Capcom's getting a pretty good jump on 2012, with Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Street Fighter x Tekken and Akura's Wrath set to launch sometime around the spring.  But the company also has a few classics in store, as it's repackaging eight Xbox Live Arcade favorites in a retail collection exclusively for Xbox 360.  Fans may appreciate it, but couldn't have Capcom done a little more with it?

Titled the Capcom Digital Collection, the package includes eight games, with a couple of bonuses -- Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Final Fight Double Impact (with Magic Sword), 1942 Joint Strike, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (with It Came From Uranus expansion) and Flock.  It'll sell for $39.99 and come out during the spring.

There's a good amount of value here, between popular hits like the Super games and other underground favorites, like the thoroughly enjoyable Wolf of the Battlefield and 1942 Joint Strike, and if you missed them the first time around, they do clock in for $5 apiece.  But still, considering what Capcom's done with packages in the past, couldn't there have been more?

Case in point -- anyone remember the Capcom Classics Collections that came out for PSP, PlayStation 2 and Xbox?  They truly expanded what Capcom's old-school library was all about, including the Ghosts n' Goblins trilogy (which has yet to arrive in digital form), beat-em-ups like Captain Commando (which introduced the origin of the Marvel vs. Capcom star), and a game that's been long overdue for a digital re-release, Strider.  Capcom could've easily reprogrammed these games into one uber Capcom Classics Collection for Xbox 360 and PS3, priced around the same, and provided a better service to fans.

Furthermore, as good as this Digital Collection is, it's missing a few vital games.  The original Street Fighter II, which came out a while ago for XBLA, would've been ideal for inclusion, and there's also no sign of the HD versions of Resident Evil: Code Veronica X or Resident Evil 4.  Those would've been ideal for a tie-in with the upcoming Raccoon City.  And, for that matter, where is Marvel vs. Capcom 2?

Lastly, why is it Xbox 360 only?  A PlayStation 3 retail version would actually do a lot of gamers good, considering that Final Fight: Double Impact and Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 won't even work on the PS3 unless there's an online connection, due to DRM coding.  This disc would've provided a solution for those without the ability to access PlayStation Network.

Despite these complaints, Capcom Digital Collection is a good way to rediscover some XBLA titles you might've missed the first time around.  But it could've been so much more.  At least give us a Strider re-release.  With HD.

About the Author

Robert Workman

Senior Writer/Editor

Robert has years of experience in the video game industry, writing for such sites as AOL GameDaily, PlanetXbox360 and Comic Book Resources.  He can also outdrink you any day of the week.  And twice on Sunday.  Follow him at www.twitter.com/thedcd.