The dark one George Lucas has officially announced his retirement from ruining our childhood in film. We take a look back at his career and the future of his popular franchises. Then in our main topic we ask are video games the new TV? With video game consoles turning into all in one entertainment devices, will it dethrone TV or merge into one ball-o-media goodness? All this and more in Issue #27 of Boomzies!

One of my favorite arcade racers of all time is coming to the Xbox LIVE arcade. Well that is if you believe the Australian Classification Database rating system. No specific date or system has been slated for the release, but we’ve got a hunch it will be coming to Xbox LIVE arcade. Especially in light of all the games Sega has put out on XBLA these past few months. Can you say 8 player online multiplayer? Yes please!

Tell us what Sega games you would like to see come out for digital download.

When I ask people what games they are hyped for this year, I hear a lot of the usual suspects. There’s Gears of War 3, Elder Scrolls Skyrim, Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3, and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword just to name a few. While I’m pumped and primed for a few games on this list, none of them can hold a candle to the atomic bomb of gaming goodness that is Radiant Silvergun. Radiant what you say? Well let me explain…

For those not familiar with this stellar title, it was a shump (shoot em up) developed by the infamous Treasure in 1998 for the arcade and later ported to the Sega Saturn the same year. It’s one of the most sought after Sega Saturn import games today fetching well over $100. Though this is one of the rare cases of a game being not only rare but face humpingly good to boot.

Now after 13 years, Radiant Silvergun is being made available outside of Japan. But wait there’s more! This new version features online co-op, upgraded graphics, a new “Ikaruga” mode, and a few other surprises. Though thankfully you won’t have to sell a kidney to play this game. For just $15 (or 1200 Microsoft space bucks) all the sweet Radiant Silverguniness can be yours.

Even if you’re not a fan of shmups, this is one you won’t want to miss out on. As someone who has owned and played an actual copy of the game, it was well worth the money I spent so $15 is a no brainer. Radiant Silvergun hits Xbox Live Arcade on September 14th. I’m just hoping they keep the epic anime intro from the original. Classic stuff.

Here’s some pretty shiny sexy footage of the game in action.

BTW: Anyone else excited about this remake besides me? Have a special fuzzy memory of Radiant Silvergun?

As many of you might know, a few weeks ago I became the proud new papa of a Neo Geo 6-slot MVS cab. And let me tell I am a happy man. Well at least I thought I was.

But down in my core, I was still empty. I knew what this feeling was. The need for a dedicated Sunset Riders arcade cab. I previously owned a Sunset Riders cab but it was originally a dedicated “King of Rings” converted to play Sunset Riders, so weaksauce.

I sold that cab in hopes of one day finding my dream dedicated machine. Well that day finally came. While lurking on Craigslist I saw a guy selling off a bunch of machines. I skimmed over the listing and the words “SUNSET RIDERS” popped off the screen. I looked at the pictures and saw it was indeed a dedicated machine! Oh happy day I thought. I hesitently sent an e-mail equiring how much he wanted. He shot back an e-mail and said he’d take $150. I squeeled like a wee school girl.

There’s was just one detail, he didn’t live in my town. He lived in someplace called Woodbine, Kansas. “WOODBINE KANSAS”, I exclamied in a voice reminecent of the old Pace commercials. I had never heard of the place. It was about an 1 hour 45 minute drive. I shot my new friend and e-mail and I told him I would be driving up either Thursday or Friday.

Now for the preparation. This was my first time making a special little trip for an arcade cab, or anything video game related for that matter.

As is always the case, you can never find a friend or family member stupi…..errr I mean kind enough to help you out when you need it most. So I thought why not simply rent a truck. Well, every truck rental place wanted $20 up front and charged at least $0.60 per mile. Add that to the refuling costs and I’m paying upwards of $250! My search led to to Home Depot. They didn’t care where you went, or how long you had it out for, or how many miles you drove. It was $19 for the first 75 minutes, and $10 for every hour after. So for 5 hours I’m looking at $56.50 for the rental plus gas making the end price closer to $100 to rent a truck.

Then there’s was the issue of finding someone to help me load it. Luckily my new arcade pal said he’d help me load it up. Score!

My brother-in-law was kind enough to let me borrow his dolly and a few rigs to tie everything down. Home Depot opened at 6 in the morning so I went in at 6:30 to go rent out the truck.

When I got there I presented my driver’s license, credit card, and proof of insurance (or at least I thought it was). I quickly found out I brought my car’s registration, not proof of insurance. So I had go back home, get it, and bring it back. Small set back. I got back the Home Depot and got the truck.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with it. It even had a little loading bay you could drop down and take out a ramp to load stuff on a dolly. Even better. If anyone is in need of renting a truck, Home Depot’s got my seal of approval.

