Arcades

I was born in 87, so I really didn't get any exposure whatsoever to the big arcade movement. The arcades that I remember, (quite fondly), were the hi-tech, financially risky arcades of the 90's. I'm not one of those gamers that wishes they were born earlier, truth be told, we are currently in the greatest gaming era so far, but I am saddened a little that I wasn't old enough to enjoy the arcade at it's peak popularity. Fuck, to be a pinball wizard in the 80's, with a shitty haircut, popped collar and nacho greased fingers, I would have been an arcade god.

My favorite arcade cabinet ever is Silent Scope. It was also the first game I remember getting the #1 high score on. I would rush to the Harlem Irving Plaza every friday after school to see if some jackass had topped me. The game demanded precision, patience, and the lack of morals required to blow the president's head off. I loved, and maybe, just maybe, TWL is still atop the charts after all these years. I'd love to go check.

Gauntlet was a game I had for the nintendo, and I never quite understood it's popularity. That was until I got a chance to play the cabinet in a shitty undergound arcade in high school. It's brutally hard, but the great thing about it was that strangers could join in for just a quarter. Making friends while trying to wade through enemy packed dungeons with wizards shitting fireballs at you was an absolute blast. It also, in my opinion, has the coolest art of any machine.

My son Oliver playing an old Namco Speed Up cabinet. His skill will grow with time, for sure.

Oliver playing the super rare, and super awesome Elevator Action cabinet. 

And of course, I can't forget Burger Time. When I lived in Boystown in Chicago, the little mexican restaurant around the corner from me had a Burger Time cabinet that you could play while waiting for your food. Burger Time is unique, making you walk across lettuce and tomatoes and meat to build a burger before the weiners got you. Is a hotdog about to grab you? Hit that motherfucker with some pepper and stun his delicious ass. Classic.