In the last 2 blogs you have heard me harp on about the Bullet Hell shooter- Sine Mora. If you’re a fan of the genre and desire a game with all the qualities of a classic Japanese shmup, with some current genration graphics and mechanics- you must get this game.

Irrespective on what format you play the game on, the game is a spectacle to watch. Sine Mora features a steampunk-style theme throughout its incredibly challenging levels. The game features high quality 3D visuals throughout the game but plays exactly like a 2D shooter.  This title also features a slow motion button which is your last-ditch attempt to get out of projectiles heading your way which adds to the action and allows you to perform death-defying manoeuvres. The animation is equally as sumptuous as the soundtrack which suits the mayhem onscreen perfectly.

Garnering more than respectable ratings ranging from 77 to 85 out of 100 from Metacritic (which gathers all available scores and averages).

As mentined in previous posts- the game only costs £7.99 as represents ridiculously good value for money. The game’s story mode features 8 stages, split into 4 sub-levels. Even though it doesn’t sound much, the game can be cranked up to insane difficulty levels which would scupper the most hardcore of Bullet Hell gamers.

If you’re having friends over and you want to impress with your Bespoke Arcades arcade machine. Run this title and watch the jaws drop as you demonstrate today’s arcade action in your own home. The commercial-standard joysticks we supply in our arcade machines allow you to enter Sine Mora’s slo-motion time lapse, and allow to to bob and weave throughout the tightest of gaps and avoid the sea of bullets approaching your diminutive craft.

The title is available on PC, Playstation 3 and X box 360 and is compatible with all Bespoke Arcades Media and Elite models.

Happy Gaming!!!

We live in transient times. It’s hard to find a arcade gaming machine anywhere in the public domain. Aside from “Las Vegas” on Wardour St which houses some Tekken, Sf4 and DDR arcade machines you would be hard pushed to find somewhere to kick back and spend a few pounds. You can always pop over to the Namco Funscape to try your hand, but its’s the exception unfortunately. Long gone are the days of Alien War, early virtual reality delivering some stomach churning, low poly count, weighted down action. Perhaps I’m looking back with rose tinted glasses but I remember wall to wall stellar titles on offer.

However, before we all get too depressed- all is not lost! Arcade titles for the hardcore gamer are still very much in production. Instead of going to your local arcade to sample the latest titles, they’re available on today’s video gaming consoles. On our last blog I briefly touched upon Grasshopper Studios’ cross platform stood-em up Sine Mora. Exactly like Street Fighter IV which has evolved exponentially from its predecessors, Sine Mora is an example of the evolution of the genre from titles such as 1942, Dragon Spirit and Progear.

I also forgot to mention that Sine Mora and other arcade gaming titles old and new are not only first rate but also great value for money. You can grab a copy of Sine Mora for as low as £7.99 and other titles are far less.

There is a huge resurgence in revamps and re-releases of genuine classic titles from the likes of Capcom with the new Capcom Arcade Cabinet or via Sega with a constant stream of titles old and new like Crazy Taxi or After Burner Climax.

If requested, this vast array of great titles can all be compatible on our arcade machines for sale. There is no better way of taking a trip back to the heady days of the zenith of arcade gaming.

After taking a walk around this year’s International Gaming Expo, I was left disheartened to say the least. It seems arcade games are leaning away from the hardcore and very much targeting the casual gamer. From Cut the rope HD to Fruit Ninja HD, there wasn’t a huge amount arcade gaming on offer to get my hands twitching. Plenty of innovation on display but not a great deal to whet my traditional arcade gaming child inside.

However the same cannot be said for the home arcade gaming arena. Unfortunately times are tough and many in the video games industry are feeling the squeeze, but stellar titles are still in constant flow, ensuring the hardcore gamer has an outlet to satisfy his or her needs. Current console and PC platforms offer a host of ways to play you favourite titles of yesteryear as well as a plethora of new ones.

From After Burner to Zaxxon; thanks to Xbox Live, WiiWare and the Playstation Network your console has a vast library of retrogaming titles to sample. Of course, our Bespoke Arcade machines can be tailor-made to be cross-compatible with some or all of today’s generation of video gaming hardware.

