Is any song of the Christmas season less relatable than the Twelve Days of Christmas? Since when does Christmas have 12 days? How wealthy would you have to be to afford gifts like 5 gold rings or 12 pipers piping?

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Old Gift: 10 Lords A-leaping

Analysis: “Honey, your gift box is moving…”

New Gift: 10 Arcade games to create your own arcade!

We’ve already talked about the Multiplayer Game Vault, but now lets talk about another room that every gamer should really have in his or her house: The Arcade.

But wait, you can’t just go buying all your favorite games from the past! In order to build a proper arcade, you’re going to have to buy a couple representatives from each of the most popular arcade genres.

Fighting Games

Examples: Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, Virtua Fighter, Tekken, Primal Rage, Marvel vs. Capcom

Fighters were the main draw of Arcades for most of the 90’s, and even if you go into an arcade today people will be either playing something that allows them to dance with their friends or punch their heads off.

I’d go with Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers for Cammy and the other 3 new playable characters it introduced, along with Mortal Kombat 2 because I’m a flannel wearing rebel.

Shooters

Examples: Lethal Enforcer, Silent Scope, Area 51, Ghost Squad, Carnevil, T2: Judgment Day, Big Buck Hunter

Did you ever see a guy put quarters into both sides, duel wield both light guns and go at Area 51 John Woo style? I tried it once. I died really fast.

That’s why I would choose something more progressive like Time Crisis 2, because it gives you the ability to duck when you press the foot pedal. I’d also net myself a House of the Dead 2 because my mom likes it.

Driving Games

Examples: Pole Position, 18 Wheels of Steel, Daytona USA, Crazy Taxi, Cruisin’ USA

Lucky and Wild was probably the only driving game in the arcades to really thrill me. How ahead of its time was that game? Driving, 2 player co-op shooting, and every level starts with you getting your windshield shot out by drug dealers!

And I’d take Outrun, because I definitely had a crush on that blond riding passenger (I know I’m not alone.)

Beat ‘Em Up

Examples: Final Fight, Double Dragon, The Simpsons, Aliens vs. Predator, Knights of the Round, Captain America and the Avengers

Side scrolling Beat ‘Em Up arcade games were always my favorite, so this is hard one to narrow down. However, my roller skating rink memories force me to choose Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the double-screen X-men with six playable mutants.

“Nothing Stops the Blob!”

Vintage

Examples: Centipede, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Asteroids

This is probably the only category that could be its own 10 to 12 game arcade room itself. Actually, if anyone knows of a place where they have all vintage arcade games, please email me right now and I will meet you there.

The two games I would go straight for would be the original Pac-man and the granddaddy of them all: Pong.

So, now you’ve got a Multiplayer Game Vault and a Proper Arcade. And, Day 12 is going to yield a room even sweeter than both of these. Christmas is a good time for videogame dreams to come true.

12 Days of Christmas, for Gamers: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Tags: 12-days-of-christmas-Gaming, Video-Gaming-12-days-of-christmas

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• The 12 Days of Christmas, Revised for Gamers: Day 11
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• The 12 Days of Christmas: Revised for Gamers - Day 3

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