Invariably, the most vacant place you’ll find on Moorpark College’s campus is the arcade. Even as a staunch advocate and enthusiast for the small vestige of 90’s nostalgia that exists in all remaining arcades in the United States, I understand this: the place smells like boogers sometimes and anyone that’s tried playing “House of the Dead 2” knows that the only thing that works on that machine is the coin slot.
That being said, I spend my time and quarters there when I’ve nothing else to occupy myself on campus, and nestled between the heaps of machines lies a gem that defies any reasonable explanation I can muster.
Simply titled “Gamebox,” this arcade cabinet looks like something transplanted from the black market; boasting OVER 300 GAMES and plastered with a botched rip-off of the font that Tekken is synonymous with, I knew immediately that this machine was placed in the arcade with individuals like me in mind.
The “Gamebox” experience starts off swinging with the machine prompting you to select a game from it’s formidable list, thirty seconds before you even touch your quarters.
If it doesn’t freeze or select whatever game you had highlighted before the time ends, then you’ve done pretty well for yourself navigating through the bowels of the machine.
You might be scratching your head at the thought of 300 different games being crammed into a device you’re accustomed to having a maximum of about four and believe me, I was too.
All it takes is a few moments of actually browsing the selection to realize that this idea makes so much sense – it’s painful.
Don’t get me wrong, the classic wonders they have attained on this machine is redemption enough for a thousand blunders, but some of the games on here aren’t worth your time, your quarters or your confusion.
From “Cyber Lip”, a loose rip-off of Contra, to “Neo Mr. Do”, a game that can only be explained as the deficient-clown-child of Bomberman and Pacman, this cabinet is a schizophrenic, Frankenstein-esque tribute to 90’s nostalgia and I couldn’t be happier with it’s residency on Moorpark’s campus.
