Shoot your way down memory lane with two of Sega’s classic arcade light gun games. Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns are now on one Wii Arcade Hits Pack. Use the remote to aim at the screen and fire at enemy targets. It’s as simple as that.

Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns on the Wii are exact replicas of their arcade counterparts. Select from short missions that are either easy for beginners or harder for seasoned pros. Just aim the remote at the targets, hold down the fire button, and blast the enemies away. No re-loading necessary. Two players can shoot at the same time, and you can save your quarters thanks to limitless continues.

As arcade games from the late 90’s, the 3-D graphics are a bit dated, lacking textures and details we enjoy in today’s modern titles. But these classics still have some visual charm. I was especially impressed with the Vegas stage of LA Machineguns, which is an exact replica of the strip. Muffled sounds and cheesy voice acting also add to the classic vibe. Since you are riding in super-powered helicopters and other flying vehicles in the games, the camera whips around really fast and might make some a little dizzy.

You can use the Wii Zapper attachment, but the remote by itself works just fine, too. Extra features are a bit slim, and include things like being able to upload high scores to a WiFi online leaderboard. For such simplistic games, it would’ve been nice to either have a lower price point, or include more games in the collection (such as Brave Firefighters, I loved that game). But it’s still nice to see Sega releasing some of their more obscure arcade gems.  Now if only Namco would release a Point Blank game on the Wii.

Kid Factor:

Gunblade NY & LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack is rated T for Teen with an ESRB descriptor of Violence. While you do mow down enemies and vehicles, there is no blood and people just explode like robots. In fact, most of what you shoot are robots. Avoid hitting civilians or you’ll receive a penalty in score. Civilians who are hit just lie on the ground. The rudimentary visuals keep the violence from looking too graphic anyway. While this is a gun game, I would be OK with kids younger than teens playing this. If you let your kids run loose around GameWorks arcades, chances are they’ve probably already played these games anyway. Two player co-op action means the whole family can join in, and with limitless continues and no reading required, even the youngest players won’t get frustrated.

Tags: Game Reviews