Of course it isn’t going to be the best game in the history of the world ever because then they wouldn’t make very much money. All of the flaws in the game are to be expected though as my complaints relate mainly to the way that the designers try to ensure profitability of the machine. As a kid I believed it was the closest I would ever get to navigating the Crystal Maze but sadly it is actually a pretty shallow recreation of the show. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and when I look back on this game I am amazed that anyone could ever care enough to sit patiently and watch people playing it. It is also hampered by relatively simple graphical displays and a chronic lack of ambition in choosing to re-skin games and pass them off multiple times although when thinking about the drunk audience perhaps they thought nobody would notice. The basic input also prevents drunk players from being totally incapable of participating. It’s quite hard work to use the interface but that adds an element of physicality to the action and also probably stops the operators from going bankrupt. Using a rolling ball (think the bottom of an old-fashioned mouse) input to allow for a 360 degree range of movement to interact with the games proves to be an elegant solution. Translating something that’s so action and activity orientated into a computer game is quite a tricky task but one that the designers had a good go at. This doesn’t really sound very exciting does it? Following the show format the money round takes the form of a token collection game utilising a touch-screen point and click feature that is sorely underused elsewhere. As it is the tasks include mazes with obstacles, puzzle tasks matching tasks and simple shooting mini games played with time limits ranging between 30 seconds and one minute. Limitations in the presentation and format do restrict the total number of games although you’d have to be pretty obsessed with it, like I was, to notice this. You could play with up to four friends although as you all shared the arcade inputs whether you did or not failed to make much difference. It replicates the show pretty exactly and for 50p you play approximately for five minutes with the opportunity to win five pounds. The Crystal Maze arcade machine is essentially a themed gambling video game that was pretty widespread in British pubs in the early 90s. Sounds strange doesn’t it? That brief introduction can’t really do it justice you will have to try and watch it for yourself and it’s worth it. Failure takes two forms and not getting out of the room within the time limit counted as a lock-in seeing you forfeit a crystal. Each game has a time limit and successfully completing a game earns the team five seconds of time to be used in the final round, collecting tokens inside a giant crystal. A team of six players traverses the maze (not literally a maze) through four zones playing themed games in each area (Aztec, Future, Medieval, Industrial /Ocean). Presented by Richard O’Brien of Rocky Horror Picture Show fame it is quite simply the most awesome looking game show ever produced. What is the Crystal Maze? For younger readers and those without access to quality UK public broadcasting this is an essential find if you can get access anywhere on the internet. This recollection is based on watching older players and occasionally assisting them.) (A brief aside, I was not actually spending my money as a minor on the quiz machine before anyone starts to doubt the quality of my upbringing. I will be using The Crystal Maze as my case study, having been addicted as a child to its’ exciting mix of physical, skill, mental and mystery challenges. Today I’m going to talk to you about the grim spectre of gambling addiction and the role video games play in encouraging this behaviour in youngsters. I have decided to start 2014 on a more serious note to some of my previous posts. I hope you all had a happy Christmas and New Year.
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