EAG International Expo 2017

This was my first visit to EAG Expo, the annual trade show for the amusement industry, held at the ExCel London Exhibition Centre.  The show encompasses all aspects of the industry, including gambling and redemption.  But it was the video games I came here for, and there was a decent selection of new releases on display.  Best of all, all the games were set to free play.

Daytona Championship USA - Sega

Without doubt the game I was most excited about.  The cabinet itself is very striking, with its 47” LED screen, video billboard marquee, engine under the seat and cool lighting effects.

The game was great fun and proved popular throughout the show.  The music is a slightly reworked version of the original and just as catchy!

The game has six tracks - two beginner, two advanced and two expert.  The two expert tracks were not available for play at the show.  This build was 75% complete.

Below is some game footage.

Daytona International Speedway – Beginner

Lakeside Castle – Advanced

Dinosaur Canyon – Advanced ‘Classic’

The game currently uses an ‘up / down’ gear shifter.

Whilst the game feels more like a reboot and doesn’t stray too far from the original, I can’t wait to see Daytona back in the arcades.  I hope it’s a success and paves the way for the return of more Sega franchises.

The Walking Dead – Play Mechanix / Raw Thrills

The game was great fun and proved very popular.  I’m not familiar with the show, but this didn’t hamper my enjoyment.  The cross bow controller complete with reload feature is very cool and worked well.  As the player progressed, there was a selection of weapons that could be picked up, including hammer, nail gun and stilson.  I liked the mixture of being inundated by zombies and the relentless shooting, and ‘bullet time’ action events requiring precision shots.

Cruis ‘n Blast – Raw Thrills / Nintendo

This is definitely more of a fantasy racer.  Pressing the tunes button reveals the ‘hidden’ vehicles, which include a London bus, helicopter and a triceratops.  One level saw me racing a triceratops through London on top of a train whilst avoiding the London Eye.  Yes really.

Space Invaders Frenzy – Raw Thrills

Whilst the game keeps the Space Invaders theme, the gameplay of the original is exchanged for relentless shooting.

Ghost Busters – ICE / Play Mechanix / Raw Thrills

Shoot ping pong balls at ghosts and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  I love Ghost Busters, and this was something different and good fun.

Mario & Sonic At The Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition – Nintendo / Sega

A bit like track and field, but were you actually have to run!

Electrocoin

Sadly there were no videogames on the Electrocoin stand, but they did have some nice new pinball releases on display.

Heighway Pinball

I was looking forward to playing Alien pinball, but unfortunately it had some teething problems.

The show even had a couple of classics.

Please Zoltar, I’m really happy to see a new Daytona, but can we have OutRun3?

There seems to be a boom in gaming aimed at the really young. 

I’m sure my four year old daughter would have loved it here and kind of regret not bringing her along.  One such game was ‘Let’s Go Safari’, by Sega.  The player drives and learns about animals, and even had a button to set off fireworks!

Some freebies I managed to grab.  Check out that Daytona water!

Some more pics of the show.

Arcade Club

We recently made another visit to the awesome Arcade Club.  The arcade has a lot of new additions, including quite a few titles I had never played before.  Here is a walk round video of the main floor.

My gaming highlights, in no particular order.

Moon Patrol – Irem - 1982

This is one I’d never played before.  The controls are great and I love the physics of the buggy.  The game feels entirely fair and has that ‘one more go’ quality.  Awesome cabinet art as well.

Mechanized Attack – SNK – 1989

It’s been years since I’ve played this.  I enjoyed a run through, and saw the ‘You are dead!’ message quite a bit!  The visuals are great, with awesome Terminator inspired enemies.

Total Carnage – Midway - 1992

It was great to have a few credits on this Smash TV sequel.  I only ever saw this in one arcade back in the day, The Majestic, Great Yarmouth.

Vendetta – Konami – 1991

A fun scrolling beat-em-up with lots of nice touches.  I particularly liked the bucket.  Not a conventional weapon, but kick the bucket and it will land on an enemy’s head, causing him to roam about like a headless chicken!

These four-player dedicated cabinets were everywhere in the nineties, but it’s the first time I’ve seen a dedicated Vendetta.

Monkey Mole Panic – Taito – 1992

Basically a videogame version of Whack-a-Mole.  It’s the first time I’ve seen this Electrocoin cabinet.  Great fun, especially in multiplayer. 

Mercs – Capcom – 1990

I don’t recall seeing this game in the arcades, but remember renting the Megadrive version from the local video shop.  Awesome game, I love the control panel art.

Zaxxon -  Sega - 1982

Another arcade first for me.  I enjoyed playing this isometric shooter, but the more I played, the worse I seemed to get.  The joystick did feel a little clunky.  Yes that’s right, I’m blaming the joystick for my poor performance!

BurgerTime – Data East – 1982

Great fun and addictive, but never have fried eggs and hot dogs been so infuriating!  I love the control panel and side art.

Tapper – Bally Midway – 1983

Serve beer and collect empty glasses and tips, much more fun than it sounds!  Another title I’ve only played at Arcade Club.

I love how the cabinet is designed to look and feel like a bar, with possibly the best control panel ever!

Osman – Mitchell Corp - 1996

It was great to see this rare and beautiful spiritual sequel to Strider.  The artwork really is stunning, but the game is punishingly difficult if you stick to the one credit rule.  I actually have this game, and really need to get this in a cab and spend some time with it.

The awesome line up of Electrocoin cabinets takes me right back to how I remember arcades back in the day.

Some more pics of Arcade Club.