Before I forget... I did finally get a chance (before I hopped a plane to Seattle) to try out my new game (Tower of Doom - 4 player) that I've been babbling about for the last few weeks.
First the visual inspection... It's pretty damn big. (I took pics... but I havent got them with me) it looks great. minor dings here and there but nothing I can't live with. Popped open the back of the cabinet... wow, damn near spotless. You could almost eat in there if there was room. Nice wiring job, very clean. Made sure everything was connected and seated properly...
Turned it on... wait for it... hmm... uh oh... turn it off... turn it on... and it springs to life.
The sound is terrific (and by terrific I mean insanely loud) and very clear and loud and wow its loud. (Did I mention it's pretty damn loud?) Apparently there's no hardware or software control for the volume... just sound or no sound. Holy sh!t that thing is loud.
The monitor is clean and crisp and looks fabulous! The marquee looks great, the controls are in good shape and the control panel and overlay look great. A few minor cracks in the plexi covering the control panel, but I'm ok with that for now. (I'm beginning to think the cracks are from the massive amount of LOUD emanating from this thing...)
The game plays great... every bit as much fun as I remember... and SO MUCH BETTER than emulation!! (I love MAME, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you want the real deal.) I did, however, start to get a mild headache from how freakin loud it is... but I can make sacrifices.
So was it worth all the hassle? Abso-freakin-lutely! Yeah the guy I bought it from was a royal PITA (and hes probably thinking the same thing about me) and yeah I paid too much by the time you factor in shipping and all that nonsense... but I'd do it all again... and will be, as soon as I find a D&D Shadow Over Mystara game!
So if you know anyone... you know... who has a D&D Shadow Over Mystara game for sale... keep me in mind. :)