{"id":15642,"date":"2016-10-28T00:01:48","date_gmt":"2016-10-28T00:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=15642"},"modified":"2016-10-19T11:47:37","modified_gmt":"2016-10-19T11:47:37","slug":"bustin-ghosts-at-dave-busters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/bustin-ghosts-at-dave-busters\/","title":{"rendered":"Bustin’ Ghosts at Dave & Busters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GHOST3\"<\/a>About a month and a half ago for my birthday, my family and I went to Dave & Busters.\u00a0 The best way to describe Dave & Busters is it\u2019s like a Chuck E. Cheese for adults.\u00a0 They have a restaurant and bar, billiards, and other things.\u00a0 They\u2019ve also always had big arcades.\u00a0 I think Dave & Busters started out in Georgia, but when they expanded, one of the first places they went to was Dallas, so we\u2019ve had them nearby for a long time.\u00a0 I think they\u2019re all over the place now, though.\u00a0 Anyway, we mainly spent our time in the arcade, and it was the first time in a long while that I had a lot of fun in a newer, modern arcade.\u00a0 So I thought I\u2019d share with you some of the stuff we played.<\/p>\n

Normally I would save the best for last, but not this time!\u00a0 One of the reasons why I wanted to go to Dave & Busters was I heard they had Luigi\u2019s Mansion Arcade there.\u00a0 Yeah, you heard right.\u00a0 There is an arcade version of Luigi\u2019s Mansion!\u00a0 Here\u2019s a picture of the outside of the arcade cabinet.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sit-down style cabinet for two players, similar to something like, say, SEGA\u2019s Jurassic Park game.\u00a0 The outside is also very well lit, with creative artwork and lighting.\u00a0 That\u2019s one of the things we\u2019ll be talking about a lot in this article is how arcade machines still use artwork and lighting to attract you to their machines.\u00a0 This has been done nearly since arcades were around, as even older machines had lighted marquees and side art to pull you in.\u00a0 This kind of stuff just fascinates me.<\/p>\n

\"LUIGI1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When you climb into the sit-down cabinet, you have to lift up a flap to get in.\u00a0 So when you are in the machine, you don\u2019t see much of the outside, so you are fully immersed.\u00a0 They even make it look like you\u2019re inside the mansion, as the inside and the flaps have framed pictures on them.\u00a0 I tried to take a picture of the inside, but it didn\u2019t turn out as well because of the glare from the screen.\u00a0 But you can still get a good idea of what it was like, so here\u2019s a picture of the inside as well.<\/p>\n

\"LUIGI2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So how does the game play?\u00a0 Well it\u2019s like a cross between an on-rails shooter like House of the Dead mixed with\u2026a fishing game?\u00a0 If you\u2019ve played Luigi\u2019s Mansion, you already know that sucking ghosts into the vacuum cleaner is like a cleverly disguised fishing game anyway.\u00a0 You can start off with a tutorial by Professor E. Gadd, or go straight to either the Easy, Medium, or Hard mansions.\u00a0 Two players can go at the same time, and player two is also Luigi, just with a blue hat.\u00a0 Which is weird, but since the game is all first person, you don\u2019t see the second Luigi anyway, even in the cutscenes.\u00a0 So you automatically walk along, and when ghosts appear, you can press the button on the vacuum nozzle to shine a light on the ghosts and stun them.\u00a0 Then you can suck them in (use the same button if you have it set to Simple Controls).\u00a0 This is where it\u2019s like a fishing game.\u00a0 As you suck in the ghost, it\u2019ll try and run away in a certain direction.\u00a0 Pull the nozzle in the opposite direction to keep the ghost from escaping.\u00a0 Similar to Dark Moon, there is also a dark light that you can shine on objects to reveal secrets, but I only remember using it twice in the arcade game, so it didn\u2019t seem very necessary.\u00a0 You can also suck up coins and cash to increase your score.\u00a0 If you get hit three times and lose all your hearts, it\u2019s Game Over, but you can continue.\u00a0 Sometimes you can suck in hearts to refill your energy, but it doesn\u2019t happen as often as I\u2019d like.\u00a0 This is an arcade game after all.<\/p>\n

One thing I liked about this game was that you get a lot of playtime for your money.\u00a0 It costs around three quarters to play, and we continued a couple of times, but we were in there for a good 15 to 20 minutes.\u00a0 Way longer than any of the other arcade games we played.\u00a0 We probably could\u2019ve beat the game, too, but halfway through the hard mansion I noticed a little kid was waiting to play, so after my brother and I lost, we stepped out so the kid could play.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t want to hog the machine.\u00a0 Maybe someday I can go back and beat it!<\/p>\n

The other great part about Luigi\u2019s Mansion Arcade were the vacuum controllers.\u00a0 They were big and chunky and cartoony, and felt just like the one Luigi holds.\u00a0 The force feedback was also great, and you could feel the ghosts go all the way through the nozzle and tube as you sucked them up.\u00a0 Everything feels different that you suck up, too.\u00a0 My favorite was when you sucked in coins, you could hear and feel a satisfying \u201cTHUNK\u201d as they went through.<\/p>\n