Almost as I start the truck, my brother-in-law, who if you’ll remember was going to let me borrow his dolly and tie downs, was having car issues and needed me to drive him into work. Eh, I guess he’s gotta get his before I gotta get mine. I swung by, picked him up, drove him to work, and got the dolly and tie ups.

Finally at about 7:45 I hit the road. Fast forward a few hours and I roll into the promised land of Woodbine, Kansas at about 10:30. The guy told me to meet him at his house on the corner of 6th and East Railway. Thing is he didn’t tell me what corner. When I actually got to the house I found out why he seemed so unspecific about the whole thing. His house WAS the only house on the corner. He wasn’t at his house or his shop across the street. Luckily this is the kind of small Leave It To Beaver town where you can mention somone’s name and they know exactly who you’re talking about, including where in the world they might be at the moment.

Finally I get in contact with the guy and he tells me to follow him up to his resturant where the machines are located. We got to the place and he turned on the machine to show me it worked and all. I have to say, she was even more gorgeous in person.

There was the normal wear and tear, and no plexiglass over the monitor, but for a 20 year old machine it’s understandable. Paid the guy his $150, threw it on the dolly, strapped it up, and got it in the truck.

On the way back I was starving so I decided to stop by Sonic. I remember now why I hadn’t been there in awhile. Their burgers are crap. Tried some bacon, jalepeno, western peper jack, unicorn spit, ferret fur burger. It was meh. But I ate it on the hood of my big truck like a boss.

When I got it home to unload the cab, I saw the bezel was missing. Oh, so that was the sound I heard on the way home. Oh well, I was going to replace it anyway. I unloaded the thing all by myself down that ramp. It was a bit scary, but somehow I got it inside the garage with no casulties.

All in all I really love this thing. There are a few small issues with the screen, but I think it can be fixed. Side art for the most part is in great shape and the CP looks good as well. And now the circle is complete. Well that is until I find an Alien vs. Predator cab for $50.

For my first trip to pick up a machine, it wasn’t too bad. We’ll have to do it again. That is if my wife lets me. ^_^

Konami has finally set a release date and pricing for the classic arcade beat ‘em up X-Men. The game is slated to come out for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 this month. Playstation 3 owners will have a slight head start with the game coming out December 14th, while 360 owners will get it one day later on December 15th.

Even better, Konami has kept the price at a reasonable $10 (800 space bucks for 360). I can’t wait to get some 6 player online co-op going. I call dibs on Wolverine!

P.S. WINDEGO!

Source Konami’s Twitter

Do I really need to tell you how much I love Cave? No, not an underground hollow with access from the ground surface or from the sea, often found in limestone areas and on rocky coastlines. I’m speaking of the marvelous game developer.

If you weren’t convinced to import the region free versions of either Mushihimesama Futari ver. 1.5 or ESPGaluda II, I can understand. They were a bit pricey. If you weren’t convinced to buy the American release of Deathsmiles, I can almost understand. Even though it was on store shelves, $50 was still a hard pill to swallow for some. If you’re not convinced to buy the upcoming Gwuange, you plain suck. It’s coming stateside as DLC for only $10!

Gwuange is a vertically scrolling shump developed by Cave set during the Muromachi period of Japan. It’s certainly got an old oriental feel to it. Best yet, it’s a crazy fun game. Just look for yourself.

This marks the first time Guwange has been playable on a home console (I don’t think MAME technically counts). I was a little worried this wouldn’t be getting a U.S. release, but Cave is smarter then I gave them credit for.

Look out for it November 10th for just 800 MS point ($10). That ten bucks not only gets you the standard arcade mode, but also two new modes: An Xbox 360 mode for the shmup handicapped with autofire, and the “Blue Mode”, a super OMG pull your eyebrows out mode.

So summed up, $10 on the 10th of November in the year ‘10 for a perfect 10 of a game.

Now as tiny and cool as that is, there’s a Neo Geo cabinet that’s even smaller still! Now this isn’t just some ROM box thrown into a system, it’s an actual one slot MVS! Add to that, it can hook up to your TV as well. So pretty much it’s a miniature consolized Neo Geo arcade machine. Here’s some of the stats on this beauty:

- It’s 17×33 cm
- Uses a PSOne 5″ LCD
- Taito Space Invaders Play TV stick
- Mini Sanwa buttons
- Neo Geo MVS mv-1b as board

It took 5 months to make. Yea, ummmmm this is not practical and completely over the top, but it’s so insanely cool I’d gladly get a Brazilian wax for the chance to touch it. Check it out!

Neo Geo Minicade article

I’ve had this idea in my head for about two years. Worse even, I had this video 99% percent done. Then my Mac decieded not to power up one day. I pretty much said screw it and moved on, but the dream never died. Fast forward to today. I had some extra free time and went for it. The result is this video. The series is called Virtual Virtuality because it’s a stupid series with a stupid name. Enjoy!

