Further opinion...Posted by : FirebladeT
Remote Address : 206.47.244.62
In Reply to: MAME & HotRod
posted by Jason on August 04, 1999 at 18:57:30:
: All I can say is AWESOME! I just received my HotRod yesterday and this baby gives MAME new life. THere are games I have ROMs for that I never used, I had them just to have them. Well, with the HotRod, I find myself playing some of those obscure games. I even find myself inviting friend sover to play those 2-player games. Even games that require an 8-way joystick (Robotron, Crazy Climber) are way better with a HotRod. Now I know we all can't just take $200 and buy one but trust me, if you ar thinking it over, do it. You won't regret it. Yeah, it's huge (the size of a real arcade control panel but hey, I'll live with that. As a further opinion, the HotRod is WELL constructed. This is not something made of flimsy parts. It looks and feels like the quality of a real arcade control panel. It's very big but it just fits a draw-out keyboard holder. Having a (Logitech) cordless keyboard definitely helps me swapping space with for the HotRod and my keyboard. The surface of the HotRod has been applied with some sort of coating to protect (I assume) from spills, dirt & grime from mixing in with the under finish. It's rough but smooth if you can imagine this. The joystick and action buttons (look, feel & usage) are exactly like from the arcades. It has four small round black plugs underneath to provide an even grip on any surface. The sides and bottom are made of wood or particle board??? There are six screws on the bottom to provide you with access to the interior of the HotRod. The HotRod looks exactly like the pictures on Hanaho's website. Except, for mine anyways, the coin insert buttons for player 1 & 2, which are located on either side of the HotRod, are orange instead of yellow. In terms of accuracy, it's just as accurate as your keyboard. Having an 8-way joystick solves half the battle for me as I usually use my keyboard and have to hit the up/right or up/left combo for diagonal. Combo moves are obviously easier to execute with the HotRod if you play games like Street Fighter 2. Likewise, with the Special Edition version of the HotRod, having 3 over 3 action buttons (similar to the Capcom layout) helps alot as well if you're playing Street Fighter 2. I recommend getting the SE version with 7 action buttons for each player. You don't need it for most games but many do use this configuration such as Capcom's Street Fighter series. FYI, most games from the 1980s (I consider the true classic era) don't require more than 2 action buttons. But if you're spending this much money in the first place, you might as well pay extra for the SE version, just in case you ever play a game that uses more than 2 action buttons. Downside? I haven't experienced any yet. If you remember playing Kung Fu Master in the arcades from the mid-1980s, you'll remember that if you got surrounded on either side by bad guys, you basically got stuck and started to lose strength. The only way to get out of this was to "shake" the joystick left and right until the bad guys "fell off" you. This "shaking" move is ineffective with keyboard but works "just like the real thing" with the HotRod. In other words, it's handled the abuse as required with "some" games like Kung Fu Master. Playing Pacman and Space Invaders and Asteroids with the HotRod has made my experience "all the more real". MAME brought the arcade gaming home. The HotRod has brought the arcade experience home. Or at the very least, enhanced it... FirebladeT
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