AIR HOCKEY TABLE RATINGS

the first stop was aladdin's castle. it was pretty sad in there, a motif that would be repeated throughout the mall. very few machines left, and no other customers. they were selling a couple of the machines, asking $300+tax for Tokyo Wars, a huge two-screen-two-seat driving game, and a mere $250 for a similar Soul Calibur 2 machine. when i was a kid the idea that you could buy arcade machines for your house was mythical, but now the prices are so relatively low the only thing that would stop me is a lack of physical space or simple lack of interest. it was kind of sad to see them priced so low, especially when the arcade itself was nearly deserted. of course they still had their classic air hockey table that's been there for a quarter century and is charmingly worn around the goals. i should have gotten a picture of that one or even played a round. i love air hockey. instead i dropped a dollar on four tokens and we played a round of House of the Dead 2.

side note: how "life-like" can it be when the whole game consists of zombies running straight at you? these ratings people must lead some very noteworthy lives.