ARCADE WATCH
Keeping an eye on the coin-op gaming scene
Game Ice Cold Beer
Manufacturer Retro Arcade
It’s one thing to recreate the arcade experience of yesteryear by stuffing a bunch of ROMs into an old cabinet, but quite another to rebuild a mechanical game that relies on moving physical parts to provide the entertainment (just ask anyone involved with maintaining old pinball tables). But that’s the mission of Retro Arcade, whose Ice Cold Beer remake is now shipping. Though we don’t recall seeing the game in the UK around the time of its original release, Taito’s Ice Cold Beer was a hit in the US where it lured punters with simple controls and action. Using two joysticks, you raise and lower the edges of a horizontal bar on which rests a metal ball that must be moved up the playfield and into a lit hole while swerving many unlit apertures along the way. Naturally, Retro Arcade promises a bunch of upgrades to ensure this 2023 edition is a bit more robust than the 40-year-old original.