Captain Wrong
02-25-2006, 06:15 PM
Last place in the world I was really expecting to see an arcade game, this Modern/Mid Century Homes show in Cincinnati. Think antiques, but mod. I'm there with the wench and what did we see but one of these...
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/images/A/kAstro_Fighter.jpg
That's a cocktail Data East Astro Fighter. Not a stunning game, but a fairly fun post Space Invaders game. The table was in beautiful shape, everything worked, no burn-in and they only wanted $500, which, some people might think is high, but for a game of that vintage in that condition I was willing to pay.
Something wasn't sitting quite right and we made a couple of laps around the room while I tried to figure it out. Well, on the third lap, I really got to checking the machine out and saw the deal breaker. The attract screen was completely fucked. It would start to draw the A in Astro Fighters, then two yellow lines would streak down the screen and nothing else happened.
I'm not an ace at repairing these things and I don't know if I could have just burnt new ROMs or if there was a bigger problem, but something told me to walk away. I guess if it'd been a better game, I could have lived with a flaw like that which really doesn't effect gameplay. As it stands, I don't know how much I'd have played it anyway (it plays like a cross between Space Invaders and Activision's Megamania) but it would have looked pretty swell in the new house.
Still, I can't help but feel a little pang of regret. I do have a soft spot for the pre Pac-Man games. I know I probably made a wise choice, but there's always that "what if?"
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/images/A/kAstro_Fighter.jpg
That's a cocktail Data East Astro Fighter. Not a stunning game, but a fairly fun post Space Invaders game. The table was in beautiful shape, everything worked, no burn-in and they only wanted $500, which, some people might think is high, but for a game of that vintage in that condition I was willing to pay.
Something wasn't sitting quite right and we made a couple of laps around the room while I tried to figure it out. Well, on the third lap, I really got to checking the machine out and saw the deal breaker. The attract screen was completely fucked. It would start to draw the A in Astro Fighters, then two yellow lines would streak down the screen and nothing else happened.
I'm not an ace at repairing these things and I don't know if I could have just burnt new ROMs or if there was a bigger problem, but something told me to walk away. I guess if it'd been a better game, I could have lived with a flaw like that which really doesn't effect gameplay. As it stands, I don't know how much I'd have played it anyway (it plays like a cross between Space Invaders and Activision's Megamania) but it would have looked pretty swell in the new house.
Still, I can't help but feel a little pang of regret. I do have a soft spot for the pre Pac-Man games. I know I probably made a wise choice, but there's always that "what if?"