Game over?

We also found a Ms. Pac-Man table game at The Gas Lighter, a (broken) pinball machine at The Draft, and an Indiana Jones pinball machine at Penuche’s. Not a bad crop of arcade games for our city. In the age of the Xbox and the iPhone, many people feed their gaming need in other fashions. But for those of us that grew up dropping quarters into Mortal Kombat and Frogger at the local pizza place, the coin-op machine will always carry a hint of nostalgia and memories of our childhood. Not a bad deal for 25 cents.

<strong>Wing Shooting Championship </strong></p><p>Duck Hunt came out for Nintendo in 1984 and revolutionized the way gamers interact with their games, with the gun controller giving players the feel of really hunting those ducks in their living room. 28 years later, hunting games are still all the rage. We found Wing Shooting Championship at Boutwells Bowling Center. Too bad Keith couldn’t even hit a single duck! Maybe a wing eating championship would have been more our speed.

<strong>Time Crisis 4 </strong></p><p>We found a nice amount of games at Boutwell’s Bowling Center, including Time Crisis 4. This high-energy Japanese shooter was the most technologically advanced machine we came across (and at a dollar per credit, the most expensive as well). Players step on and off a foot pedal to take cover as terrorists swarm airports, office buildings and almost anywhere else you can imagine. We weren’t really sure what was going on in this game after the opening sequence, which apparently crammed all the exposition from Time Crises 1-3 into a 15-second explanation. So, we just pointed and shot – open season on all thing be-ski-masked.

<strong>Guitar Hero Arcade</strong></p><p>Long gone are the days of massive arcades at the mall, but we found a good stash of machines at Wal-Mart. We were instantly drawn to Guitar Hero Arcade (full disclosure: at least one person on the Insider staff has played this game upwards of a million times).

<strong>Vapor Trail & Ms. Pac-Man</strong></p><p>The Yellow Submarine on Loudon Road has two arcade cabinets. One of them, Ms. Pac-Man, should be very familiar. This machine showcases the gamer’s feminine side and is a clear departure from the original Pac-Man. I mean, now that little circle has a bow on it! Sadly, in the male-dominated world of gaming, Ms. Pac-Man is still one of only a few female protagonists. We had some fun with Vapor Trail as well, a birds-eye-view flying game which basically involves frantically bashing the shoot button while manipulating the joystick.

<strong>Arkanoid</strong></p><p>This machine can be found at the Sunbright Laundromat. Arkanoid casts gamers into the classic battle of man versus brick. You control a paddle that bounces a tiny ball against a wall of bricks. Let the ball get by the paddle, and you die. Break all the bricks, and you live. It’s as simple as that. We found ourselves dangerously close to a high score during our session with Arkanoid; unfortunately, we were even closer to tearing the laundromat apart brick by brick when we lost.<br />Arkanoid’s maddening simplicity is tough to deal with.

<strong>Samurai Showdown</strong></p><p>We found this classic tucked into a corner at South End Village Laundromat. Neo-Geo machines give you the option to play 4 different games on one machine, but the only palatable option was Samurai Showdown III. We gave the button-mashing brawler a spin, but found it awful tough for two to play head-to-head, as it was crammed up against a wall.