Or maybe you feel like fast-forwarding to the frenetic action of some of today’s offerings, then a Bespoke Arcades machine will not let you down. There’s no better way of playing Grasshopper studio’s Bullet-Hell masterpiece Sine Mora than on of our arcade machines. Zero delay from our controls ensures zen-like precision is at your fingertips and will allow feats of enemy-avoiding accuracy you didn’t know were possible.

With the arrival of Capcom Arcade Cabinet hitting all the consoles’ dashboards, you can be assured of a steady stream of genuine arcade titles to tide you over when you need your twitch gaming fix! You will never get tired of your Bespoke Arcades machine.

So you feel like being a secret agent and watching some seriously cheesy scripting? Normally you would have to sacrifice a lot of space and incur the wrath of your better half, but now you can do the same job and a whole lot more with one of our Evo arcade machines with the Playstation  adapter resulting in the Time Crisis arcade machine.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with the series, the Time Crisis arcade machine titles are “On-rails-Shooters” (like being on a roller coaster shooting). Namco’s series also pioneered with an innovative cover system- a pedal or button that allows you to duck behind nearby objects and avoid enemy fire. The series has become a firm favourite with fans of the genre thanks to the fast, frenetic action and over the top hammy dialogue.

With a Bespoke Arcades machine you have infinite flexibility. Most Time Crisis titles can be played via the original game and console and some of our console adapters. Just dust off your console, dig out Time Crisis and play away! Have your own custom Time Crisis arcade machine experience.

Power up your Playstation and fire up the original Time Crisis. Be a one man army working on behalf of the VSSE International Intelligence whatever and take on the might of the Sercian military and insane dictator Sherudo Garo (typical…). Playing it today, its still a fantastic title although the timing seems a tad different from the arcade original (which can be also be played thanks to the versatility of all Bespoke Arcades cabinets).

Fast-forward four years, a couple of titles and you have the choice to take on the persona of the immaculately styled Evan or Giorgio in Time Crisis IV (see right), running around an airport investigating weapons trafficking. But don’t fret if you’ve lost your G-Con or don’t want those ugly sensors draped over the screen- our light gun is fully Playstation 3 compatible thanks to updated firmware.

With the lag free, crystal-clear HD display on an Evo cabinet, the Time Crisis never looked or played better. Make your very own Time Crisis arcade machine experience on our Evo cabinet.

Action, Reload and Happy Gaming!!!

We thought it would be a grand idea to do a quick blog chronicling the fighting games history and the rise of the 2D fighting games. I’m sure everyone will say its all about Street Fighter 2 onwards but there were some defining titles which would set Streetfighter 2 up to take the arcade world by storm in the fighting games history. It’s well worth taking a quick peek at some of the fighting games which have culminated into the current still active genre. Titles like Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition are still raising the benchmark continuing an ever-evolving scene.

Apparently it all started off way back in the fighting games history with a title called “Heavyweight Champ” released in 1976 by Sega. They were at the forefront of gaming and also released Warrior in 1979 and Champion Boxing in 1983.

A video game I personally hold dear to my hear is Yie-Ar-Kung Fu which was released by Konami in 1985. My brother had this on the Amstrad CPC 6128 and I used to play this a lot (as well as Operation Wolf using a Quikshot joystick which was a losing battle). Each character varied in fighting style and appearance which added a real element of change to each bout. It’s still great fun to play now albeit a little basic. An enjoyable experience seeing where some of the seeds of the fighting genre were laid.

Yie Ar Kung Fu also provided a starting point for Capcom’s legendary Street Fighter series and introduced now household names to the public.

Characters of note that were Street Fighter created are flame-haired Ryu and identical Ken (in all but looks). There’s also The evil Sagat who hasn’t yet been given the scar by Ryu. Sagat’s wound constantly reminds him of his adversary’s victory and he draws his immense Muay Thai power from it. Streetfighter and Street Fighter II never played better than on one of our arcade machines.

There’s also Sagat’s protege Adon who later features in features later on in the Alpha series. The same can be said for the aged Gen and Birdie (who fights for us Brits).

It would take a decade or 2 for the fighting game category to find it’s feet and output what we all now know and love. If requested we can use all Sanwa controls in our cabinets which are the choice of professionals in today’s fighting tournaments.

That’s it for the Fighting Games History: Part 1, keep you eyes peeled for part 2!

Happy Gaming