The ads for Gametap are everywhere, but does the service stack up? Ryan A. Allen over at Game Industry News takes an in-depth look at the subscription-based retro-gaming service. Gametap concentrates on classic ROMs using its own proprietary emu software (37 MB download). The service has a lot of games available (over 500 titles in the “Game Vault”). And according to Allen, it’s fairly easy to install and use.

After selecting a game, users are presented with a product detail page covering everything from the games original release date to instructions on how-to play.  The game play Allen experienced is a surprising replication of how he remembered playing specific titles back in the day.

The service has a few quirks, however.  Allen complains that there are no chat areas so that players can talk with each other. Also there aren’t any vintage Nintendo titles. He also wishes there were more systems in the lineup, and says that the mouse control on some of the DOS titles was a problem. But in spite of these issues, Allen says that the $9.95/month subscription is a good value for this retro-gaming service.

Read More | Game Industry News