Arcade1Up Class Of '81 Deluxe Review - Put A Bow On It

gamespot.com:

Arcade1Up has made some smart and highly requested improvements to its cabinets with the Deluxe lineup.

By Gabe Gurwin on

Arcade1Up has been producing home-arcade cabinets for more than four years, releasing titles from hit classics like Pac-Man to racers like Out Run and even lightgun shooters like Big Buck Hunter. With the exception of its expensive Killer Instinct Pro Series cabinet, however, all of its 3/4-scale systems have required a separate riser to reach a good standing height for adults. The risers don't look particularly good, break up the artwork on the cabinet, and add another step to the building process. Arcade1Up smartly decided to ditch the risers for its new Deluxe lineup, and after spending time with the Class of '81 Deluxe cabinet, I can confidently say it was the right move. Even better, it's just one of several changes that will make longtime home-arcade players very happy.

The Arcade1Up Deluxe lineup--despite its name implying a high price tag--is actually more in line with the company's cheaper Legacy cabinets, packing a variety of games from a particular publisher into one system for around $500. The Pac-Man and Mortal Kombat II machines each include 14 games, and in the case of the Class of '81 Deluxe cabinet, I got 12:

There are a few absolute classics in this collection, including the two marquee games--Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga--as well as Galaga '88 and Dig Dug. The other Deluxe cabinets feature similarly prestigious games, so your choice will really come down to genre preference and nostalgia. There are certainly a few here that I wouldn't consider winners, especially The Tower of Druaga, but almost everything is at least worth giving a shot.

The 12 games on this particular system were