With the dashboard update and the Forza 2 demo getting released I almost forgot about the Xbox Live Arcade yesterday. Fortunately, I remembered it in time to check out Double Dragon. Released in the arcade in 1987 Double Dragon is the most classic beat ’em up games from that era. It was the first side scroller to have co-op play and to allow you to take your enemies weapons. Having spent many an allowance playing Double Dragon I’m actually looking forward to playing it on my Xbox 360 for a while. Considering I would spend over $5 playing this in an afternoon when I was younger I don’t think the price is to bad. Yea, I realize I’m a bit hypocritical. In most of my reviews of retro Xbox Live Arcade titles I complain about the price and how lousy the game is, but like any retro title it is the great memories, not the graphics or gameplay, that make it worth playing today.

As retro titles go this one has covered all the basics and added a few additional options. They have done the enhanced graphics like most retro titles are doing now, and they have added support for co-op play both locally and over Xbox Live. Both of these are to be expected by now. In addition to these features they also added the option to change what buttons are used to control the punch, kick, and jump. I’m glad a developer finally took the time to do this. It is such a little thing, but so nice to have. There is also on option that allows you to resize and adjust the game windows location. This benefits all of us who have TVs that either overscan or have larger frames around them. Now we can adjust the screen to fit our TV perfectly. The achievement can all be achieved by playing through the game once or twice if you are careful and don’t have to use any continues (and if you have a co-op partner). Nothing to fancy with the achievements, but that is fine.

So, is the game worth $5? Again, that depends on you. I don’t expect that a lot of teens and children will be into Double Dragon, but for those of us old enough to have wasted many a quarter on it the memories alone are worth the price of admission. For those of you who are not biased by your childhood memories what do you think of Double Dragon on the Xbox Live Arcade?