An Arcade Game is a coin operated gaming machine. These machines are usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, public houses, and video game parlours. Virtually all modern arcade games make extensive use of solid state electronics and integrated circuits. In the past coin-operated arcade video games generally used custom per-game hardware often with multiple CPUs, highly specialized sound and graphics chips, and the latest in computer graphics display technology. In recent days most of the online games on the internet are of the arcade genre. These games are usually designed with Flash/Java/DHTML and run directly in web-browsers. With the increasing popularity of higher and gaming arcade games has faded away a little bit, but still remains a gamer’s delight. Here is a list of the top ten Arcade Games of all times.
1. Pac Man
Pac Man was one of the most popular Arcade Games of all times. It was developed in 1980’s by Namco and was licensed for distribution by Midway Manufacturing Company. Pac-Man is often credited with being a landmark in video game history, and is among the most famous arcade games of all time. It falls under the genre Labyrinth/Maze. The player controls Pac-Man through a maze, eating dots. When all dots are eaten, Pac-Man is taken to the next stage. Four enemies (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) roam the maze, trying to catch Pac-Man. If an enemy touches Pac-Man, a life is lost. When all lives have been lost, the game ends.
2. Galaga
Galaga is a fixed shooter Arcade Game developed in the year 1981 by Namco. It was distributed in Japan by Namco and in North America by Midway Manufacturing Company. The game play of Galaga puts the player in control of a space ship which is located on the bottom of the screen. At the beginning of each stage, the area is empty, but over time, enemy aliens fly in formation, and once all of the enemies arrive on screen, they will come down at the player’s ship in formations. The objective of Galaga is to score as many points as possible by destroying insect-like enemies.
3. Star Wars
Star Wars is one of the post popular Arcade Games, produced by Atari Inc. It was released in the year 1983. It is a rail shooter genre game and has a single player mode. In this game, the player does not have to destroy every enemy in order to advance through the game; he must simply avoid or destroy the shots that enemy’s fire. Each hit on his craft takes away one shield (of the six he started out with), and if he runs out of shields and takes another hit, the game ends. The player’s ultimate goal is to destroy the Death Star through three attack phases.
4. Ms. Pac Man
Ms. Pac Man is a sequel to Pac Man and was launched in the year 1981. This was also manufactured by Midway Manufacturing Company. Ms. Pac Man is very similar to the original Pac Man. This game introduces a female protagonist, new maze designs and several minor game play changes over the original game. The game became one of the most popular video games of all time.
5. Street Fighter II
The Street Fighter II was launched in the year 1991 as a sequel to the original Street Fighter which was launched in 1987. This was developed and marketed by Capcom and was a very popular game among the masses. In this game the player engages opponents in one-on-one close quarter combat in a series of best-two-out-of-three matches. The objective of each round is to deplete the opponent’s vitality before the timer runs out.