From Newsgroup: uk.games.video.misc


My plane tickets would have been so much more expensive than when I
actually paid for them four months ago. I wonder what changed.

Play:
--=--

House of the Dead (ARC) - If you set aside Virtua Cop, I think that
House of the Dead counts as the very original CRT-based light gun game
that set the tone for what these games needed to be. My most recent
experience was with the PS4 and PS5 remakes, so seeing the original in
all its glory was both refreshing and inspiring. I wish that the cabinet
had been better maintained though, as the guns needed to be calibrated
and the lighting around the screen seemed to mess up the accuracy more
than I'd ordinarily chalk up to just my own incompetent marksmanship.

Star Wars Battle Pod (ARC) - Really it was my son who played, but I was fascinated with the notion of a wrap-around planetarium-style screen
doing a better job of portraying a VR environment than any set of stupid
ski goggles could. I didn't know that was a Namco joint, and it's kind
of a crime that it never got a home port even after ten years on the
market. I don't suppose anybody would be willing to build a ten-screen
VESA mount just to get the right effect around their office chair
though.

Centipede Chaos and Space Invaders Frenzy (ARC) - Stupid ticket
redemption versions of the otherwise venerable arcade titles that my kid nevertheless now considers to be authoritative versions of each title. Centipede is notable for dropping boss battles into the format, which is
both clever and annoying because each one changes the rules of play just enough to make you drop in more credits to keep going. Space Invaders
ended up being more satisfying because once you figure out the mechanism
it's rewarding to beat it. My kid ended up getting progressively higher
scores at the top of the leaderboard four or five times in a row, which resulted in bonus tickets. He traded them for an elaborate Hot Wheels
rotating car wash playset.

Las Vegas (RL) - Mother-in-law left town up about $24 on the slot
machines. I'm not sure how much she spent to get those meager winnings,
but quitting while your ahead is never a bad tactic. The boy experienced
both the indoor and outdoor varieties of the gondola ride at the
Venetian resort, brought home an absurd number of souvenirs from the Egyptian-themed Luxor hotel, and saw thrilling sword fighting and
mounted jousting at the Excalibur. That last spot was also one of two locations featuring the arcade games in question, but it was Circus
Circus where the most interesting arcade cabinets were present, albeit
in fewer numbers than what I remember from ten years ago. And I was able
to, in a small way, celebrate ten years of marriage with some nice
Egyptian cuisine in the Mandalay Bay where we originally tied the knot.

Want:
--=--

To not smell like cigarette smoke - Spent all of Saturday morning doing laundry. And I mean *all* of it because I didn't sleep the whole night
before after getting off the stupid aeroplane. I'm still quite tired
now.

Bin:
-==-

Nothing gaming-related.

-KKC, who hopes everybody finds a reason to stop shooting soon.
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From Newsgroup: uk.games.video.misc

Kendrick Kerwin Chua <kendrick@nospam.io-nyc> wrote:

Play:

Katamari Damacy Reroll (PC) - as much as I should maybe not replay
things so much, KD is if anything one game I don't replay enough.
Somehow, I managed to initially fail one level entirely, yet unlock
Eternal mode for the main final roll-up when I got to that. So overall
it ended up being a fairly varied but slightly bizarre experience.
Which is arguably pretty appropriate for a game like this.

Saints Row 4 (PC) - more jumpy collect-em-up with occasional vague
nods in the direction of maybe shooting some aliens in the head or
something. At least, that's how I've always seemed to play it.

Centipede Chaos and Space Invaders Frenzy (ARC) - Stupid ticket
redemption versions of the otherwise venerable arcade titles that my kid nevertheless now considers to be authoritative versions of each title.

Nearly as bad as crazy people like me thinking that the 2600 versions
are the best.

Want:

Nothing.

Bin:

Letting my weekly Picross e6 play slip. But I'm sure I'll get right
back to that again in, say, another five years.

-Rus.
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