REPORT ON LATEST VIDEO GAME TRENDS
BY:MARK CLINE

The Following is my account of latest video/arcade game and gaming releated trends based mostly on my recent trip to Las Vegas, Nevada.  These are my opinions and my memories and I believe are fairly accurate. All names are copyright their respective owners.   This document is freeware assuming that it is not edited and that the heading for this document remains the same.

NAME OF PRODUCT:Virtua Racing Formula Edition
MAKER: Sega Enterprises Ltd.
AVAILIBILITY: Availible at  Sega VirtuaLand arcades, Luxor hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nev. , and later in Toyko, Japan
OVERVIEW: This version is light years ahead of even the advanced features on the VR Racing games now found in most arcades. This version features 8 player simitaneous action .  Each player is placed in a minuarature Formula 1 car with a 50"+ video display. During the race the cars feature hydrolic motion, giving the feel of crashes and sharp turns and such. On the top of all displays is a smaller monitor showing various players positions for camera angles not avalible in the normal game, with comentary from a animated announcer. Also, each car is equiped with a small video camera located to the left of the steering wheel. When you are currently in first place a "ON AIR" sign will light up and two 25" monitors located above the normals screens will show you(not your car) actually playing the game, as you turn and bounce around from the hydrolic system.

NAME OF PRODUCT:R-360
MAKER:Sega Enterprises Ltd.
AVAILIBILITY:Sega VirtuaLand arcades, Luxor hotel and casino Las Vegas, Nevada, and later in Toyko, Japan, and MGM Grand Hotel, Casino and Theme Park, Las Vegas, Nevada.
OVERVIEW: R-360 is a flight simulater, somewhat similar to Afterburner in game play. This system using highly detailed graphics for gameplay and a joystick type control with a missile and gatling gun type weapon. The Player is seated in a pod located in the center of a large gyroscope type machine. Due to this gyrscope type product the player will phsycially be moved around freely in all directions based on his current flying. You will move left, right, up, down and any combination of these directions. This is an extremily realistic game and quite breathtaking, it is the first game to offer full true free floating cabilities for  a game.

NAME OF PRODUCT:AS-1 (Amusement Simulater 1)
MAKER:Sega Enterprises Ltd.
AVAILIBILITY:Sega VirtuaLand arcades
OVERVIEW: Similar to StarTours, Back To The Future the ride or one of the many other mini-movies with hydrolic action cooresponding to the movie. This game is only slightly interative. You are in a pod of  8 people and go through three stages. The First is that there is a timer for liftoff and a player must hit his buttons just as the timer hits 0:00:00. The Second stage takes place in orbit around the earth. Something is attacking and you use one button to lock on target while you fly around and then use the other button to launch a missile. The third stage takes the player will the highest score and they must land the pod using one button to move left the other to move right and come in horizontal to a runway.

NAME OF PRODUCT:Ridge Racer Full-Scale
MAKER:Namco Ltd.
AVAILIBLITY:Treasure Island Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada and probably Japan
OVERVIEW: Similar to the now extremily popular Ridge Racer game now at most arcades. The view is about 60 degrees using 3 six foot front projection screens. The player is seated in a real right drive Mazda Miata to control the action. The player may also have someone accompany them in the passenger side seat. The game play is identical to the smaller version, except in the fact that you are steering with the Miata steering wheel, using the Miata acceleration, Clutch, Brake, and Shift GearBox, and your RPM for shifting is shown where it is found in the Miata, on a Analog display, right behind the steering wheel. This game is fully enjoyable especially with the air from the Miata's Air Conditioning system blowing  on your face as you go 180 MPH.

NAME OF PRODUCT:??
MAKER:Namco Ltd.
AVAILIBILITY:Excalibur hotel and casino, Las Vegas, Nevada and Japan.
OVERVIEW:  Very similar to the earlier mentioned AS-1 by Sega except in the fact that in stead of using a targeting system you move around you gun on the current screen using a pilots steering column and the actual gameplay is more fun and the graphics look better. This game does NOT however have the hydrolic motion which the AS-1 does.

NAME OF PRODUCT:Wolfenstein 3-d VR EDITION
MAKER: Apogee makes computer edition, VR EDITION maker unknown.
AVAILIBILITY:MGM Grand hotel, casino and theme park, Las Vegas, Nevada
OVERVIEW: WOLF 3-d, one of the most popular computer games ever using VR glasses and head-tracking technology. You move your head, up to 360 degrees for your current front direction.  You use a joystick to move the conventional 8 joystick directions from your current front view. You use one joystick buttons to shoot(Unlimited Ammo) and annother to open doors. You can pick up weapons, but can only use the one last picked up.

NAME OF PRODUCT:NBA JAM Tournament Edition
MAKER:Midway
AVAILIBILTLY:Should be in most arcades or coming soon
OVERVIEW: An update on NBA JAM. Updated Players and Stats, 3 players from each team, half time substitutions are the main changes. The version I played in Las Vegas was on the 50" inch game centers populized by Mad Dog McGree and other American Laser Games' Products.

NAME OF PRODUCT:MK II
MAKER:MIDWAY
AVAILIBILITY:Everywhere
OVERVIEW: Everybody knows about this game. Most arcades in Las Vegas have it set up on 3-4 50" game centers.

NAME OF PRODUCT: Super Street Fighter II
MAKER:Capcom USA
AVAILILITY:Everywhere
OVERVIEW: Again, everyone knows about this game.  Main diffrences were that most were set up on 50" centers. I saw one system with 4 machines hooked up together for 8 player tournament mode.

NAME OF PRODUCT:The Last Bounty Hunter
MAKER:American Laser Games
AVAILIBILITY: Various arcades coming soon
OVERVIEW: A just released "Mad Dog McGree" type video motion based game. It has just been released and ALG had  the "The World's Fastest Draw" on hand to advertise this new and great game.

Well, that's about it, except for the trend that's saw most newer games set up on a multitude of 50" screens. I feel this is a good trend, as long as they don't charge extra for it, which I saw in one case for Virtua Fighter, where the big screen was .75 cents, while the small screen was .50 cents.  That's About it, so look what's coming some time to your mall or super-arcade!

ANY COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? FURTHER INFO? You Can reach me in the following ways,
Compuserve:74226.2322
INTERNET:74226,2322@Compuserve.Com
Prodigy:GBRD55B

