The original Asteroids is about as old as I am — a coin-munching video game that is still as hard as it was back in the late 1970s and early '80s. This isn't exactly a complicated game, but Stainless Games has given it a makeover to at least try to catch up with today's shiny graphics standards. Xbox Live Arcade's Asteroids Deluxe includes Asteroids Deluxe and the original game Asteroids, if you really feel compelled to relive the black and white days.

You control a ship, a little triangle on screen that shoots pellets and takes out giant asteroids flying your way. The game takes place on one screen as you fly around and shoot in all directions. Asteroids break into smaller asteroids, and anything that touches your ship, including your own bullets, will end the game quickly. Alien ships also are floating around, and there is the option to jump into hyperspace if you start to feel a little claustrophobic — but you also can reappear on top of an asteroid, which also will result in a quick finish. Like a true arcade game, your reward is points and a possible high score. Asteroid Deluxe essentially plays the same way, but you have the ability to activate a shield rather than jumping into hyperspace. I'm not sure if that warrants the upgraded name to "deluxe," but standards were different in the '80s.

The jazzed up XBLA version is labeled "Evolved," but really the only thing that is evolving is the color and explosions. Instead of just disappearing in a poof of white particles, it is more of an elaborated fiery explosion that drags on a little too long and becomes more distracting than anything. The cosmic background is pretty but doesn't make much of a difference when the gameplay is the same. The game doesn't take up the entire screen, which is unfortunate because you're confined to a square area in the center.

Sound and music is what you would expect out of a simple arcade game; the blips and bloops add to the arcade feel. Controls involve using the analog stick to rotate your ship 360 degrees, and you can shoot by using the right trigger or the A button. If the game was truly evolved, they would have allowed you to just hold down a button and let you fire continuously. Sure, this is the lazy way people play games these days, but that's what evolution is all about — at least when it comes to technology.

If you thought Asteroids was hard back then, I doubt it's any easier today. I find that games are much easier today because I found it incredibly frustrating to get used to the controls in Asteroid Deluxe. There are two difficulty settings, hard and harder. When my reward is to punch in my three-letter initials, it's almost not worth the aggravation.

The lack of multiplayer options also is disappointing — but that would require changing the game, which I suppose would be too much of a step forward. This game does bring back memories of the good old days, but if you weren't around back then to relive those memories, you might want to save your Microsoft Points for something else.