By Chris Wolf
By Chris Wolf
After years of waiting, rabid fans of the classic coin op Centipede/Millipede will now be able to play it in High Definition… I can’t believe I just wrote that with a straight face. In what is sure to be one of the least exciting releases on Xbox Live Arcade, the Centipede/Millipede pack comes to the Xbox 360, in all its High Definition glory (Read:Zero).
Besides the fact that the Centipede/Millipede pack is not worth 400 Microsoft points (Roughly $5), since you can play many versions of it for free online, the game feels remarkably dated. It just doesn’t have what keeps you coming back to playing old classics like Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Donkey Kong. The controls are especially atrocious in the Xbox version, since the controller does a horrible job of replicating the original trackball controls, it just feels awkward.
The game comes with two different modes, Classic and Enhanced, the latter of which has “improved” graphics, and by improved I mean they threw in a few more colors and a centipede that makes explosions when you shoot it, hardly enough of a change to warrant a purchase. The traditional sound effects are still intact, which is one of the games strong points. Centipede/Millipede also comes with the mandatory online leaderboard, and achievements, although there is no multiplayer, which might have ratcheted up the games value a little bit more.
As with most classic arcade game releases for Xbox Live Arcade, there is no real reason to buy the Centipede/Millipede pack unless you loved the original, since there are so many great alternatives at the same price point.