# What was this 1980s arcade game? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 12, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010 "2019-03-12T17:24:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/1 "2019-03-12T17:24:10Z")
Thinking of an arcade video game from the 1980s that involved shooting machine guns and missiles at approaching military vehicles - planes, tanks, that sort of thing. The only thing I clearly remember is that periodically during the game, there was a break where you could purchase new armaments from a place called “Crazy Ali’s Arms Bazaar,” while music based on the [Arabian riff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Streets_of_Cairo) played in the background. Anyone recall the title? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/2 "2019-03-12T17:30:12Z")
Might be the Smash TV sequel Total Carnage? The flavor and such is right, but I can’t seem to confirm. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/3 "2019-03-12T18:51:46Z")
yeah that was a riff on desert storm…did it start with a reporter talking ? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/4 "2019-03-12T18:53:11Z")
[Did it look like this?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_4w2RFKFJw) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/5 "2019-03-13T20:03:35Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Did it look like this?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_4w2RFKFJw) I don’t think so. My recollection is of something a bit more like Missile Command. Man, this is buggin’ me… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/6 "2019-03-13T20:45:06Z")
Sounds familiar but I can’t find it. Only thing that comes us is this thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/7 "2019-03-13T21:04:16Z")
Polybius? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/8 "2019-03-14T02:29:43Z")
😉 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/9 "2019-03-14T02:57:12Z")
[http://www.sinnesloschen.com/1.php](http://www.sinnesloschen.com/1.php) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-1980s-arcade-game/831010/10 "2019-03-14T18:45:08Z")
Found it: > **[We spent the day playing vintage video games at every vintage video arcade in...](https://milwaukeerecord.com/city-life/spent-day-playing-vintage-video-games-every-vintage-video-arcade-milwaukee/)** > > The Garcade, 1983, Up-Down Milwaukee, more. > [@Milwaukee Record](#): > > …and discovering a weird, 1988 military helicopter shooter game called Viper. The double-joystick control mechanism was slaved to the game monitor, which swiveled like it might in a sit-down flight simulator…The ability to increase your chopper’s firepower by shopping at “Crazy Ali’s Weapons Warehouse” was also…something. There’s a screen capture from the game just below that text. I had the name of Crazy Ali’s shop wrong, which is why it wasn’t coming up at first; I finally found it by searching for “Crazy Ali” and “arcade game”. [Here’s a video of gameplay;](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crP3clwUEk0) Crazy Ali’s Weapons Warehouse shows up at 1:08. So it was indeed like Missile Command…sort of…in that you were trying to shoot down inbound aggressors. Maybe a bit more like BattleZone though, in that it was sort of 3D. Anyway, I just always remembered it because of Crazy Ali, which is something you wouldn’t see in a mainstream arcade video game these days.