High Scores Arcade is my Graceland!!

High Scores Arcade is my Graceland!!

Being middle aged (I'm 41, eat bad and hate working out...so reaching 80 is a stretch) the days of visiting the classic arcades is something I miss a lot. Walking into dim lit happiness, the sounds of quarters dropping and the joyful shots being fired by Galaga are memories from yesterday...or so I thought!!

I had caught wind of an arcade in Burlington, NJ (which is about 30 minutes from my house) made this a journey of EPICNESS. On Friday, I grabbed Kim (@KimDimension) & good ole' Broccoli Rob (@BroccoliRob11) and set forth on any gamers destiny to High Scores Arcade...to become one with game (cue Star Wars Imperial March music).

High Scores Interactive Arcade is nestled in a very nice business district, amongst rows of small, personable businesses. The place is small, so driving by, you can miss it, but honestly...it's perfect. Upon walking in, I hear Star Wars Cantina disco remix, I'm thrust instantly back to my early teen years and my pocket that is holding my $6 in $1's, feels the need to find the change machine.

I snoop around a bit, while Kim heads directly for BurgerTime and Broccoli Rob looks for Donkey Kong in hopes to dethrone the likes of Billy Mitchell or Steve Weibe. I seek the owners and meet Shawn and Meg, who are extremely nice and genuine. They give me the tour, showing my some of these treasures, while my mouth waters, plus..what I enjoyed, was how each game had a personal story behind it. Shawn, see's Broccoli Rob's interest in Donkey Kong and offers him a lesson, which was awesome. He explained the levels, insider tips and gave him some hope. Meg, was showing off her skills at Star Wars, saying she was "pretty good, but some of the best players in the world have mopped the floor with her scores".

This is the part I enjoyed the most...in today's economy, it's important to find some entertainment that is fun, cheap and has something to offer everyone in the fmaily. High Scores Aracde is just that...very family friendly. The games are classic, at classic prices...25 and 50 cents per play. The staff is friendly, knowledgable and make you feel at home. For our family...we spent $20 total and played for 2 hours. You simply can not beat that...it was a blast. Such a blast in fact, we went back on Saturday night and played another 2 hours.

Look for High Scores on Facebook  

High Scores Arcade

348 High Street

Burlington, New Jersey

Hours (Fri 6-10pm & Sat 2pm-10pm)

Now, go play, have fun and remember to Insert Coin!!

Plants vs. Zombies vs. Dimension....It's Anarchy! (Game review)

Plants vs. Zombies

Game Review (PS3 system)

Sometimes living under a rock has it's disadvantages, I mean that figuratively, as last time I looked, I haven't completed my morphing process into Patrick Starr...but it's close. I like to enjoy a lot of the games from yesterday...not very often jumping to games designed for iPhones or the latest computer challenges. Every once in a while one sneaks under the radar and I arrive at the party a little late...case in point with Plants vs Zombies.

At my local gaming store, I, had a chance to try a demo of Plants vs. Zombies by PopCap games and was instantly hooked, so much so, I bought the PS3 version for my Wife as a Christmas gift, simply so I could play too...(don't you judge me and my motives). Available on almost every platform, from the iPhone to the Wii, to XBox 360, based around the very simple concept of protecting your home from the Zombie Apocalypse with using your gardening skills...yes...gardening skills.

With the hottest, most current craze being Zombies...I bet you will never see Daryl Dixon arming himself with a Pea Shooter on The Walking Dead, but that's where the appeal for this game comes into play. Using household items like a rake, a lawn mower...some green thumb items like a Venus Flytrap, Sun Shroom or even a Hot Tamale that will burn those undead bastards alive, make this game a complete and total blast! It's strategy based, and keeps it humorous the entire time...just don't confuse fun with not challenging...cause Plants vs Zombies gets tough.



The challenges happen both day and night, both equating into their own hindrances. You rely on the Sunlight to help your garden grow (meaning..your line of defense) but during the night time hours, you rely on your own creativity to keep the flesh eaters back. The creativity doesn't stop with you...there are pole vaulting zombies that skip your first line of defense. Zombies that use floatation devices like balloons, water floats and some even ride dolphins...yes...dolphins. They carry screen door shields, they drive a Zamboni and keep you on your toes day or night! Never have i laughed so much trying to prevent world domination.

