culture
BY ANDY VALENTINE AND DANTE ZUÑIGA-WEST
Game On
Level Up Arcade Celebrates Its Grand Opening
R
H OT M A M A’ S W I N G S & E U G E N E W E E K LY P R E S E N T
KAMIKAZE
SMACKDOWN I
W I N G E AT I N G C O N T E S T
MONDAY, MAY 14TH, 6PM
GRAND
PRIZE
WEEKEND STAY AT
THE OREGON COAST
Other prizes provided by Bergs,
Sequential Biofuels & Oakshire Brewing
ENTRY DEADLINE - WEDNESDAY, MAY 9TH • ENTRY FEE IS $15
Entry forms available at Hot Mama’s, Eugene Weekly
and eugeneweekly.com/smackdown
emember when everyone’s game
console was the original Nintendo
and the control pad only had two
buttons? When “Duck Hunt” was the only
shooter and you sometimes had to blow into
the cartridges to make them work?
In those days, when the home console
wasn’t enough to satiate our videogame
cravings, we went to the arcade. Hell, we
went just to play games with cooler
graphics and more buttons, to escape
ourselves and become fantastical
characters in surreal worlds — if only for
a quarter’s worth of time.
Remember that one game you’d wait in
line to play, because you loved it that much?
The one you’d politely place two quarters
on the edge of the screen for, to indicate that
you would get to play next? Remember?
If you have memories like these you are
about to receive flashbacks. Walk into
downtown’s new Level Up Arcade, close
your eyes for a moment and listen: The
sounds will take you back, and the games
will keep you there.
“It’s incredible to see people of all ages
walk in with that look of wide-eyed excite-
ment,” says bar manager Kenny Wilson.
This place is exceptional, an old-school
gamer’s paradise with a full bar, music,
and food from next-door neighbor Cornu-
copia. Level Up Arcade ’s official grand
opening is 9 pm Friday, April 27, and will
feature music by DJ Foodstamp.
In tribute to Level Up Arcade’s plethora
of iconic arcade games, we’ve previewed a
few classics in rare form, for the gamers ...
get your game on.
NFL Blitz
ENTIRE entry fee proceeds donated to United Way!
Midway, 1997
I hit the field, Superbowl Sunday ’97,
prepared for the pains of football with rules
cast aside. Play after play I’m wrestled
down by the opposition — bloodied by late
tackles and after-the-whistle piledrivers —
but that won’t stop me. I give it my all and
we come out a touchdown ahead. Who’s
amateur grade now, coach?
Mortal Kombat II
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Midway, 1993
Raiden vs Sub-Zero. Round 1. Fight.
Uppercuts. High kicks. Lightning blast.
Ice blast. Finish him. Bloody decapitation.
Fatality.
King of the Monsters
SNK, 1991
I am Woo, a reflection of King Kong if
ever there were one, and my adversaries
are Geon, Beetle Mania and Rocky.
The brawl begins, meager blows
striking epidermis of flesh and scale. Each
contact causes minor damage to our
mighty bodies, but as the metropolitan
surroundings deteriorate at our feet we
find solace in the possibility of makeshift
blacksmithery.
Behind me Rocky reaches down and
rips an L-train from its track, sparks flying
as the wheels spin uselessly against thin
air. The golem casts sluggish blows at
Beetle — my only potential ally in this
colossal urban death match — and as the
carriage strikes Beetle’s head he falls as a
warrior thwarted by grotesque, ten-ton
nunchucks. It’s not long before I follow
suit, beaten into submission by Geon’s
goliath clubbed tail. Defeat.
Pinball
Various, since the 1700s
Hey baby, pop my flippers once in a
while — you won’t regret it. I’ll have your
balls bouncing in no time. There’s no
telling what kinds of hidden crevasses lie
in between all of my flashing lights and
loud noises. I might even let you have at
me again if you make it to 100,000. Don’t
get cocky though, I’m high class — it’s
gonna cost you one quarter extra. I am
Lady Pinball, and I own the night.
Operation Wolf
Taito, 1987
Parachuting behind enemy lines with
an Israeli submachine gun that requires no
reloading, I’m on mission to rescue
hostages. Shot after shot I receive points
for blasting everything on two legs, with
the exception of some nurses carrying an
empty stretcher across the battlefield, who
I smoked by accident. Vehicles explode,
paratroopers crash-land, guerillas narrowly
escape disfigurement and helicopters fall
from the sky. Rocket propelled grenades
detonate and I am awarded money for
demolishing buildings — gunfire and
adequate compensation, every man’s
dream. I am shot down by some burly
communist, wielding his AK-47 with
finesse. Game over.
ew
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