3-in-1 Ultimate Retro Arcade

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It's also a smart way of earning a buck or two.

3-in-1 Ultimate Retro Arcade, comprising a trio of arcade-esque releases (which is probably the most charitable way of putting it), is one such imitator, with developer Maturus pooling together what, for many, will largely be a collection of familiar games.

Familiar in terms of the gameplay on offer, rather than their actual name, of course.

That's not to say there isn't merit in the titles served up in this three-in-one pack. Indeed, some of the versions actually attempt to make an improvement or two on their inspiration.

Gravity games

BreakThru, for instance, is essentially a BreakOut clone, though its distinctly unusual take on physics means it would be cruel to suggest it doesn't serve up a challenge all of its own.

BreakThru is a game governed by gravity, meaning that, rather than the ball darting around the board in a direct manner once it's hit your bat, the ball begins to head back towards the ground when it nears the top of the map, like it might do if thwacked in real life.

Space shooter Meteorz is, perhaps, less forward-looking, aping Atari classic Asteroids in all but style.

The idea here is to shoot down celestial bodies that flood the screen into smaller rocks, before clearing them from play. As in its source material, the objects essentially wrap around the screen, disappearing off one side to reappear on another.

A-maze-ing

Of all the three games on offer in this nostalgia-tinged compendium, MegaMaze is arguably the most addictive.

Here, the aim is to guide yourself around the edge of a series of squares whilst being chased by a growing number of 'baddies'; that's their rather literal name.

As well as simply avoid them, it's also possible to shoot them down, though ammo is limited to prevent MegaMaze from morphing into a simplified shooter.

It's not going to win any awards and, fans of the games 3-in-1 Ultimate Retro Arcade is inspired by may well consider it something of a travesty, but for those who fancy dipping into a mirror image of an age now long past, imitation certainly has its benefits.

3-in-1 Ultimate Retro Arcade

A collection of three arcade clones, 3-in-1 Ultimate Retro Arcade doesn't make any waves, but it doesn't do any harm either
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Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.