The only thing I didn\u2019t like about Luigi\u2019s Mansion Arcade is all the assets are lifted straight from Dark Moon.\u00a0 The Easy stage is the first mansion, the next is the Clockwork Mansion, and the final stage is the Museum Mansion.\u00a0 Even the enemies and bosses are the same as in Dark Moon.\u00a0 So if you\u2019ve already played the 3DS game, you won\u2019t find anything new here.\u00a0 But the game still did a good job of giving you an experience you wouldn\u2019t have on a home console, and I think that\u2019s where new arcades can still shine.\u00a0 What\u2019s interesting is the game was made by Capcom.\u00a0 Capcom made another Nintendo themed arcade game a while back, an arcade version of Donkey Konga.\u00a0 I wish I could\u2019ve played that one, but I don\u2019t think it came to the US.\u00a0 So I\u2019m glad Luigi\u2019s Mansion Arcade did and I got an opportunity to play it!<\/p>\n

Right next to Luigi\u2019s Mansion was another ghost busting arcade game, and it was, well, Ghostbusters!\u00a0 The arcade cabinet was also lit up with cool artwork and such, so here\u2019s a picture of the back part.<\/p>\n

\"GHOST1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The side also had artwork and a big light up Ghostbusters logo.\u00a0 I tried to take a picture of it but the light up logo was so bright that you can\u2019t see the art, but the sign was still pretty neat so here\u2019s a picture of that as well.<\/p>\n

\"GHOST3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One creative thing about the back side of the cabinet was there were holes you could stick your head into, so it was also a photo opportunity.\u00a0 Here is a shot of me and my brother Jeff as Ghostbusters.\u00a0 Jeff is the one with the beard.\u00a0 I think we make a couple of good Ghostbusters.\u00a0 We should be in the next movie!\u00a0 What do you think?<\/p>\n

\"GHOST2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So the game isn\u2019t really based on any of the movies per se.\u00a0 You have generic footage of ghosts in the park and other locales, Slimer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and the Ecto-1, but that\u2019s about it.\u00a0 Some of it looks like it was even lifted from the Ghostbusters game on the PS3 and 360 that was released a few years ago.\u00a0 You shoot ghosts with a gun controller, but what\u2019s weird is that the gun shoots out actual balls, and they hit the screen and if you hit a ghost, it\u2019ll capture it and you\u2019ll get points.\u00a0 Then the ball rolls down a slope and (assumingly), back into the gun controller.\u00a0 I felt that was a very odd design choice and not very \u2018Ghostbuster-y.\u2019\u00a0 Luigi\u2019s Mansion felt more like a Ghostbusters game than this one.\u00a0 I left the arcade machine rather confused by that.<\/p>\n

Another console mainstay that now has an arcade version that I played was Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s based on the most recent Olympics in Rio.\u00a0 Here is a picture of that.<\/p>\n

\"SONIC1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The arcade cabinet was so tall that I took another picture so you can see the jump pad on the floor.\u00a0 I like how Amy and Peach are reminding you on one screen to don\u2019t forget to take your belongings before you leave.<\/p>\n

\"SONIC2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The game is quite similar to the console versions on the Wii and Wii U.\u00a0 First you choose your character.\u00a0 I think my joystick was stuck because it kept spinning around the selectable characters and I couldn\u2019t stop it.\u00a0 Time ran out and I was Metal Sonic.\u00a0 I wanted to be Tails, but I guess Metal Sonic is kind of cool.\u00a0 Then you choose your event.\u00a0 I chose Trampoline.\u00a0 You have to actually jump at the right time, and while you\u2019re in the air, you must move the big honking joysticks in the prompted directions to do tricks in the air for points.\u00a0 After that they tally up your score and give you a medal and compare your winnings with other players.\u00a0 And then the game is over.\u00a0 I wish they would\u2019ve let you choose more events to play, but oh well.<\/p>\n

Another one I was glad to play was Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, which is actually the third in the Mario Kart arcade series.\u00a0 These games are actually made by Namco, so some of the racers are from their games.\u00a0 In past entries, you could play as Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Blinky, and a Tamagotchi (for the Bandai side of things).\u00a0\u00a0 In this one, you could play as the cartoon Pac-Man, or Don the Taiko Drum from Taiko Drum Master.\u00a0 That\u2019s who I picked.\u00a0 He even gets his own track, but it\u2019s just a generic Japanese garden track.\u00a0 The driving controls in this one are improved from past arcade entries, and they added a new feature where if you play co-op, you can fuse with another player for a short while.\u00a0 One drives and the other one aims a turret all around to shoot at other racers.\u00a0 It kind of reminds me of something you could do in one of the PS2 Crash Bandicoot racing games.\u00a0 I kind of wish Nintendo would make a collection of the Mario Kart arcade games on a home console.\u00a0 They\u2019re not as good, but I think it would still be interesting to have them.<\/p>\n

