If, during your childhood, you never heard the iconic “DAYTOOONAAAAAAAA!” in the arcades, then you were missing out. Daytona USA was in pretty much every arcade, and nearly every child either played it, or stood next to a friend who had money to play it… I was always the one standing and watching. But no more will anyone have to scrounge for 50p to play Daytona; it’s found itself on the XBLA.
Just like the arcade version, there’s no storyline; just a simple NASCAR-esque racing game. You’re up against a vast number of computer controlled racers, and you compete to reach pole position before the timer runs out. Like most classic racers, you can extend the time limit by passing under checkpoints.
With the Xbox port, you also have the option to play online with up to 8 players, offering a much greater challenge. Another addition is the inclusion of over 30 challenges, allowing you to hone your skills on the track. These new features don’t get in the way of the original driving experience, so fans of the game won’t be disappointed.
As soon as I was on the track, I was instantly enjoying weaving between cars travelling at high speed. Some games make the experience exhilarating, but Daytona also makes it a lot of fun. It has a simple, pick-up-and-play feel to it.
No complicated controls, no features like rewind time, or the tedium of altering the height of your spoiler by a few millimetres; you just hold down the accelerator, and drive.
Daytona won’t break new grounds in the racing genre, or deliver anything new, but it’s a great game to play if you want to kill time and have fun with friends. Have a few minutes to spare? Need a quick video game fix? Then all you need is your controller and DAYTOOOONAAAAAAAA!