“Asteroids.” “Defender.” “Galaga.” “Joust.” “Q*bert.” “Dragon’s Lair.” “Spy Hunter.” Oh, the memories these words summon – memories of the many hours we spent in dark video arcades pumping quarter after quarter into the latest and greatest game machines of the '70s and '80s.
The video arcades of the past not only spawned a generation of adult gamers who are still playing to this very day, they also gave birth to many pop culture icons that remain relevant decades later.
Here is our list of the Top 5 classic arcade games. Check it out and then tell us your five favorite arcade games.
Tell us: What are your Top 5 favorite classic arcade games?
-- Winda Benedetti";
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games_top5_070815[i-1].body = "
'Space Invaders'
“Space Invaders,” produced by Japanese company Taito, was an enormous hit when it was released in 1978. In fact, according to game lore, “Space Invaders” was so popular in Japan that it caused a shortage in the coins used to play it.
Though the graphics and gameplay seem very rudimentary today, “Space Invaders” was innovative for its time.
In this game, rows of space aliens marched ever downward from the sky. Meanwhile, the player controlled a tank at the bottom of the screen, moving it back and forth, trying to shoot the aliens while avoiding their fire from above. The more aliens you killed, the faster the remaining aliens descended. And for extra points you could shoot the flying saucer.
The game spawned many sequels as well as imitators – “Space Fever,” “Galaga” and “Galaxian” among them – as invading alien games became de rigueur at that time. ";
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games_top5_070815[i-1].body = "
'Centipede'
In this game, it isn’t space aliens invading from above...it’s insects. Specifically, long and winding centipedes.
Released by Atari in 1980, “Centipede” was cool because it offered players a trackball rather than a joystick to use for moving their weapon around at the bottom of the screen.
In this game, you fired laser shots at the centipede twisting and turning between the mushrooms dotting the field above. Every time you hit a centipede segment, it left a mushroom – and the more mushrooms the centipede ran into, the faster it descended. Also, when you hit the centipede, it split in two, creating yet another centipede to shoot at.
There were other creepy-crawlies to watch out for as well – scorpions, spiders and fleas.";
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games_top5_070815[i-1].body = "
'Tempest'
Talk about trippy. “Tempest” – released by Atari in 1980 – was a strange and enthralling shooting game that looked like nothing else at the time.
Using a dial-type controller, the player moved a claw-like weapon along the outside rim of various three-dimensional geometric shapes. It took fast hands to keep at bay the many strange enemies coming your way – spikes and spirals and diamond-shaped things moving up the vector lines toward you.
When the action got especially intense, slapping the “superzapper” button to destroy all enemies at once became an especially satisfying move.";
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games_top5_070815[i-1].body = "
'Pac-Man'
When “Pac-Man” came to the United States in 1980, it turned the video game world on its head. Unlike most other titles, this wasn’t a space game or a shooting game. It was a game unlike anything else.
Here you controlled a yellow man (well, the round head of a man any way) with a big appetite. The goal: Have Pac-Man eat as many dots as he could, clearing them from a maze while avoiding the ghosts that haunted him (Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Clyde). But Pac-Man didn’t have to run from the ghosts all the time – when he chomped on a power-pellet, he could eat the spooks too.
The music and sound effects were addictive – and so was the gameplay. Kids swarmed to this machine...and to the hugely successful “Ms. Pac-Man” spinoff that followed. Pac-Man would go on to star in many more games over the years, but his first would go down in history as perhaps the most famous video game ever.";
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games_top5_070815[i-1].body = "
'Donkey Kong'
It’s hard to imagine a world without Nintendo’s iconic character Mario. But it wasn’t until the arrival of the “Donkey Kong” arcade game in 1981 that we were introduced not only to the angry ape with a penchant for kidnapping pretty girls but to the mustachioed man with the power to save her.
“Donkey Kong” put players in control of Mario – who was called Jumpman at that time – as he jumped (get it?) over barrels and dodged fireballs on his way toward the lady crying “Help!” at the top of the screen and the ape holding her captive there.
It was an incredibly innovative game at the time and was highly influential on the many “platform” games that would follow. Meanwhile, Mario and Donkey Kong would go on to appear in numerous games throughout the years and would become two of the most famous game characters in the world.
Tell us: What are your Top 5 favorite classic arcade games?
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