\"MARIOKART\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking of Namco, I also played a sorta new Galaga game called Galaga Assault.\u00a0 It had a big bright screen with graphics that were a mix of the original Galaga and Galaga \u201988.\u00a0 It was actually a ticket redemption game, so it didn\u2019t last long, but you had to shoot as many Galaga bugs for points, which would transfer to tickets.\u00a0 But all the rules of the game still applied.\u00a0 It actually looks very similar to another Namco ticket redemption game that I haven\u2019t played yet but would like to, and it\u2019s called Pac-Man Ticket Mania.<\/p>\n

\"GALAGA\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While we\u2019re on the subject of tickets, the way you get tickets at Dave & Busters is a bit different.\u00a0 The tickets are stored on the same card that you get to scan into the arcade machines to play.\u00a0 But you don\u2019t have to rescan the card to claim your tickets.\u00a0 They\u2019re just automatically on there, like magic or something.\u00a0 Sometimes technology amazes me.\u00a0 Only problem I had was usually when I win tickets at arcades, I\u2019ll give my tickets to a kid or their parents so they can use them to get prizes.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t do that here.\u00a0 Oh well.<\/p>\n

Another ticket game I played was this Ice Age game.\u00a0 I like the first three Ice Age movies pretty well, so I was curious to see what this was.\u00a0 At first I thought it was air hockey, but then I saw the mallets, so was it whack a mole?\u00a0 The flat part is actually a screen, and when you hammer a peg, it cracks the ice on the screen.\u00a0 In the middle are rotating targets, and when you crack the screen enough, you\u2019ll touch one of the targets and win tickets.\u00a0 Jeff got his crack to land on Scrat, which gives you the most tickets.\u00a0 I think he got like, 2,000 in one play!<\/p>\n

\"ICEAGE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One of my favorite board games as a kid was Connect 4, so it was neat to see an arcade version of it here.\u00a0 It was actually pretty huge and took up a large portion of the wall!\u00a0 The winner even gets to play a nifty little bonus stage.\u00a0 It was kind of neat to see a simple game that just used lights to play.<\/p>\n

\"CONNECT4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I think I\u2019ve played every Simpsons arcade game, even Simpsons Bowling, so I was glad to play this soccer game, too.\u00a0 It\u2019s your typical arcade kicking soccer ball game, except there is a statue of Homer that acts as the goalie.\u00a0 He\u2019ll move left and right, and if you hit him with the ball, he\u2019ll say \u201cD\u2019oh\u201d or other Homer-ish quips.<\/p>\n

\"SIMPSONS\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Back in the 70s and early 80s, arcades had a lot of physical entertainment games instead of them being all digital.\u00a0 Some examples would be foosball, air hockey, Skee-Ball, shooting galleries, etc.\u00a0 So it was interesting to see this modern remote controlled NASCAR racing game there at Dave & Busters.<\/p>\n

\"RACECARS\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Another trend I\u2019ve noticed at these places are lots of arcade versions of games that were originally on cell phones and other mobile devices!\u00a0 But as I said earlier, these arcade versions had big bright screens, interesting cabinets and neat artwork.\u00a0 They even had an arcade Angry Birds!\u00a0 Although this one was a little different.\u00a0 You viewed the action from a first person perspective and used a slingshot controller to fire the birds.\u00a0 It was a little hard to get the trajectory right, though, and you only got three chances, but at least it was a little different.<\/p>\n

\"BIRDS\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cut the Rope arcade cabinet was interesting looking, and right beside it was a new Frogger game.\u00a0 I was disappointed in that one, though, because you just pushed one button for the frog to hop up as far as it could for tickets.\u00a0 I wish it were more like the old Frogger game.<\/p>\n

\"ROPE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And yes they even had an arcade version of Candy Crush!<\/p>\n

\"CANDY\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There were many arcade games that I played that I didn\u2019t take pictures of.\u00a0 Many were other cell phone arcade games like Doodle Jump, Crossy Road, and some piano game where you mashed on a giant keyboard to repeat what was on screen.\u00a0 Speaking of Crossy Road, the same folks who made that game also made Pac-Man 256, which is a fun little game and I think would be a great arcade entry.\u00a0 I also played Pac-Man Battle Royale, but I\u2019ve talked about that in a previous blog and since it\u2019s been out for more than five years, it\u2019s a bit more commonplace now.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s all I played at Dave & Busters!\u00a0 My only problem is the lack of new content, since most of the cabinets were versions of cell phone games or console titles.\u00a0 But I still enjoyed myself and it was the first time in a long while that I had fun at a modern arcade.\u00a0 Let me know if you have any questions about what I played in the comments section!\u00a0 Later!\u00a0 –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About a month and a half ago for my birthday, my family and I went to Dave & Busters.\u00a0 The best way to describe Dave & Busters is it\u2019s like a Chuck E. Cheese for adults.\u00a0 They have a restaurant and bar, billiards, and other things.\u00a0 They\u2019ve also always had big arcades.\u00a0 I think Dave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15642"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15644,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15642\/revisions\/15644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}