Arcade cabinets that make you look foolish
Are you afraid to play it?
This list looks at games which implemented features into the arcade cabinet which improve the users control over the game, unfortunately for the shy of heart this also means waiting until the arcade is empty until you play them.
So let's take a look at some games many of us would consider to be the scooters of the video game world...
Police 911
Police 911 is an arcade shooter released by Konami in 2000.gameplay is similar to that of other on rail shooters such as time crisis and house of the dead. The story is that you are a police officer fighting the mafia and attempting to stop its members from trafficking guns from Japan to the USA. this game itself is considered a spinoff from the time crisis, although it doesn't share the same game world the game play mechanics are very similar you move along on rails hiding behind cover only exposing yourself (not in the rude way) when you want to fire off a few shots.
The biggest innovation with this particular game and the reason for its inclusion on this list is that Konami installed 3 sensor bars on the cabinet. This meant that the player had to physically move in order to duck out of the road whereas with time crisis you just pressed a button with your foot.
The main reason you will be afraid to play this is that all the ducking and diving makes you look as foolish as those people who fall asleep on the train and wake up with a yelp when they dream they are falling.
see crazy cop shooting action here
Cops
Cops is an arcade game released by Atari in 1994, the game is a hybrid shooter/driving game. Upon starting you get to pick which you would like to do. The gameplay is all done in video with the aim of the game to shoot the criminals and avoid shooting innocents and your partners.
The game makes my list not only for having both a light gun and steering wheel on the cabinet but for playing the theme tune for cops the show really loudly during its attraction loop... bad boys, bad boys wactha gonna do when they come for you(if it's in your head now I'm sorry)
The reason you won't play this game is that the soundtrack plays throughout the game and nobody wants to be associated with that. I couldn't find any gameplay so below is just the theme song
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution is a bemani game introduced in 1999 by Konami. The aim of the game as everyone knows is to copy the instructions of the computer using only your feet and the directional buttons on the cabinet. This is all done to the beat of a song selected by you the player.
The game makes the list because it added a dazzling array of lights bells and whistles to the cabinet as well as adding a controller for dancing on instead of the traditional push buttons.
The reason you won't play this game is that no matter how good you are at the game it's impossible to look in any way sane while you're up there. Later models now even warn people nearby by announcing that you're ready to dance. This game is on the list but other bemani games should also be considered here. I picked DDR as it's the flagship series for the genre.
Also a special mention to one game that even makes playing it at home embarrassing because of some highly provocative Wii remote waggling... the honour goes too cooking mama thanks to a crazy oversight by the developers some of the hand actions required lead to some red faces around the TV for family members over the age of 13
i have more articles on arcade games still to come,thanks for reading leave comments in the usual place :)