What are your favorite games to play in video arcades these days? Even though home consoles are cheaper and more powerful than ever, some games just have to be played in the arcade.
Time Crisis 2/Crisis Zone. These are two of my favorite gun games. TC2 is out for PlayStation2, but it can’t compare on the home screen (even if you have a GunCon) to playing it on the big screen with that heavy pistol and pedal setup on the arcade machine. Crisis Zone is even cooler since you have an MP5.
Silent Scope. Again, 1 and 2 are on PlayStation, but this game isn’t any fun unless you have that big-ass sniper rifle to use.
Police 911. Takes the traditional shooting game and adds motion sensors, meaning you have to actually dodge and duck bullets on the screen. Konami has a boxing game that uses the same technology.
I’m also a fiend for driving games, the more fancy the cabinet, the better. Sega’s Ferrari game has three screens. Many of the newer ones have speakers in the seats (There’s an awesome tank game called “Tokyo Wars” that makes good use of this).
In short, arcades are still great at delivering complicated experiences. It would be cost prohibitive to implement these kind of features on a home console, but for 50 or 75 or sometimes even a dollar a pop in arcades, they’re a blast.
So what do you play at the arcades?