Strange

Ever since the growth of home computers and videogames, the arcade has been in a downward spiral. The arcade scene hasn't changed in the last 5 years or so. Despite the ever decreasing amount of money that people spend at the arcades, publishers seem to think that rushing out a rip off of Time Crisis, or creating a poor racing game will turn the tide. Arcades don't have the graphical edge that they used to over home computer consoles, which was a major factor in many rushing out to spend their pocket money. Nor do they have the variety of their console counterparts.

Dance Dance Revolution was just that - a dancing revolution, for the arcades at least. young girls and camp men would insert coin after coin in hope of beating that high score, whilst looking incredibly cool (or stupid, depending on their skill level) at the same time. It was something new, something weird and something which appealed to those with a lot of disposable income and time - teenagers. Nowm about 2 years after the games heyday, the coins aren't being poured in as often as they once were, and the young girls and boy who would once spend their time dancing in beat to 'Video killed the radio star' have now moved onto other things. Sure, there are a few who still like to invest time and money into the machine, but those are few and far between compared to the amount in 2001.

Today, I went to Stockport. It’s not the best town centre in the world, but with 4 different game shops, it’s certainly a good option for myself and my gaming buddy, Mario (seriously). Rumours of a Mario Kart demo had filtered through to me, and todays shopping visit was a taster of what I’d been waiting for since the 3rd of May 2002. I was willing to have a 1 hour bus ride just for the sake of playing a 3 minute double dash circuit. And it was genius.

In Gamestation, which Neighbours GAME, was where my journey was made truly worthwhile, however. Now, this isn't all unrelated. In the solitary Gamecube pod that stands beside the Gamecube rack in the store, was F-Zero. And playing F-Zero was a stubborn little kid who refused to get off of the said game. Woefully, I queued up behind the boy, expecting him to bow down to peer pressure. Surprisingly, he didn’t give in, but rather offering me a game. Desperately, I accepted, knowing I wouldn’t get another opportunity to play a game I was so interested in.

And it was one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had in the last 6 months.

Playing against this strange, stubborn kid had my heart in my mouth, wanting to show this weird little child who was boss. He was skilled, yes, but with my experience, I could take anyone, anytime. Surely.

I had a perfect race. Perfect. A good racing line, a couple of boost ups and I was away. In front. Last lap, last strip, last chance for me to mess it up. And that I did. Damn that nice girl walking past. Missed the jump completely, allowing my miniature counterpart to overtake and take the win.

It's an experience I'd be willing to try again, and actually would pay money for. Good money. Playing a stranger on a game would be something to interest me, and lure me into Arcades. I don't know how they'd work it out - possibly a 'winner stays on' kind of thing, but it's a half-way home between playing multiplayrs in your bedroom and on the internet - playing a stranger in the flesh.

It's hard to explain, trust me.