Every week Cyril Lachel comes down from his giant castle in the hills to provide the final word on all of the classic downloadable games and retro compilations. This is the Retro Round-Up, your official guide to the best (and worst) in classic gaming for the Nintendo Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Join us as we shed some light on what games are worth your five or ten dollars, and what games you should avoid at all costs. For more information about these games (and retro gaming in general) we invite you to check out Defunct Games.This week we return to a somewhat regular schedule, featuring two games for the Virtual Console and one for the Xbox Live Arcade. On the Virtual Console side we have the bizarre racing/Pac-Man hybrid, City Connection, as well as the original Metal Slug. And not to be outdone, Atari has ported their amazing 1980 game Warlords to the Xbox Live Arcade. Unfortunately we didn`t get anything from GameTap, but at least we weren`t fired (like their entire editorial staff). See what is worth playing this week when you check out the final May episode of This Week in Defunct Games!

City Connection (Virtual Console)
What Is It?
Just in time to cash in on the "success" of the Speed Racer movie, Nintendo has decided to upload this bizarre faux-racing game. Originally released 23 years ago, City Connection is a cross between a 2D racing game and Pac-Man. Don`t confuse this with the very similar (although top-down) racing/Pac-Man hybrid, Moto-X, City Connection is a beast all its own. Basically the game has you going from one famous city to another trying to drive over every inch of the road. This is easier said than done, as you will end up trying to avoid police cars, gigantic kitty cats and other weird obstacles. As you drive through the city (which features floating roads you`ll have to jump to) the road will change color, so all you will need to do is avoid as many enemies as possible and paint the whole town white. Once you`ve done that you will move on to the next level and repeat the process. As a cute little launch title City Connection works, but it`s not addictive enough to keep you playing for long. You`re better off just checking out Moto-X ... or even Pac-Man.

Does It Still Hold Up?
Like a lot of first-generation NES games, City Connection is a little sluggish to control. What`s more, the gameplay is repeated so frequently that you`ll probably grow bored of the game within a level or two. The sound effects are also poor, which is to be expected from the 8-bit NES. This game may bring back good memories for a lot of people, but 23 years later this game just hasn`t held up well.

Is It Worth the Money?
This is one of those games that I remember from the 1980s, but for whatever reason I avoided playing it until just recently. The first thing I noticed is how familiar it all felt, I couldn`t believe that 20 years later I remembered this game so vividly. However, the moment I started playing it I realized why I wasn`t in a rush to relive this particular memory. City Connection just isn`t a lot of fun. The truth is that it probably wasn`t a lot of fun in the 1980s, but we didn`t mind because we didn`t know any better. Now that I know better I know that City Connection is not worth your money.



Metal Slug (Virtual Console)
What Is It?
Metal Slug is a long-running 2D shooter franchise that was born on the SNK Neo Geo. In a lot of ways it`s a Contra clone; only this game has a lot more character and far better graphics. You play an action hero who runs from left to right shooting soldiers, aliens, zombies and more. Oh, and you`re sup...