5 things I hate about Antstream Arcade – is it worth buying?

Now that Antstream Arcade is here on Xbox, what better time than now to take a closer look at it and decide if it is worth the money? Ok, so we will not beat around the bush here, Antstream Arcade is fantastic value for money if you love retro games. It is stacked with well over 1,000 video games covering many generations and it has some neat features like scoreboards, challenges, and the community they are trying to build.

However, there are a few things that we feel could be improved and that is what we are looking at today.

The Force Is Not Strong With This One!

One of the things that surprised many people about Antstream Arcade was the fact that there are a number of Star Wars games on it. Many people were stoked that the classic Atari Star Wars games from the arcade are on there, but the emulation of these games (and the other vector titles) is really lacking. The controls feel super slippery, almost unplayable and there is just something very off about the whole experience. If Star Wars or The Empire Strikes Back is someone’s first impression of Antstream Arcade it is going to be a very, very bad first impression.

The PlayStation Selection Is Very Weak!

Ok, so this is something that is sure to improve as Antstream Arcade grows, but the PlayStation 1 selection of this is very poor. As of writing, Loaded and 40 Winks are the only two PlayStation games that are on this service. To be fair, these are decent titles, Loaded for example was a very popular and noteworthy title in the early days of the PlayStation. No doubt, more titles were added, but to launch with just two is very strange. Perhaps they would have been better waiting until they had a few more and rolling out the PlayStation games then?

Do You Like Old Computers?

Now, we are fully aware that this “complaint” may be a bit of a hot topic, and truth be told, it is not really a complaint at all, more of an observation. Over 700 of the games that make up the Antstream Arcade library (as of writing) are for the ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64. In the UK these machines were huge and even in the USA, the C64 had a dedicated fanbase. However, that is a huge chunk of the library of this service, especially if you have no love or nostalgia for these computers. However, on the flip side of this, it is going to be awesome that so many people may be trying these out for the very first time.

You Cannot Remap The Controls

To be fair, Antstream Arcade has said that they do plan to offer this in the future so perhaps by the time you read this, this may not even be an issue. However, each system and game has its own control scheme and that is that. For the most part, the games are completely playable, but it would have been nice to have the option to change the controls and have them saved. This is a pretty standard feature and one that most people would probably assume was already part of this service. There have been some people who have stated that they find some of the control layouts just unplayable, but that is in some rather unique and extreme cases.

At The End Of The Day, It Is A Streaming Service

Without a shadow of a doubt, there will be a day when we can stream the likes of the next big Call of Duty game or the next Spider-Man game. Services like Antstream Arcade are a good way to kind of test the waters when it comes to video game streaming. For the most part, the older games in this collection will stream without any problem, but with more advanced and complex titles, like fighting games or those PlayStation 1 games once they start rolling them out, streaming may become an issue as at the end of the day, you are dependent on your internet connection and their servers firing on all cylinders. If there is a problem with your internet, you simply cannot play Antstream Arcade!

Is Antstream Arcade Worth Buying?

We feel that even with the nitpicks and problems we have mentioned today that Antstream Arcade is worth it. The lifetime pass on Xbox is a fantastic deal even though the game library may be a bit mixed right now. It is a fun way for people to legally play these old games, but it is the extra challenges and the community they are trying to build around this that is sure to make it something that those who get into it, really, really get into it!