The WORST coin-op companies ever

[S1500]

Last night I had some free time, so I updated my way-old copy of MAME32(wow, 5 years already?) and fired up my freshly bittorrented ROM collection, and had some fun. To me, it's fun to explore these ultra-obscure arcade titles that have been largely forgotten by video game history. For every Pac Man, there's about 20 or so coin-op games that nobody remembers whatsoever. There seems to have been quite a few fly-by-night coin-op companies that released a handful of games, and that was it.

 

Well, I stumbled upon one game that inspired me to try all the other games by them. WOW, were they bad. I present to you Century Electronics

 

1. Cosmos - Astro Fighter ripoff. Gameplay is boring.

2. Dark Warrior - love the color & choice of font for the marquee - boring shoot-em up game with only a little spice.

3. Dazzler - didn't play it, but looks like it sucks. Your typical "board game" coinup, with a static play screen.

4. Delete - didn't play it. Not sure if it's on MAME.

5. Gold Bug - a horrific dig dug clone, where you HAVE to dig through the tunnels. No defense mechanism except for one-time monsters you can easily get killed by when they go on rampage.

6. Heart Attack - boring!

7. Hunch Back - almost a Jungle Hunt ripoff, but boring

8. Outline - a Quix(or that other game I can't think of) ripoff

9. Radar Zone - oh-so 80s marquee. Forgot what it plays like

10. Space Fortress - generic sounding game. didn't play it

11. Space Warp - didn't play it. dull sounding title

12. Voyager - didn't play it.

13. Logger- a total Donkey Kong ripoff. The graphics are HORRIBLE(player's animation sucks). The hit detection is horrible. The screen pattern is changed from DK, ie 1-4-3. I never got past the elevator stage since the hit detection is so strict. you fall more than 1 pixel alotted, you are dead. The 2nd elevator(on right) takes a while for the platforms to show.

 

All of the games seem to use a speech synth for all the sounds. MAME doesn't have the emulation quite right, so the games sound weird.

 

But the company, as a whole, sucks. Nothing remotely original. I give them credit for homebrewing their games instead of total knockoffs, but the slight variations in the game they introduce ruins it entirely.

 

Also, try the game "Time Limit". This is an Elevator Action ripoff, with about 200000 ways to die. From the get-go, you get 2 criminals ready to kill you. The elevator cars move SO fast, it's nearly impossible to ride up/down without falling to your death. There are traps above the escalators where you have to time it right to avoid being killed. Even with the cheat mode enabled, you don't get very far. The colors are messed up, so you look like a cop in blackface or something.

 

And this is just the tip of the iceberg for incredibly bad arcade games.

[Gregory DG]

7. Hunch Back - almost a Jungle Hunt ripoff, but boring

Must not be that bad if there was a 2600 homebrew made of it.

[Jess Ragan]

Yeah, Century Electronics is pretty lousy. The only thing that's entertaining about their games is that garbled voice that comes up whenever you first start them. I'd also like to nominate Epos and Orca for this honor... Orca did eventually evolve into Cave, which spares them from a good tongue-lashing, but there was nothing that could justify Epos, whose games all seemed like they were developed on an IBM XT with an EGA monitor. Suna and Strata were also some pretty big turkeys... Strata had the audacity to claim that they were the "new king of fighting games" (despite having designed Time Killers and Street Fighter: The Movie), while Suna is one big joke. An ass joke, if the name is any indication (just read it backward!).

[The Eidolon]

I thought Hunchback was kind of fun... I have a soft spot

in my heart for simple jumping-type platformers, I guess.

Tastes may vary...

[ComputerSpaceFan]

What about Nutting Associates? I mean, not only did they make the terrible Computer Space, but they had the total lack of originality to name all their games "Computer <something>". I mean, Computer Quiz? Computer Space Ball?

Then again when you're pioneers I guess you get cut come slack.

[Brian D. Deuel]

Yeah, Century Electronics is pretty lousy. The only thing that's entertaining about their games is that garbled voice that comes up whenever you first start them. I'd also like to nominate Epos and Orca for this honor... Orca did eventually evolve into Cave, which spares them from a good tongue-lashing, but there was nothing that could justify Epos, whose games all seemed like they were developed on an IBM XT with an EGA monitor. Suna and Strata were also some pretty big turkeys... Strata had the audacity to claim that they were the "new king of fighting games" (despite having designed Time Killers and Street Fighter: The Movie), while Suna is one big joke. An ass joke, if the name is any indication (just read it backward!).

 

Hey now! Orca gave us the amazing Marine Boy!

 

ugh... Time Killers. I still have nightmares of that damn attract mode blasting in my arcade, until I figured out how to turn it off. For some reason, whenever i set it to off, it would still play! I finally pulled the monitor to fix my Rally X.

 

Jess- Did I give you that TK cab or did I end up torching it? I don't remember what i did with it.

 

But yeah.... Orca sucked. Zodiack. That's all I need to say.

 

What about Nutting Associates? I mean, not only did they make the terrible Computer Space, but they had the total lack of originality to name all their games "Computer <something>". I mean, Computer Quiz? Computer Space Ball?

Then again when you're pioneers I guess you get cut come slack.

 

Pioneers? I wouldn't go that far. Nolan was the actual pioneer. Nutting just built and marketed his game. As you said, if you look at their following games, it's easy to see why they failed.

 

They supposedly gave us the first color video game, though (Wimbledon).

Edited July 15, 2008 by Brian D. Deuel

[Tempest]

Hey now, Orca also gave us River Patrol which sucks, but makes for a nifty 2600 rarity...

 

Tempest

[yuppicide]

Hunchback was great as an arcade and homebrew.

[Jess Ragan]

Hey now! Orca gave us the amazing Marine Boy!

 

ugh... Time Killers. I still have nightmares of that damn attract mode blasting in my arcade, until I figured out how to turn it off. For some reason, whenever i set it to off, it would still play! I finally pulled the monitor to fix my Rally X.

 

Jess- Did I give you that TK cab or did I end up torching it? I don't remember what i did with it.

 

But yeah.... Orca sucked. Zodiack. That's all I need to say.

 

Pretty sure you torched it. That's fine, though, as I never got around to using all the arcade parts you had given me in the past. It's cool having the Kung Fu Master board, though, because that legally entitles me to play the game on MAME! Now I just need to get boards for the 5,000 other games I emulate on MAME!

[yuppicide]

I have always loved River Patrol!!

 

Hey now, Orca also gave us River Patrol which sucks, but makes for a nifty 2600 rarity...

 

Tempest

[Tempest]

I have always loved River Patrol!!

 

Hey now, Orca also gave us River Patrol which sucks, but makes for a nifty 2600 rarity...

 

Tempest

Ok sucks was too strong a word. River Patrol is alright but not great.

 

Tempest