The Game Room, for both the Xbox 360 and PC (via Games for Windows) platforms, came as a surprise announcement from Microsoft out of the Consumer Electronics Show 2010. Developed by Krome Studios, the Game Room promised a new way to relive the classic arcade game days, focusing in particular on classic arcade cabinet games, and games from first- and second-generation consoles (e.g. the Atari 2600 and Intellivision). As important as it is to preserve the classics – every gamer should know where his or her hobby originated – there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. It’s not enough to simply present classic games as they are anymore, if the high-definition remakes of classics populating Xbox Live Arcade are any indication. So what, exactly, did Krome do to attempt to preserve our collective gaming heritage for future generations…and make it enticing enough for future generations to want to play? Krome has found a unique solution that, while it’s not perfect, will at least get people curious as to what the classics are. What Krome has come up with could possibly be called classic gaming meets Facebook – and while it’s an original way to preserve the classics, it’s not without some problems that may turn some players off. Still, it’s at least worth checking out for yourself.
Game Room has a simple concept at its core: create and customize your very own arcade, and show it off to friends. Every player, upon downloading Game Room (for their Xbox 360 or PC), starts off with their own virtual space, to fill with arcade cabinets, thematic elements, and props ranging from boom boxes to air hockey tables and other paraphernalia from the early decades of gaming. The arcade cabinets are, of course, the classic games included in Game Room, which number 30 in total at launch (although you have to download them separately; there are two packs to download, they each have 15 games, and are free to start). By going to the Showcase Arcade, basically the example arcade that every player can access, players can play each of the games. The first play of any game is free, hence why it’s called the demo play. After the demo expires – either when the player quits or after ten minutes, whichever comes first – the player then has the option to purchase the game for his or her own arcade.
Here’s where things get a little pricey – each game, if you want to buy it to place permanently in your arcade (and thus play as much as you want), costs 240 MS points, or $3. These games can only be played on the platform you purchased it on (i.e. your Xbox 360 or PC). If you want the ability to play your purchased game on both platforms, then the price gets bumped up to 400 MS points, or $5. Now, considering how in the past some classics that were offered on Xbox Live Arcade, such as Joust, Galaga, and Frogger, were $5, the ability to get classic games for $3 (as long as you don’t mind just playing them on your 360 or PC, and not both) is indeed a good deal, especially since the games are presented as is – no graphical updates here. But when you consider the fact that the whole point of Game Room is getting players to populate their own arcade…that’s when the price gets to be a bit steep. $3 or $5 may not seem like much in the short term, but when you want to buy arcade cabinets to fill your own personal arcade and show off to your friends, it adds up.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click below to reveal our final thoughts on the Xbox Game Room.
