Tokyo Cop is one of those games that remind me of why the arcades are still awesome. Created by [Barcelona-based] developer Galeco (the makers of Big Karnak), it’s fun, but you have to wonder if any of the development team is actually from or has been to Japan. You sit into a seat (with force feedback) and rumbling and drive through Tokyo’s four districts in an attempt to apprehend the city’s most dangerous criminals. You have a small amount of time and you’re careening through traffic at breakneck speeds like a Grand Theft Auto chase mission while some very Americanized rock music is playing. You can pick one of 4 agents. Strangely one of them looks black. You can use the keypad to enter a pin number to keep track of data on the machine. It lets you know how many bad guys you caught, keeps track of stats and unlockable vehicles, and it lets you know if any criminals have escaped from prison. Despite all the advances in technology, motion sensing gameplay, and online networking, you just can’t get an experience like this just sitting at home.

Super Mario is the long forgotten entry in the Super Mario franchise, yet at the same time, it’s one of the most enjoyable. This Game Boy launch title was the first portable Mario game since the Game & Watch era, and it was developed by Gunpei Yokoi (rather than creator Shigeru Miyamoto), who was basically the brains behind Nintendo’s entire direction ever since they decided to make video games. While it contained the same platforming action from the NES, although it added in a few twists of its own. As the mustachoed plumber, you’re out to save Princess Daisy (not Peach/Toadstool), and the rest of Sarasland (not the Mushroom Kingdon) from the evil Tatanga (not Bowser). Like in SMB, you collect mushrooms to grow bigger, and flowers to shoot fire. However, in some levels, you pilot a vehicle. Also, the levels have more variation in thier backgrounds. One level features an Egyptian motif. While the world itself may have forgotten about SML, it’s sequel is best known for introducing Wario to the franchise. SML is slated to be one of the first games to be released on the 3Ds download service, so I advise you to check it out.

In a follow up to Sindra’s keep playing (read blatant attempt at a 1up), I decided to feature what is undoubtedly the best early Simpsons game, an arcade beat em up from Konami. This also happens to be the first Simpsons game ever made. In the tradition of thier X-men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games, Simpsons is a fun brawler which is even better when you have friends to join in. There isn’t much to the story: Maggie swallows Smithers’ diamond and he kidnaps her in order to get it back, so America’s most beloved animated family (besides the Griffins) goes after him to get it back. The voice actors from the cartoon reprise thier roles here. If you played Konami’s X-men or TMNT, you’ll feel right at home with this game as well. Although EA released an Iphone remake, it’s a surprise that Konami has yet to release this on PSN or Xbox Live arcade a’la TMNT and X-men. Hopefully it won’t be much longer before they do, as fans of the series will no doubt love this game.

Gradius: TIA is the sequel to Nemesis, a Game Boy-exclusive entry in the Gradius series. Despite its small scale, it’s just as enjoyable as any console or arcade Gradius. You play as a ship whose loadout you select before hand, and you are tasked with escaping your alien pursuers. Although there is no text, there is a bit of a storyline about escape, and at the end of the game, the hunter becomes the prey as you turn the tables. Strangely, there are several Gradius staples that are missing from the series such as moai statues, a space intro to each stage (each stage seamlessly flows into the next), and classic Gradius music. However, the variety of the game’s 5 levels make up for it, as you face off against increasingly bizarre alien creatures and huge bosses. The soundtrack is also pretty good for a Game Boy title as well. Hopefully this will be one of the first games that will be available when legacy Game Boy Games are made available on the 3DS shop.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a home console exclusive version of Mortal Kombat 3, designed for the Playstation and Nintendo 64, with Sega Saturn and PC versions being made available a year later and being ports of the Playstation version (meanwhile, the Genesis and SNES got crappy ports of Ultimate MK3 while the Saturn got a ‘just okay’ version of UMK3). It’s intention was to basically close out the current storyarc, as Ed Boon and company was beginning work on Mortal Kombat 4. It does so in a pretty big way, as Raiden and Johnny Cage (among others) were added to the cast so that players could play as every character who was ever in a Mortal Kombat game. Many of the characters have new moves that were never before seen in any previous MK, such as Baraka’s spinning blades and Kung Lao’s dive. There was a new character, Chameleon (on the PS1) or Khameleon (if you played on N64). This character could randomly switch between any of the palette-swapped ninjas (male for PS1 and female for N64) and adopt their movesets. There are also several battlegrounds from MK2 thrown in. The PS1 version of the game has a few select levels from MK1.
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Remember back in the days when cheat codes were the holy grail of video games? What gamer worth their salt didn’t remember the Konami code? How about the Sonic cheat that made our favorite blue hedgehog turn into anything and replicate himself? Looking for the perfect Mega Man 3 password that put you outside the gates of Dr. Wily’s castle with 9 energy tanks and using the second controller to jump super high? How about punching in the ‘blood code’ for Mortal Kombat on Genesis, or the more cooler and useful “DULLARD”? One device, like no other, gave us access to an unlimited amount of game-changing cheats…provided you could figure them out.
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While Interplay’s Clayfighter might not have been the best fighting game of the SNES days, it was certainly the most creative and original. At the least, it’s art style put it head and shoulders above other SFII rip offs. It also had a pretty creative ad campaign, which parodied other fighting games. When a meteor made of clay lands on in a circus, the clay infects the circus employees, transforming them into strange clay creatures based on their own personalities. Among them are an Elvis impersonator, an evil snowman, an blob of clay that can change its shape, and Helga, an opera singer. The animation style is unique, and the action will keep you in stitches. A “Tournament edition” was released, which fixed many of the game’s glitches and added some new play modes. There were a number of sequels released, and a DSIware/Wiiware revival has been planned. The game is available on Virtual Console. It may not be Street Fighter, but it will keep you in stitches the whole time you play it.

Designed by former policeman Jim Walls, the Police Quest series injected a dose of realism into Sierra’s classic adventure game formula. Although the games featured fictional plotlines, the situations players encounter in the games are based on scenarios that Walls had to endure during his years as a police officer. The games require you to use proper police 56procedure when making arrests and handling other police scenarios. The first three games tells the story of Sonny Bonds, a veteran of the police force as he goes to war against drug cartels, biker gangs, and even satanic cults. Police Quest 4 was designed by controversial police officer Daryl Gates, and it was more of a point-and-click adventure as players stepped in the shoes of John Carey, an LA police detective out to stop a serial killer. After 4, the Police Quest series spun off into the SWAT series. The first two SWAT games were billed as Police Quest titles, but when the series became an FPS tactical shooter, it moved away from the Police Quest branding. The first four Police Quest games, as well as the first two SWAT games are available on Gog.com, so if you ever wanted to know what the life of a police officer was like, check them out.