This is a long over due Retro Review. I hadn't really even thought about the retro review, until the other day a friend of mine loaned me his copy of Taito Legends for the Xbox (it will not run on the Xbox 360).

The collection of games includes a number of arcade classics I remember from my childhood. There are twenty-nine games in all including one of my all time favorites, Space Invaders.

Space Invaders was possibly my first "favorite" video game. I played for hours on my Atari 2600, completeing level after level, until I lost count of how many waves I had completed. It was the first game I mastered.

The big difference between the arcade version and the "home" version of Space Invaders was the ability to shoot more than one missle. In the arcade version, a launched missle must make contact with a target or fly out of sight before another can be launched. There is no such limitation in the version I spent so many hours playing. Perhaps, that's why I didn't care very much for Taito Legends.

When I first saw the cover of the box, I dreamt of reliving my childhood, and once again commanding my tank to fire on the impending hordes, and again saving all humanity. When I was unable to do so, I lost my taste for the game and moved on.

Sure, there are a number of other games, some of them arcade classics, others complete duds. I mean, really, is there anyone out there truly interested in playing Electric Yo-Yo? Was there when it was in the arcade? Probably not. Taito does redeem themeselves by including games like Operation Thunderbolt and ZooKeeper as well as a few other true retro classics. They would have outdone themselves if they had included a lightgun and light gun support. The complete list of games is below:

If these are the games you loved to play as a kid, then great, run out and buy this. Its worth the few dollars you can find it for now. If these don't ring a bell, don't bother...most of these aren't legends...more like fallen heroes.

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