Cyber Criminal

The action game was once the staple of the American arcade. Unfortunately the genre took many dips and turns as the sands of time passed. They’ve gotten more and more complex while simpler games are thrown to the wayside. I would never forsake the great advances that have been made with modern video games, but I feel as though many people have forgotten the simple joy of a good old fashioned action game. The retail market may have lost its appreciation for simplicity, but the online world hasn’t forgotten its simple beginning. The games of yesterday are carried on in the spirit of the Internet arcade.

New action games are constantly being released for quick play on online arcades everywhere. These follow many of the old standbys of an arcade game. They offer quick enjoyment without much strategy or planning. You run along with a few words composing the full story. The enemies are all bad and you’re usually on your own. You can just have fun and shoot aliens and Nazis. Can you really ask for more?

I guess I should really look at why you’d want to play these games when more advanced versions are available in the mainstream market. I think it all sums up to one simple reason. You can relive all the good things about an old arcade without any of the bad. Simple action games are what made the arcade era famous. Side-scrolling shooters and early FPS shooters gave the era’s its strong footing. Why was that? They were fun and they were short. A good retail video game these days will require at least a 15 hour commitment to get to the end. You can beat these games with about a half hours worth of time. They are made for quick and casual play. They’re made to help you kill some time. They may not have top-of-the-line graphics but you can at least kill some bad guys and save somebody. That’s good enough for me.

The best part is that they don’t require a constant stream of quarters. Online arcades are free now. Game over means that you click a button and start again. There is no money changing hands and you don’t really have anything in it. You can just select your choice and play. If you are tired of it after a few minutes you can quit and try another one. You have a full selection of fun games at no cost. Programmers have even ported at lot of the old classics into the arcade. You can find everything from Sonic to Contra in a good online arcade. They’re all free and available for your full enjoyment. You can now relive your childhood in your spare time.

The arcades in America are disappearing at an alarming rate, but the spirit of the penny arcade is still alive online. If you just want a cool action game that will help you waste a little time, then you’re doing something right if you check for online options.