People ask: "Dimension...what's my best line of defense?" Ok, I'm glad you asked me. I'm a fan of the Squash...his mean, aggressive look and squashing ability makes it both comical and a huge asset when things are looking bleak. The Wallnut is also another perfect "staller" as it take a bit for the pesky buggers to break this wall down. The star as an offensive weapon, tremendous, considering you can drop a bunch and set the screen on fire..so to speak.


The controls for the PS3, very easy to maintain and control. The graphics and entertainment by Crazy Dave only enhance the gameplay. This game also comes with Peggle, another fun, family pinball style game that will grant you tons of hours of gaming. Heavy Weapon is also included, but I haven't played it yet. Retail on the PS3 version is $19.99. I would recommend this one for kids and adults of all ages. Compared to many, this game is mild in violence, it's fun and nothing crude showed up. Plenty of online choices/achievements are available as well.

For more information on Plants vs Zombies visit their site http://www.popcap.com/ or, you can follow them on Twitter @PlantsvsZombies They even have a Wiki page with TONS of content - http://plantsvszombies.wikia.com/wiki/Doom-shroom

Have fun and happy New year!

Dimension shoots 300 on SNES...and so can YOU

Dimension Shoots 300 on SNES

...and so can YOU!!!

Brunswick World Tournament of Champions

Super Nintendo (1997)

Today I thought I would give you guys a review and tips to help you achieve your dreams of one day walking amongst the best in the Super Nintendo world elite. Now, understand, that you don't get a green jacket, there is no golden ring after achieving this amazing feat...but you will have bragging rights. After all, the best pick up line to a girl is "Hey, I can bowl 300 on the Super Nintendo Brunswick World Tournament of Champions Bowling game."

If you are a retro gamer, still own a Super Nintendo and possibly spent .89 cents on one of the last produced games for the system..then it's possible that you have felt your life was lacking the ability to score BIG. I'm here to help. The Brunswick World Tournament of Champions game, after researching online, has a bad reputation as a difficult game to become great on. Poor visual effects, complex hand/eye coordination controls and more useless knowledge than you can shake a bowling pin at.

Let's take a look at the set up. Simply by pass the bio's of the Professional Bowlers, sure Walter Ray Williams Jr. might be the winningest Bowler EVER on Tour and the greatest Horseshoe throwing champion in the World...he achievements in life pale in comparison to yours...so skip him and jump to player set up.

I'm going to use the Right Handed bowler...because..well, I'm a right hander. One thing that peaks my interest almost immediately...the catchy soundtrack for this game (sarcasm). Give yourself a name...I will choose ROB. Off to a good start so far. Then when you scroll to Bowling Ball selection, go in and change your ball type to Quantum Midnight Blue. There are many Quantum's to choose from..but this one is Mine.

(Facts) When I worked at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, NV, during its grand opening year (1995) I worked for Brunswick. The Quantum bowling balls were the 1st of there kind to have a retail of $200.00 each. One of my perks for working there was free equipment, I actually had a Midnight Blue Quantum. In reality, the Midnight Blue Quantum was designed for dryer conditions, being a "cover heavy" ball..meaning that the ball's inner core was lighter than the outer shell, delaying the early hook. The track flare was minimal due to this, opposed to the other Quantums. See, life imitating art.

Next is the weight, choose 15lbs. Then, simply click OKAY. For the spare ball, it doesn't matter, what color to choose, just make sure it is a PLASTIC ball. Now your Bowler should be set. Again, press OKAY. This game is so easy so far..huh? Go back to your Main page, then head to Practice...you need to practice before you can just go flauting your skills...I mean, Greatness isn't just handed to you!

Ok, now, the Oil Pattern you will choose is Easy to start with. I will show you how to get the BEST strike percentage using this skill level, after that...it's on you to mess around with (I'm like Yoda, I can't give away all the secrets).

When stepping onto the lane, as you can see by the picture to the Left, stand with your Left foot on the Center dot. This represents the 20th board, basically you are in the center of the lane (A Lane has 40 boards across..it's actually 41 but that's a whole other nerd story). The arrow marker is just a pinch Left of the 2nd arrow. This represents the 10th board (the actually maker should be on about the 12th board), so we are playing 20 to 10 in Bowlers jargon. See, you are learning so much already.

Now, the Power and Spin functions are where simple hand and Eye cooridination come into play. The goal with the Power is to stop it centered at 12 o'clock, like straight up. Imagine the Power meter is a clock, that way the 3-6 would be blocked off (The 6 o'clock is the starting point and the 3 o'clock is the max power.

