Irem Arcade Hits App Reviews

lot issue and no refund...

once a game is selected all you get is a black screen. using a mac book air

If you enjoy old school arcade games from the early-to-mid 90s (games along the lines of Metal Slug, Contra, Final Fight, and so on), then I am quite sure you will enjoy this nice little compilation. Gunforce II was developed by the same people who went on to leave Irem and make the Metal Slug series, so it is often considered to be "Metal Slug Zero" or a prequel of sorts. It seems a few other reviewers had trouble playing this on their Macs, but I havent had any trouble so maybe the kinks have been ironed out or it was some kind of fluke. I have a Mid 09 MacBook Pro 13" running Snow Leopard 10.6.8, for what its worth. Opening and playing the games works fine. You can even use a game controller, if you have one. I have noticed a few minor bugs worth mentioning, and Id give the game a 4.5 if I could because of these (again, theyre minor). IF and only if you are at the "choose-a-game" menu, selecting Settings or Controls from the File menu will crash the program. Selecting these menu options while playing a game works fine, however. Overall, ABSOLUTELY worth the purchase, and $10 is a good price, especially since the Mac is short on arcade compilations that are Intel-native, and the app store is lacking in classic arcade packages. Highly recommended!

PROS: - A nice eclectic mix of popular games (Vigilante, Kung Fu Master, In the Hunt) and more obscure IREM classics (Undercover Cops, Cosmic Cop). - Well emulated with no framerate droppage or input lag. CONS: - No full screen option. - Spotty controller recognition (it seems to want analog sticks over D-pads - WHY?!) - No ability to save and resume games in progress. - Cheap interface/menus. - Extremely buggy front end. Crashes quite frequently. Im all for games like this as they allow companies like IREM to make a little scratch off their old IPs and encourage users to spend a little dough to play these old games through legitimate channels. That said, unless DotEmu improves their implementation (suspend saves, better controller compatibility, full screen) they provide a package that comes up short in comparison to gray and black market emulators out there. If you really want people to pony up the cash and buy these games, you had better make sure they get the best version of them and not a half-assed front end, missing features, and overall buggy package.

Early 2011 Macbook Pro. Crashed 3 times in 5 mintues. One of the reviews here said controller support, what controller are you using? Xbox 360 usb controller does not work. Who wants to play this on a keyboard? This is how you drag the Irem name through the mud.

I was initially hesitant to purchase this becase of the less than stellar reviews many people many people here have written, but I finally broke down and purchased the Irem Hits on sale at $2.99 usd. Im glad I did! The collection of games is wonderful - the majority of them very playable, challenging and just flat out fun. The ONLY issue I have is that there is a slight skipping in the sound emulation, though to be honest it is not really that distracting. Just to reiterate, great games and a great overall package. Even at $9.99. Oh... and my system - a 2010 Mac Mini running 10.6.8, 4 gigs of RAM, 2.4 gig duo core and Nvidia 320M. Ive never had a problem running the game!

All games work perfectly in my old Mac mini-2009, using my old Logitech Dual Action controller. This games bring back so many good memories, the days when arcades rules my afternoons. Keep up the great job guys, hope to see more of these.

The graphics are spot-on, as well as game play and sound. I was totally blown away. My only recommendation to the manufacturer is this: in "Vigilante" you do not see the entire background in Round Two of the game. When the splash screen for the same game comes up, you get to see the title of the game but not the picture of New York City in the background. These are visible in the original arcade version. Just minor tweaks, but other than that it is a magnificent translation. Impressive! :)

R-Type Leo alone is worth the price of admission (Irem, please release the other r-type games!) but the joystick support still needs some work. Dual shock 3 (PS3) controller works with no special setup via USB, *but* theres no way to configure the d-pad or callibrate the analog sticks, which means I am (and probably others will be) unable to get reliable directional control with an analog joystick. (Keyboard controls are surprisingly workable while we wait for better joystick support though.)

I initially bought this game when I saw the price point and that (by the first screenshot) it contained at least 4 games. This app contains over 20 first off. They run as close to exactly as my aging mind remembers them although I did notice some audio differences (not bad ones) between these versions and their console versions. The default control scheme didn’t work for me at all but it was probably the closesest to an arcade orientation as you’ll get on a keyboard. I found to my excitement that the controls could be changed both universally and by title. I would stress to the developer though that the controls desplay screens appear as though you should be able to interact with them directly. I was nearly discouraged until I found the options menu. After that it was no issue. I don’t often review apps, but I was particularly impressed. Runs fine on new OS!