Games you adore but are broken by the Freeplay model.

[88mph]

I have a Gauntlet II, and running it on free play really was pointless. I now have all of my machines on tokens, which does allow you to have some discipline when playing it.

Still, when I have a party people they tend to play it for a quite a while. With four players on there, it becomes more of a social game. Players compete for food/treasure, and try to live longer than their friends. It seems like there is always someone learning the rules of the game, which is a fun experience.

If you get a few hardcore Gauntlet fans on there for whom the novelty of free Gauntlet has not yet worn off, they will play for HOURS. I can't stare at the mazes that long.

 

[PublicSectorTech]

I bought the remake of X-Men on PSN. Playing through a couple of times kinda let the air out of the nostalgia balloon...especially if you play online, most people would just spam mutant powers, die, spam again, etc. That kinda takes the fun out of it. Although in retrospect, it wasn't that much fun to begin with.

 

[jcalder8]

This is why I don't set games to free play. I just use quarters and see how far I can get on 4(which was normally how many I had growing up) if I have a good game going I'll try and grab some more before the continue timer runs out, a throw back to having to run and find mom to get more quarters.

 

[DKChris]

on shinobi, the high-score screen shows how many credits it took to the get those scores. i limit myself to 3 credits and then that's it, gotta start over. there are no high scores on the machine w/ more than 3 credits next to the score, even though my kids will keep adding credits till they get bored. i try to remind them that every time they hit the credit switch, they would've just spent a quarter, but i don't think they really get it. time to switch everything over to tokens, i suppose, or load up on quarters and lock the coin doors.

 

[GaryMcT]

Just go into test mode and turn continue to OFF. That way you won't ever be tempted again. ;-)

Reminds me. I need to wire a test switch on my Jamma machine and my Jamma test rig.

 

[cleverlyj]

like mrbill2084 said. for me, any jamma game that allows buy ins, especially fighters, is like this as well. even if it's not freeplay, if it's in your game room and you can just tap the credit switch for a shitload of life, you're gonna run through the game quick and then it will only get played when you have other people over. at least in my experience.

 

[YellowDog]

There are some games that are just hard to beat even with unlimited quarters. Karnov comes to mind. It is just too easy to get hit or run into a set of monsters that takes a while to learn the right moves to get past them.

I'm not a memorize the moves kind of player so the Pac games and most of the "learn the moves" side scrollers kick my ass quite regularly. I prefer the Robotron, Sinistar type games where there are no patterns, it is just you, your reflexes and spotting the best moves against impossible odds.

ken

 

[nesjess]

There are some games that are just hard to beat even with unlimited quarters. Karnov comes to mind. It is just too easy to get hit or run into a set of monsters that takes a while to learn the right moves to get past them.

This is how I felt about Strider when I recently beat it.

With any game, you can memorize where enemies are going to come from and where you need to go, but if you're just an trying to get through it with no knowledge of what's coming, it will eat you up.

A lot of these games have cheap shots too that where there's nothing you can do to avoid getting hit. There are certain points in X-Men where this happens. At least for me.

But with unlimited continues, it's still not a challenge. It's a challenge that you die a lot, but easy that you never get game over.

 

[Gruber]

Good topic and a very true observation. Area 51 is another one.... me and another buddy only do one credit. See how far we can get!

I would love to converet to tokens on mine. That is a great idea. Someday I wil have to make it happen.

 

[PrairieDillo]

any jamma game that allows buy ins, especially fighters, is like this as well.

I think that fighters are actually aided by Freeplay. I think of it this way. They get another shot at getting their arse kicked...

 

[nesjess]

for me, any jamma game that allows buy ins, especially fighters, is like this as well.

I think that fighters are actually aided by Freeplay. I think of it this way. They get another shot at getting their arse kicked...

Agreed. Have you played Super Street Fighter II Turbo?

I don't even want to know how many continues it takes me to get through it. It's like they not only wanted your money, but they wanted to humiliate you to the brink of tears.

 

[Teknotoyz]

Ivan Stewart's Off-Road is definately in this issue.
I bought one and sold it due to not only continues, but you keep building up the options on the truck till the computer challenger isn't even an issue.....

I have a Gauntlet II and a Rampage that I would only consider partially handicapped.
Went over to token use which helps a lot and as stated earlier in this thread, these are social games anyway, there is a reason 3-4 people can coin up at the same time and play together.
I still consider Off-Road the worst of the bunch just because of the truck store options. It also askes the year of your birthday and only goes to 1999, so no joy for the younger kids on that either.
My Neo-Geo works fine, just turn the "continue" off and the challenge is back for the metal slug series.

 

[Rrcade]

keep a sharpened pencil next to the game, and shove it in your eye every time you add credits.

 

[Les Manley]

What about games like Rastan where you have unlimited continues until the last level, then once you lose all your lives, that is it. I like that model.