As for the Spin control, you wan t to MAX the the spin power as much as possible. The more consistant you are with this combination, the more you will strike at will. This is only the basics, you will need to fine tune your skill and ability but someday, you to can walk into any Bowling Alley, with your head held high, your name on the back of your shirt and stand amongst the Elite!

Here is the final result, yes folks, a 300 game. See you on the lanes! For more reviews...let me know, I would love to do some more silly little reviews for the Super Nintendo or even the Original Nintendo.

Follow me on Twitter @RobDimension or visit my site http://www.robdimension.com/ plus, listen to my podcast - The Extreme Odd Couple at http://www.xocpodcast.com/ with Steve Corino.

Fable 3 - Role Playing with British Humor??

Fable III Review or a new Hero Rises in a Silly, British Sort of Way 

 Reviewed by: Shaun Cook 

So another trip back to Albion is here in the newest fantasy epic from Lion head Studios and Microsoft in Fable III. This time around it isn’t just about being a hero but being overthrowing your corrupt brother ad becoming the new King (or Queen) of the land. Now, let me tell you, being a huge video game nerd (I work for rather large specialty conglomerate) and a fan of RPG (Role Playing Games) since the days of yore, I was excited for this release to say the least.

October 26th was a day I waited for with baited breath for some time as it was not just the release of Fable III but several games as well. Actually, it was truly an obscene amount. I mean, Fable III alone was a huge title but you also had Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Rock Band 3 and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 to just name a few. What is a gamer to do? I’ll tell you what, one game at a time or at least for as long as your attention span will allow. Anyhow, I am getting off track….onward.

Fable III did a lot of great new things that made me happy as a fan of the series. Long gone are the tedious management menus of its predecessors, now we have a “Sanctuary” where we can track everything from “wealth” to the number of Orgies and STD’s you have had and collected (I kid you not!). However, the single greatest addition to the game is a voice for your character. Yes, a full on voice for your hero. Long gone are the days of a mere “excited yelp” or “Disappointing howl” of the past games and now you get a fully voiced character. In my opinion, this just adds more to the overall brilliant all-star cast, albeit it is all British, that is capped off by the amazing work of John Cleese as “Jeeves” your loyal butler/game guide.

The game does have its shortcomings as well. The camera, as usual, can pose a problem when you interact with folks with in the game and some of hit detection is a bit hit or miss, but that is just par for the course. However, with those problems aside the game is a real gem for anyone who has an Xbox 360 and anyone who enjoys a great RPG with a twist of British sense of humor. 

 

In closing, there is an online component that I have not tried yet but when I do, you, the readers will be the first to know how those digs worked out.

Until next time………. 

I'm Shaun, I'm 32 years old, and I live in Florida, I am married. I love all of the fruits of our world. The fruits include music, comics, games and of course terrible movies. I have been writing reviews and the such for a few years, most notably on destructoid.com. I hope everyone enjoys my particular brand of insights to world of entertain as much as I do.

Star Wars - The Force Unleashed II review

Star Wars the Force Unleashed II Review

 by - John Cannon

In a galaxy long ago….ok let’s be real, it was this past week and it was at my nearest GameStop store. I had heard about the Force Unleashed II coming out a number of months ago and after becoming a fan of the first game I knew I had to acquire a copy of the sequel, STFU2. Now in reading a small bit of information regarding the new game I was intrigued as they said the game play and controls would overall be a lot easier to handle. I was pretty happy this as remembering back to the first one I usually had a hard time with the force grab and throw option as well as not having good force lightning.

So anyways, I got the call that they would have a midnight release of the game and while I had done them before I was too tired to attempt this one, so I opted to just go in the morning. I went the next day picked up my copy and threw it into my car to play at a later date. A couple days later I was talking with a friend who had picked the game up and was playing it and so I asked him what he thought about it. He told me the force throw and lightning were awesome, but the story line just seemed a bit weird. He explained a little bit of the story to me and I have to admit I was confused about it, so that sort of got me in gear to load it up and play it.

Once my PS3 (I only do PS3, sorry Xbox fans) loaded al the updates for the game I clicked on the start menu and began the journey.

Now as I played through the game I did realize that the game play was in fact much easier and in my opinion a bit more enjoyable than the first one. The force grab and throw was excellent and much more easier than before so I give the game designers kudos for that one. Plus the force lightning starts off kind of bleh, but once you upgrade it one its like the emperor himself is throwing lightning, very cool.

