Arcade Classics by Arcade Team

From the depths of the Chrome Web store comes a little something from the good people of Arcade Team.

It's an arcade for your web browser and you don't even need to go to a specific site!

Today's game is another first: Our first game that comes from the Chrome Web Store! Unlike most of the other games I've covered so far, this collection can be downloaded to Google Chrome (or really any Chromium browser you have), and the games can be opened up on any website whenever you want. The games even work when your computer is offline. As you most likely guessed, this is a simple collection of classic arcade games (and a few browser games). No story in site, just get as high as score as possible.

All the games have a cool retro esthetic, but only 2 of the games have any music. The Tetris game has the classic Tetris theme, while the Snake game has a tune that's nice but won't really get stuck in your head. Some of the games are played with the keyboard, while others are played with the mouse. Because all of the games are different, I'm gonna go over them one by one.

• Tetris: It plays just like any version of Tetris you've played on your Gameboy back in the day: You try to get as many rows of blocks as possible. The left and right arrows move the blocks, down makes the blocks go faster and up rotates them. One thing I thought was cool is you can use the C button to hold a block and take it out when you need it.
• Pong: Like any Pong arcade game, you move a paddle up and down and try to get a ball past your opponent. There aren't many controls here, just up and down. You can make the ball go faster or slower depending on where it and the paddle are going when they connect. It's very basic, but nonetheless very fun.
• Breakout: Just like that Breakout game you played as a kid when you had homework to do, here you control a paddle to guide a ball to break a bunch of multicolored blocks. It controls just like Pong but horizontally and just like Pong, you can control the ball's speed depending on where the paddle's going when it hits. This one's also pretty addictive, but it can be rather frustrating when you get the ball going too fast for you to keep up with and lose a life.
• Space Invaders: Just like in the arcade, here you control a tank and try to shoot as many aliens as possible. It controls just like Breakout, but with the added ability to shoot projectiles with spacebar. This one's also a good game, but for some reason it moves kinda slow. I also noticed that you can hold the spacebar down and fire endless projectiles, making it easier than its arcade counterpart as long as you can avoid the enemy's shots.
• Pacman: Just like any Pacman game, you go through a maze eating dots and avoiding ghosts. The arrow keys are your means of transportation here. This one's pretty decent, but it has a few problems. It's somewhat slow just like the Space Invaders game and it can sometimes be difficult getting Pacman to go down a path because the timing is kinda tight. I also noticed that sometimes the yellow ghost would fly offscreen. Again, it's still a pretty fun game when it works, but it can be a bit frustrating at times.
• Asteroids: Like the Asteroids of the late 70s, you control a ship and have it blast asteroids to bits. The left and right arrows steer the ship, up accelerates it and spacebar operates the cannon. This is another pretty fun one but it's pretty easy. If you just steer the ship around while firing like a madman, you'll barely have to move from your position.
• 2048: This one's the newest game of the lot, the original version making it's debut in 2014. Here you use the arrow keys to move a bunch of number blocks, combining ones with matching numbers to get the biggest numbers possible. It's a monotonous but nonetheless good game to kill some time and stimulate your brain.
• Minesweeper: Just like that Minesweeper you played back during the Windows 95 days, you click on tiles to reveal tiles and try to flag all the bombs without uncovering on them. Left click uncovers tiles and right click drops and removes flags. This one's pretty good, but really challenging (either that or I just suck as Minesweeper).
• Snake: Just like the Snake game of the Nokia 3310 days, you guide an ever growing snake to eat apples to get it as long as possible colliding with a wall or the snake's own body. The arrow keys are your friends here. This one is another good time waster and it's not at all difficult to get the hand of.

All in all, this is a pretty good extension that I recommend any old school gamer get. It makes a good time waster while your waiting for dinner to cook or a YouTube video to load. Just be aware it's best to play this on a desktop or laptop computer rather than a phone, as most of the games utilize the keyboard.