Racketboy

Sega has always been one of the best developers of unique arcade games that use special perephials. So, it is only natural that Sega would bring some of their arcade back-catalog to the Nintendo Revolution and its motion-sensing controller.

A while back, there was a rumor that Sega has filed for a patent for a new light gun that might just be for the Revolution. However, more solid evidence that lightgun/FPS games would work well on the Revolution is the recent screenshots and info released regarding Red Steel.

Sega has had a number of great light gun games over the years, so I thought I would take a moment to cover those in addition to some other great arcade games that could use the standard Revolution controller.

House of the Dead
The original House of the Dead was released in 1996 in the arcades and eventully received a Saturn console port. It brought zombie-a-plenty to the light gun shooter genre. Three other arcade sequels have followed along with Dreamcast (part 2) and Xbox (part 3) ports afterwards.

House of the Dead was one of the first light gun games to incorporate the possibilities of multiple routes. For instance, in the beginning of the game, a male civilian is about to be thrown off the bridge to his death. If players shoot the zombie and save the civilian, they will enter the house. If the civilian dies, players go down an underground route through the sewer. There are other critical points in which the players’ actions decides where they go. This “choose-your-path” was later implemented in its three arcade sequels.

Virtua Cop
There were lots of light gun games back in the 90s that allowed you to play as some type of law enforcement. However, Sega’s Virtua Cop series brought that genre into the 3D world by using polygonal graphics instead of the animated sprites that were popular for previous games in the same genre.

The original Virtua Cop was released in the arcades in 1994 and was also ported to the Saturn. Virtua Cop 2 enhanced both the graphics and gameplay a bit and also recieved a Saturn port and a later Dreamcast and PS2 port as well. After years of being missing from the arcade scene, Virtua Cop 3 was released in both the arcades and the XBox.

While the first two Virtua Cops might not seem that amazing anymore after most gamers have been exposed to other similar shooters like Time Crisis, it would still be both an exciting and nostalgic compilation if Sega bundled all three games for the Revolution.

Confidential Mission
While Sega had House of the Dead 2 for the Dreamcast, they also wanted to have a more mainstream shooter without staying with the traditional Virtua Cop setup. Instead they put a bit of a James Bond spin on the genre and came up with Confidential Mission.

Without a doubt, the presentation of Confidence Mission is leaps and bounds above previous Virtua Cop games, with each of the three scenes telling a consistent storyline and making the experience very much like an action movie on your Dreamcast. Each mission has a decent briefing about the objectives, and there’s loads of cinemas and dialogue setting up the action all throughout each adventure.

Samba De Amigo
If you enjoy rhythm games, monkeys, and need something different from Dance Dance Revolution, you really need to take a look at Samba De Amigo. Samba is another one of the ultimate party games. It involves waving/shaking maracas in certain directions to match the upbeat music. Many people find it much easier for beginners to play as opposed to DDR, but it still is a challenge in higher levels and it can be a riot to watch your friends shake their maracas like there’s no tomorrow.

Hampered by the high price of Sega’s first party maracas, Samba didn’t sell very well on the Dreamcast. However, now with the Revolution’s controllers, there will be a more cost effective way to shake your thing. An additional controller or just an add-on might be required, since your really need a pair of maracas for each player. But I really think Samba could make waves in the gaming community if it was given a second look (and some good marketing).
Full Review of Samba De Amigo

Virtua Tennis
While most people know Virtua Tennis as a Dreamcast game, it is also an arcade game. Having the essential quality of being easy to play and difficulty to master, Virtua Tennis was one of the sleeper hit the Dreamcast. It is often overlooked as a killer party game — I have had many parties with both guys and girls of all gaming levels having a blast on a 4-player doubles tournament. The Revolution controller could easily be transformed into a tennis racket. Although 4 people waving Revolution controller around a living room might make for a crazy doubles tournament.

While other enjoyable tennis titles have come long since (Top Spin and Mario Power Tennis), Virtua Tennis still holds up as being possibly the best tennis game ever. It might have to compete with another Mario Power Tennis title on the Revolution, but I don’t think either franchise replaces each other — they have significantly different styles.
Full Review of Virtua Tennis

Ollie King
A skating boarding simulator game powered that was developed by the people behind Jet Grind Radio (andthe graphic and music reflect that fact). The characters and background are cel-shaded much like Jet Grind Radio, and players can skate across either San Francisco, London, or Japan.

In the arcade version, players use a replica skateboard to perform, tricks, grinds and aerials throughout the course. Players are rated for each trick, ratings depends mostly timing. Players can perform tricks and steer by shifting their weight around the board. Since a skateboard is essesially a flat, long object, the motion-sensitive Revolution controller should be able to replicate that. Maybe a skateboard add-on would be appropriate as well.
Official Olie King Site
Ollie King Screenshots

Outtrigger
While it isn’t really an arcade game, I couldn’t help but bringing up this original FPS from Sega’s Dreamcast days. It actually offers both first and third-person perspectives and has a fast clean look as opposed to the darker looks that games like the Unreal and Quake franchises sport.

I can easily see Outtrigger and a Revolution game and it’s already been pointed out that the Revolution looks to be an ideal console for FPS.
Full Review of Outtrigger

Note: This article has been updated to reflect new knowledge of Revolution game technology