Game And Watch Gallery 2

Ahh, good old Game & Watch. The first Game & Watch Gallery was pretty good, but the sequel really hits the mark. There are six games in total--Parachute, Helmet, Chef, Vermin and Donkey Kong, plus one hidden game (Ball--the first Game & Watch game ever made)--and each one is as challenging and addictive as the next. Personally, I'm not too keen on Donkey Kong (I guess I'd just rather play the real thing, which is also available for the Game Boy), but otherwise I really love every game on this cart. The Classic versions are decent, but they can get old rather quickly, since patterns seem to reset after you reach certain scores. The Modern versions, however, are excellent. Each one adds new twists to the gameplay, not to mention updated graphics and music. There's plenty of hicden stuff, too. Every 200 points you score on any game earns you a "Star," and as you collect more Stars, more things open up (the Gallery portion of the game has a Note Board, a Music Room, a Museum, etc.). At 15 Stars, the Classic version of Ball opens up, and later on you can open the Modern one too. And don't worry about getting too good--if you score 1,000 points on any game, it'll open up an even harder difficulty level for you to try. If you're into addictive minigames, you've gotta check out G&W 2.

Game & Watch Gallery 2 is fun in the same way old 2600 games are. For the first 15 or 20 minutes, you'll think "Wow...this is great." But then you'll realize just how simplistic the games in this pack are, and how repetitive they become after a while. Still, this collection is a nice one to have on your shelf when you're bored. And for the right price it may be worth picking up. just be careful--don't expect it to be an epic.

Well, you'll find few games more mindless than the ones packed on this cart, but you know what? Some of them are pretty fun--and addicting. I especially like the Parachute and Chef games, both supremely challenging twitch experiences. The secrets you get by earning high scores lend this compilation some lasting power, too. Even the ultra-primitive "classic" modes have a novel--albeit short-lived--appeal.

It's great to compare the old with the new but in this case it's not worth it. The updates are certainly prettier, but still the same incredibly simple games they we re years ago. Granted they can be somewhat captivating, but when broken down, the only one worth playing long term is modern Donkey Kong. To me. such simple fair is not worth the cash. On the other hand, if you have fond memories of these, then G&W 2 should satisfy.