BTW: Sorry I haven’t posted in a bit. My internet has been screwy and I may have to buy a new modem and router. For the time being it’s on the fritz.

After much delay, the third dose of Pixel Pill is ready for your consumption. In this episode we talk about our fond memories of arcades. This isn’t so much about one particular game, although we do talk about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat em up quite a bit, it’s more of what we remember best. From the social aspect, to vultures, kinds of arcades, food, the decline of arcades, and everything in between, we pretty much yap about it all. Enjoy and make sure to take on a full stomach.

BTW: Since things have been delayed, the fourth episode will be out within the next week in order to catch up a bit.

P.S. If you enjoyed the show, subscribe to us on iTunes. Even better you could rate the show and leave comments. Why? Well, because we’re egotistical self loving sick guys.

[podcast]http://www.substance-tv.com/pixelpill/PixelPill3.mp3[/podcast]

Pixel Pill: dose 3: arcades

Whew, it’s finally finished. The premiere episode of Pixel Pill is up and ready to go. This episode, or dose as we like to call it, we cover the video game company Cave, one of the finest makers of shoot em ups (shumps). Not sure who Cave is, then listen to this podcast. Heard about Cave but know very little about them, then listen to this podcast. Do you know everything about Cave and love them like the son you never had, then listen to this podcast.

This took a little bit longer then I expected, but the process should be faster as time goes by. So lay back, relax, get yourself a tall glass of water, and enjoy the smooth goodness of Pixel Pill.

UPDATE – iTunes link is up!

[podcast]http://www.substance-tv.com/pixelpill/PixelPill1.mp3[/podcast]

Pixel Pill: 1st dose

As I’ve grown up, most arcades around me have withered and died off. Now the only place to find an arcade machine is in a smoky pool hall or the random restaurant. Of course I don’t have to tell you that when I was growing up, arcades were everywhere.

When I was a kid, my folks and I would visit a local fast food restaurant in town called Spangles. The place had pretty good food, (though now they have some atrocious commercials). Anyway, past that they also had a decent little arcade inside with a few pinball machines, arcades cabs, and even a Neo Geo 2 slot. It was a good mash up of food and fun.

A week ago, me, my wife, and the wee one went to that exact resturant to grab a bite to eat. As I enter, I’m a bit excited. And not just because of the good food about to be in my belly, but I was curious as to the state of the arcade. Well, I got what I wished for. Here it is folks, the most awesome, coolest, and craziest arcade you’ve ever seen. Don’t you dare click on unless you’re prepared for some face melting action. I’ve warned you. Alright then, be my guest and click on.

Yep, that’s it. That’s what this arcade has been degraded to. A claw machine. A CLAW MACHINE!!!

Worst part about it all, they had the audacity to put a glowing neon sign proclaiming to all patrons, this is an arcade. Yea, one single claw machine an arcade does not make. It was so terribly and depressingly funny, I took a picture. I walked away and tried my best to forget about what I had just seen.

Maybe this place will become a new haven for arcade gamers around the world. A place where people of all faiths, races, languages, and creeds can come together in harmony. We can only hope.

Rewind to the summer of 2006. At the time, I was jobless and looking for work. In between looking on every internet job site, the paper, and hitting the street, I’d get in a few moments of gaming in. Sometimes a lot of moments. Though I was in a bit of a bind as the only new games I really wanted to play were sixty bucks. Seeing as I was jobless, that wasn’t feasible. Nothing the wife likes to hear more then “Hey babe, while you were out working today, I spent the equivalent of five hours of your paid time to buy this game!”. So because I enjoy sleeping in a warm bed, I choose not to go down that road.

Luckily I had a few spare Xbox LIVE points burning a hole in my digital pocket. I perused around for a good Xbox LIVE arcade title. I had heard through the grapevine the boys over at Bizarre Creations, creators of Geometry Wars, had developed another game called “Boom Boom Rocket”. I tried the demo out, and it wasn’t too bad. It was decently cheap, plus I had a few friends who owned the game. So I thought it would be good competition to see who could get the highest score.

Boom Boom Rocket is basically DDR with a pad. Sounds weak, but it’s strangely addictive.

Now I’m no DDR master by any means. Nor was I even close to the best at Bizarre Creation’s last game Geometry Wars. So it makes sense that I should be only mildly decent at this game right? Well, that’s not true. I wasn’t good at the game. I wasn’t even amazing at the game. I was a BEAST! This is by no means a boast or a brag, but for some reason, I was really good at this game. I played and played until, one day, I was second on the combined leaderboard of the hardest setting. Not just my friends list, but the world! I couldn’t believe it. I mean I never set out the break any records, I just hoped I would have a decent score to compare to others.

