The Neo Candy 29 has gotten considerably more play now that it’s in the house.  Demon Front is an excellent game, but I felt the need to expand my collection of horizontal games.

A local coin-op business hosted a swap meet for arcade and pinball collectors, and I picked up two games.

The first was “In The Hunt”.  This Irem classic is by the team that went on to produce Metal Slug.  Play is difficult, and though I’ve managed to reach the third level on a credit, I’m not so sure about later stages.  This game is fun, but I’m afraid it doesn’t suit me well.  It might need to find a new home if it doesn’t grab me soon.

Next, I picked up Life Force (Salamander in Japan).  I haven’t spent a lot of time with it, but in my first two or three games, I’ve reached as far as I think I’ve been in the past.  It boasts “Stereo Sound” on the title screen, so it might motivate me to build out the 4-pin sound cable I need for many of my games.

Finally, I bought another “not working” game off of eBay.  This one is China Gate, and it’s been a bit abused.  Dirty the least of it’s problems, it has at least 4 crushed capacitors, and there’s a spot where one should be, but all that remains is a leg.  I’ll have to do some research to find out what I can replace it with.  Hoping I’ll get to play it, as the emulation is currently incomplete, though I enjoyed my test run with a half-working bootleg ROM set in MAME.

Otherwise, summer is ramping up and we’re been enjoying some use of the backyard and the grill.

Plans to visit Colorado in late September are in the works.

Things are quiet here, but I’ve got quite a few things worth mentioning.

Turbo is on hiatus.  The replacement board set hs grown it’s own set of problems, and I am putting it on the backburner for now.

The Neo Candy 29 attended the 2011 Northwest Pinball and Gameroom Show, with Salamander 2 installed.  I wouldn’t say it was a hit, but maybe it gained a fan or two.

Since it’s return, I moved the Neo Candy 29 into the house. To celebrate, I bought two new games for it:  Demon Front (IGS, 2002) and ..something else that hasn’t arrived yet.

Demon Front looks like a Metal Slug game at a glance, but it contains lots of gameplay features that make it stand out.  Combo systems, floaty jumps and a powerful pet attack that you level up, and some wicked tough bosses make this well worth the investment.

I’ve been working on a video project for a few months now.  These things come and go, but this is the first time I’ve reached a second draft.  It’s ambitious, but should be a ton of fun, and hopefully memorable to the viewer.

I guess that’s all for now.