There are however a few things that I really didn’t enjoy about this game. One was the fact that it seemed much shorter than the first one, I mean a beat it within a few hours of game play and really didn’t have much of an effort beating it. So that was a bit disappointing in itself. Then you get to the story line and I know many a Star Wars fan who loves the story lines in the films and this was a severe let down. IT made no sense what so ever in relation to the first film and just when you think you begin to understand what is going on they change it and you’re confused all over again. While I am not a huge Star Wars “mark” I do enjoy seeing the classic characters like Yoda show up, yet he does nothing and you do nothing on his planet, a complete waste of time to see a vision that could have easily been a cut scene. Finally towards the end of the game it goes into some sort of weird outlook and you can no longer dash or move the camera around, it just didn’t make sense.

In playing and thinking about this game I would say go get it because its game play is excellent, just try not to focus on the story line to much.

Be safe and may the force be with you,

John Cannon

Harry Potter LEGO review - John shows he's a Gamer!!

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (A guide to witchcraft with legos.)

Lego Harry Potter has been out now for a number of weeks and I am not afraid to say it, I had the game reserved since I first found out about it. So for me that would mean I reserved my copy of it back in November 2009 at my local video game dealer, yeah go ahead and laugh I don’t care. I am a huge lego video game and have every single one they have come out with except lego rock band because that’s not really a game like the other lego games are. I own all the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Batman games and was uber excited when the Harry Potter one was announced. Of course I have found out they are going to make a Spiderman and Transformers one too, so again the uber excitement has set in.

When I first heard about it and that you could do spells and fly on the brooms I initially was concerned for the game play and the intensity they might have put into it. I thought they may over think it and take away from the enjoyment that the other lego games provided to players. The other thing I was worried about was do I go with the deluxe edition that I would have to pay a little bit more for, but get the collectables they give with the game. I researched and talk to my video game dealer guru and he informed me it that the items you received with the game were crappy little pins and that it wasn’t the extra money, unlike the cool lego Indy key chain I got with the latest lego Indian Jones game. So with that Sofie’s choice of a decision out of the way I focused my concern on the game itself.

Now I will admit that I generally pick up the strategy guide book for all my lego games just to have should I get stuck in that one spot that annoys me to no end and need a little “guidance” with. Now as I talked with my non-regular video game dealer guru and asked when they would release the strategy guide he informed me they probably wouldn’t put one out because they don’t really do that for the lego games. Now once I was finished screaming and skinning him alive for being stupid in my mind I politely said, oh ok no big deal, but it was to me…oh well.

I got the game home and began to play it and I was bothered by it initially as you have to learn different spells and button functions that didn’t quite stay true to previous lego games. Some of the characters are a bit hard to control in general and you have to go through the game quite a number of times in order to find everything in order to get that beloved 100% complete status. Now I know every lego game you need to go through a number of times to complete, but this one was a bit excessive. As well the overall layout is a bit confusing as you traverse around the castle of Hogwarts and then the outside and courtyards, you tend to get lost rather quickly. I think that’s why I would have liked the strategy guide the most to reference some sort of map, but in the end I ended up making my own. There were a couple of glitches in the game and I had to restart the system because of them, but I guess that’s par for the course.

Now while I have said less than positive things about the game I do want to go on record and say once I got the controls and button functions down I did have a pretty good time playing it. I enjoy all the lego games and the motto is if it aint broke don’t fix it, and that’s how I felt the other games were until we got to Harry Potter. If I could say one thing to the designers of the game that would be to not over complicate a good thing, don’t put so much time into public area screens and just make the levels a bit longer instead.

I have only seen the first three films of the Harry Potter series and the game stayed pretty true to the films with the lego twist of comedy as they do in any of their games. I was glad to see that, but since I had never seen the fourth film in the series I was confused by the story line and was let down a bit by the final boss as he was rather simple to defeat while Myrtle was a bit more challenging to defeat.

All in all I would say if you’re a fan of the lego games and you have played them all then you will enjoy it and you might as well feed the addiction. If you have never played the games before then I would recommend playing one of the earlier lego games like the first Indiana Jones rather than the one with the Crystal Skull movie in it which is the second coming of Indy for lego.

Be Safe & pick up your toys when you’re done,
John Cannon