At $5, Tapper is not a decent game. It’s not the
type of title to draw you in with an additive mechanic and keep you hooked. It’s hard
to feel adrenaline compared to say Defender where relentless aliens are
constantly chasing you down and stealing your brethren. Here, you’re a bartender and
your “enemies” are patrons.Unique mechanics do offer those looking to master the title advantages. While you’re mostly confined to four kegs at the end of each table, you can make a mad dash inside to try and snag the occasional tip. Instead of being forced to run back, hitting up or down returns the player to the standard spot at the tap. When in rhythm, it can be addictive.
Sadly, Tapper fails to keep you playing. This is a game originally meant to be played by drunken bar visitors after all. It’s a perfect title for a true arcade where a quick quarter means you can move onto something else. With meager online play (both versus and co-op) in which you can’t even see the other players screen, you’ll be scrolling through the list of other games to play at a much higher cost.
Unlike some of the other Midway efforts, upgraded graphics fail to appear. Aside from that, the glaring change is the drop of beer license, changed to Root Beer for wider appeal as it was in 1984 after the Budweiser sticker ran its course. It’s the kind of Xbox Live Arcade effort that is slowly giving the service a bad name.
On a compilation, Tapper can provide solid quick play. In an arcade, a round or two with friends makes this a worthwhile addition to a row of machines. At $5 with dull multi-player enhancements, someone needs should be quality checking these releases.
