Collection of Atari era arcade games
Microsoft created a bundle that included many of the classics that used to be recreated on the Atari 2600, but had been originally released on arcades. This meant that at the time, the games were once again playable on the DOS and the Windows platform, without the need for setting up emulators or without the need for hacks to get the games running. You will find Asteroids inside, some other vertical shooters, platformers and pure arcade classics. The games are all well designed, well executed and most of the time they are conducive to great playability. It is unclear whether the code used is that of the original games, but they sure do look, feel and react as if they were original. The collection wraps these games and their original graphics within a frame, where they run windowed, to sizes that are appropriate and let you play them and change the game, from the list. So, if you wanted a collection of retro games, with already mapped controls and other amenities to make them run smooth on the DOS platform, Microsoft Arcade sure does the job. If however, you care more about originality, the collection might not be as enticing to you as the original games, emulated or on their original platforms, though it sure is much simpler to get them to work within it.
