Last night I picked up Burnout Paradise on the way home from work, making it in and out of Woolworths just before the shutters fell at six o’clock. I don’t often get games on the day of release any more, so my inner child was struggling to contain his excitement as I got home. With Elisha falling asleep in the car on the way (as she often does), it was simply a matter of placing her on a pillow when I got in before turning my attention to the PS3 and the first proper 5th generation racing game.
I remember quite a few of the 50 Greatest Arcade Cabinets quite fondly from all the hours I must have whiled away in various arcades back in the 80’s.
Space Invaders, Paperboy, and Star Wars are indeed classics, although I don’t see Space Harrier, Star Rider or the laser disk Firefox cabinet on that list. Admittedly it was rare to see a working version of Firefox, but the full motion Space Harrier cabinet was just awesome and every big arcade had one.
The sit down cabinet for Road Blasters is another one that I don’t see on the list, but remember well. It featured a pair of super loud speakers placed in the head rest that left your ear drums aching after a long session. It’s the kind of experience that arcades were all about, back in the day – immersive, loud, and left you wanting just one more go. 🙂
After completing Call of Duty 4 on the PS3 a couple of weeks ago, I found myself hankering for SOCOM. Reason being that, although graphically splendid, CoD4 is the equivalent of a tram ride through a valley of trigger-points. It’s stifling and claustrophobic in comparison to the freedom of SOCOM and, despite the last-generation graphics of SOCOM: Combined Assault, I have to say that I think it’s the better game.