And now, years later, I’m still up there. Not as high as I once was (I’m now number eight in the world), but still much higher then any other game I’ve ever played. And again, I’m not even sure how. Boom Boom Rocket somehow brings out the idiot savant in me. More idiot, less savant I’d say.

Funny thing about it all, if I could choose one game to magically be the best at, Boom Boom Rocket would not even be on my top 100 list. It’s not because it’s a bad game, there’s just so many other games I wish I was a master of *tear* Street Fighter IV *tear*. Plus it’s not like you get much video game cred for being one of the best Boom Boom Rocket players around. That’s not one of those accomplishments you usually brag about to friends and family. Most would understandably say, “Huh, what game?”. But here I am, master of the Boom Boom Rocket arena. Life is strange I tell ya.

It got me thinking, what’s the game you’re good at that you never thought you would be, or you just shouldn’t be? Post a comment and let us know.

Oh, and as a bonus, if anyone can beat my combined hard score on Boom Boom Rocket, I’ll give you…..ummmm… well, I’m not sure what I would give you, but if you do, I’ll find something amazingly good for your efforts. Trust me.

BTW: It just occurred to me that Boom Boom Rocket has the same rhymey timey name as Dance Dance Revolution and a very close acronym (DDR and BBR). Yes, I know, I’m a little slow here.

The arcade scene in my city of Wichita Kansas has been, well, dead for quite sometime. The last great arcade was Aladdin’s Castle at Towne East. I was there the day it was shut down. I’ll spare you the long drawn out childhood gaming story short of saying it was a tragic day. Since then, there has not been a place for an old arcade dog like me to play. Sure there’s the local pool hall or bowling alley, but they are either inundated with DDR and racing games, or if they do have anything good, it’s in disrepair, broken, or missing buttons.

But there may be hope.

Thanks to Jangofatt of Pine Cone Attack, I have been informed about a new bar opening up right here in Wichita. Though not just any old bar, an arcade bar! Here’s the owner in his own words about the bar:

A while back, my fiance and I thought of opening up a speakeasy/venue type of establishment in Wichita, our hometown. Wichita is actually somewhat large for a mid-western city, with a population of around 500,000 people. That’s half a million for those of you who are counting . Anyways…

We had thrown the idea around but could really never come up with a concept that tied the business plan together. We loved the idea of having a good sized/well run live music venue here in the city. We also wanted the place to have a classy sort of atmosphere, something reminiscent of the ‘classics’ era (30’s, 40’s, 50’s era). The only problem was, nobody would ever come to a place like that… so the idea sort of sat on the back burner for a while. It was still a dream nonetheless.

I am the morning manager of a beer bar/restaurant here in Wichita called “the anchor”. One morning, very early mind you, I was staring at the bar top, and the idea popped into my head of building a bar at my house with lcd screens built into the bar top so I could play classic console games while I relaxed and made drinks for myself/company. I got out a pad and paper an realized how easy/inexpensive it would be to build such a thing. The idea was sort of like one of those pac man sit downs, but a bar. The idea inspired me so much that I brought the idea up to my fiance, who thought it would be a great idea for our bar/venue that we had always dreamed of opening together. This idea slowly grew and snowballed into what is now ‘Belmonts’.

For those of you that skipped over the big block o’ text, The bar’s name is ‘Belmonts’. Yes indeedy. Not only a name gamers can relate to, but the general public will be none the wiser. You can say “Oh, I just went to that new bar in town named ‘Belmonts’ and it was great”, instead of “Hey you guys, I just went to ‘Gamer Zone l33t bar haxxx’ and it was so rad!”.

But the an arcade is only as good as the games it has. Thankfully this man has carefully selected a fine group of games. Each one great in its’ own respect. I also appreciate the fact that the games are varied from fighters, to shooters, to beat ‘em ups, old classics, and even a Neo Geo 4 slot cab! Here’s the list:

- Double Dragon
- X-Men (4 player beat-um up)
- Simpsons (4 player beat-um up)
- Galaga
- Ms. Pacman
- Raiden
- Donkey Kong
- Street Fighter II (championship edition)
- Mortal Kombat II
- 1942
- Capcom vs. SNK
- Golden Axe

A four slot, two player NEO GEO
- Magician Lord
- Samurai Showdown II
- Metal Slug II
- King of Fighters

Needless to say, I’m more then a little excited about this. There are still details to come, but from the looks of it right now, I’ve found myself a new Cheers. Sans Kirsty Alley. Yea, never really liked her.

P.S. Yes, it’s already been mentioned, but this place has got to have a drink called “Holy Water” to complete the trifecta.

P.S.S. Here’s the link to the forum post about the bar: Destructoid link!