Smash TV Review (Xbox 360)

"The Xbox 360 has a lot more to offer than the latest and greatest next-generation of video gaming, and one of the coolest features of the newly updated Xbox Live arena is the Arcade section in which users can check out and download some of the best coin-op classics of yesteryear. One such classic, quarter-sucking hit is Midway’s over the top shoot-em-up Smash TV. Originally released in arcades in 1990, Smash TV was a futuristic look at a television game show that offered players a chance to win some valuable merchandise such as a 2600 in. TV, or some stylish luggage, but they would have to risk their lives for a shot. Obviously, Midway borrowed some of the game’s ideas from the 1987 sci-fi action movie The Running Man. The difference is that players in Smash TV actually want to compete for cash and prizes, and they are willing to die for a shot at super-stardom. Thanks to the Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360 owners can download a free trial version of Smash TV or purchase the full version for 400 Microsoft Points – the equivalent of about five bucks in the Xbox Live Marketplace. Anyone who’s played this classic shooter in the arcade will probably have spent that much alone trying to get through the first couple rooms of the game, but is it still worth shelling out five clams in today’s advanced gaming industry?" [more]