Classic game compilations are the bread and butter of the 15 - 20 bargain bin at every major retail outlet in the United States, and with Christmas closing in fast Capcom's latest foray into the sector is a much welcomed addition. This budget priced release for Xbox and PS2 offers 22 of Capcom's classic arcade games including Commando, Gun.Smoke, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings Forgotten Worlds, Mercs, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and many more.

The games are mostly presented the way they appeared in the arcade, though some slight control changes have been made to allow them to work correctly on home consoles. The only questionable changes are the Street Fighter entries which don't quite match their arcade counterparts (Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, and Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting). Luckily the differences aren't earth shattering, but some Street Fighter fans may be put off just the same.

There are a few changes that hardcore arcade fans may notice with this collection: For one the controls in Forgotten Worlds had to be tweaked to work without the arcade joystick. In the original game the player would "twist" the joystick to change which direction they were firing in. Since the Xbox and Ps2 can't support this, the game use two buttons to facilitate this function. For the most part this works out pretty well, but it may make the game feel a little off compared to the arcade experience.

The worst thing about Capcom Classics Collection is the Street Fighter II arcade titles, which don't quite measure up to the original arcade versions of the game (Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Championship, and Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting). The games have load times that which just shouldn't be there (these are arcade games from the 80's after all), some sound effects are off the mark, the speed is slightly off in Hyper Fighting (compared to its arcade counterpart) and a handful of other minor problems. While all of these problems are minor, hardcore fans will who consider these games to be the "best arcade games ever" may be mildly put off.

Finally it should be mentioned that there's a lot of other nice features for all the games included in Capcom Classics Collection including a music remix feature, history on each game, tips and tricks, two player support, nice menu screens for each game and the ability to remap the controls to your liking. While the extra options and historical goodies aren't earth shattering they do compliment the entire package nicely.

Unlike a lot of other compilations filled to the top with crap, Capcom's collection is actually chalked full of decent games like Gun Smoke, Commando, Bionic Commando, Ghost 'N Goblins and a whole lot more that were AAA arcade titles in their day. Their inclusion in this collection, along with some other not so famous arcade titles, makes this a collection worth owning. Throw Final Fight and 1943 into the mix and you have an almost perfect eclectic mix of Capcom's best classic titles. With Christmas right around the bend, Capcom Classics Collection is a sure bet for old school gamers and for the youngsters who never had a chance to experience these game in the arcades - and the price is unbeatable. Highly recommended.