Free Video Games on Coolrom.com

I just can't believe the age we live in nowadays. I grew up in the age of the Atari 2600, and I had to beg my mother to get it for me. Of course, the games of the 2600 look like absolute filth compared to what they have nowadays, and they were replaced by better systems like the Nintendo a few years later. By the time Nintendo came out, I as a teenager had better things to spend my money on. Since I was completely broke in college, I was unable to afford the 16-bit Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo systems. In short, there is an entire generation of TV video games that I never owned.

Now, thanks to the emulators on www.coolrom.com, practically any game that I want from the 80s and 90s is available to download for free. If you click on "Emulators" on their main menu, you'll find a variety of outdated video game systems including the classic Atari 2600, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Color, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Sega Saturn. (Regrettably, more modern systems such as the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox are not available, yet!) Click on the "Games" and search alphabetically from thousands of games.

Then all you need to do is download the emulator, and download the game. I risk sounding cliché with this, but it's just that simple. You'll be amazed at how quickly these games download. I just downloaded the GENS Emulator, one of several programs that will allow you to play specifically Sega Genesis games. I now feel like I was back in college, and playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my neighbor's system when I should have been studying.

Be warned though. Some of these emulators work, but you may end up getting some autoplay of the game. The autoplay looks like a video arcade game before you put the quarter in. What you have to do is find out how to calibrate the controls, and you're in. That is different for every single emulator, but the key is to look on the menu bar and find "Controls". You will then be able to set up the controls like you would for your old games. I believe some of the emulators even have a joystick option, so you might want to see if that will work for more authentic gameplay.