The Best Multiplayer Arcade Games

Driving

• One of the genres that benefits the most from multiplayer linkups is car racing games. The experience of competing against real people on a racetrack adds realism to arcade racing games as these competitors will react to your actions in a more realistic manner than cars controlled by artificial intelligence. This is all enhanced by the fact that you are actually controlled your virtual car by using a steering wheel and pedals just as you would in a real automobile. GameSpot considers "Daytona USA" one of the best multiplayer arcade games ever. This NASCAR style racing game offers racing for up to eight players and rang up over a billion dollars of quarters in arcades. Electronic Gaming Monthly included the 1986 racing game "Outrun" and the 1994 game "Sega Rally" in its list of the best 200 games of all time.

Shooting

• Home consoles of the 21st century offer a wide variety of first-person shooters in the "Doom" style. These games, however, require the player to use analog thumbsticks to manipulate weapons, while arcade shooting games let the player hold a light gun that can be physically aimed in different directions -- more closely emulating the experience of a real-life shootout. "Virtua Cop" was one of the first arcade shooting games to feature polygonal rendering, earning it a spot on Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the top 200 games of all time.

Fighting

• The release of "Street Fighter 2" in the arcades during the early 1990s spawned a revolution in the gaming world. One-on-one fighting games were here to stay, and the idea of challenging an opponent to a one-on-one duel caused many imitators. Among the best of the genre are the bloody combatants of "Mortal Kombat" and the polygon fighters "Tekken" and "Virtua Fighter."

Sports

• While home football games such as the "Madden" series offer hundreds and sometimes thousands of plays to choose from, arcade sports games will only offer a handful of plays. "NBA Jam," one of the 200 best games of all time according to Electronic Gaming Monthly, does not allow you to choose any offensive schemes or plays. Games are a two-on-two competition instead of the standard five-on-five format of real NBA basketball. "NFL Blitz," also honored by Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the best games of all time, was also a simplified arcade football game that differed from genuine simulations.