double Dragon, Faxanadu (trust me--hot in 1989), the original Metal Gear, Ultima Exodus, and Wizards and Warriors. Ah, Wizards and Warriors...full of absurd, jumpy puzzles, but your circle of fifths-derived theme song still rocks.

You'll need Java 1.5 or better to play these in your browser of choice, and if you're serious enough to create an account, you can even save your progress (if the original game offered the option). Keyboard X and Z buttons too clunky? Plug in a control pad, or if your pad's not programmable, download simulation software like JoyToKey. The only hitch I ran into was a bit of sound stuttering in games with intense music (you can optionally disable the sound). Otherwise, everything I goofed with ran smooth as RF signal through a coaxial cable on my Macbook Pro.

Up for a little Q-bert anyone? Give me that old time gaming indeed.

Comments

Post a comment Post a comment

0 / 1000 max characters